<p>I was wondering what kind of school supplies are useful or necessary in college? Most of the classes I'm taking are intro level social science classes, and I'm not really sure what school supplies (e.g. folders, binders, notebooks) I would need for them if I'm going to be typing most of my notes. I thought I would type my notes during class, print them, and store them in a large accordion folder. Should I purchase some notebooks and just have them available in case I decide to hand write anything?</p>
<p>It really depends on your style. I love binders because I like to keep everything chronological and I can stick hand outs and such in with my notes. If you’re not going to keep hand-written notes, I think the notebooks would be kind of a waste. Just buy loose leaf and use that.</p>
<p>I just use spiral notebooks, one per subject, pens, notecards, and my computer.</p>
<p>I think buying a couple of notebooks would be a good idea. There may be diagrams that your professor wants you to copy down, and that’s a pain without a tablet.</p>
<p>Different colored pens (and plenty of them) helped me out a lot.</p>
<p>So did highlighters.</p>
<p>crayons
markers
sharpies
dry earese markers
binders
calculators
erasers
highliters
pens
penciles
note cards
white out
rulers
protractors
compuses</p>
<p>^ female condoms</p>
<p>^ lolwhat?</p>
<p>mini stapler!</p>
<p>You sound like a school supply junkie like me! </p>
<p>I bought:
pens
pencils
highlights (gel and regular)
“tabs” to mark things
notebooks
folders
calculator
colored pencils
markers
erasers
livescribe pen&paper
and a ton of notecards!</p>
<p>Never used a binder unless it was a requirement (i.e. for a required binder-only textbook). I do not use a smart phone. IMO, you do not need a laptop in a classroom unless you are in a computer programming class and want to whip up some small programs to apply what you’re learning in lecture on the fly.</p>
<p>I am picky about pens. You will spend a lot of time writing so you need to get a pen that writes smoothly without skipping, that does not require you to expend extra effort pressing it into the paper (like a ball point). A lot of pens with ink that flows fairly freely are also rut-diggers, i.e. they dig into the page. You want a pen that just glides over the paper and the only force you need to apply is parallel to the plane of the page.</p>
<p>So I strongly recommend the use of the Pilot G2 0.7mm tip gel pen. I also recommend not buying the absolute cheapest notebooks. There are various practical reasons why. For example, some of them are so slick that you can’t write on them. Stay away from “wireless” notebooks, i.e. the bound kind without a spiral. The pages just ooze right out and they are useless. College is heavy on note-taking, MUCH more so than high school, so having the right pens and papers to facilitate note-taking is going to make your life much easier.</p>
<p>And for math classes, the fanciest calculator you should buy is a $15 used TI-82.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t spend money on a stapler, there are staples for your use all over the place in college, plus the cheaper ones fall apart.</p>
<p>Pen and paper. Add a calculator if you’re taking math classes.</p>
<p>binders, comp books, spirals, folders, index cards (those depending on your style), loose leaf, some printer paper (at least i like to do scratch work on printer paper), mechanical pencils (with extra lead and erasers), pens, sharpies, highlighters, stapler+staples, 3 hole punch, paperclips, binder clips, rubber bands, scissors, ruler, blue tape, thumb tacks (assuming cork board), and maybe glue stick, scotch tape, crazy glue, and colored pencils more for craft/decoration kinda stuff.</p>
<p>i second the pilot g2</p>
<p>edit: oh i forgot post-its, those come in handy</p>
<p>I just use folders to contain all my paperwork (printed notes, returned homeworks, etc) for classes. It takes too long to have organized binders with sections and whatnot.</p>
<p>By far and away the best notebook you can have is a spiral artist sketchbook. The pages are like 9x12 so you get tons of space. The paper is super thick. And the paper is slightly textured so it takes ink like a sponge. No lines on the pages also enables more creative placement of equations and diagrams. All the awesomeness comes at a price though (I wait for Buy 1 Get 1 50% off coupons from arts and crafts store).</p>
<p>For less important notes, a regular old spiral college ruled 3 subject notebook is fine. Even if you don’t plan on handwriting notes, have some on hand…they’re cheap anyways.</p>
<p>And someone has to show some love for the Uniball Signo Gel RT in .7 mm tip. Everything from the weight balance to ink flow to barrel grip shape are perfect. Gel ink is pretty much a necessity cause it lets you write way faster and with less fatigue.</p>
<p>And for the love of Christ, don’t use wooden pencils. Mechanical or ■■■■.</p>
<p>Mechanical pencils were invented by Hitler as a torture device. Stick with the kind you have to sharpen. Way better for filling in circles on tests (the only use you will have for a pencil in college, unless you take an art class).</p>
<p>Notebooks, one per class. That way you can (and will) keep the ones you want.
Highlighters, different colors.
Index cards. Make flash cards and use 'em. Great conversation starters or to start a study group.
Something to carry all this stuff in! wheels are nice if it’s big. Lots of girls used wheeled bags.
Calendar! easier to use than an online thing.
i-pad or similar. Netbooks and laptops are out.
Some basic office supplies (paperclips, tiny stapler, etc) in a zipper bag.
Small pocketknife - I use mine every day. 1.5 to 2 inch cutesy one.
Spare key!
Battery pack that you can run a rundown phone or ipad from. Keep it in the car - too heavy to carry around.</p>
<p>@laicmichelle my mom found a livescribe pen Thingy and it works perfectly all I need to do is buy the paper( I think it’s like 15$ bucks tops) … will I actually use it?</p>
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<p>Oh my gosh, I chuckled. </p>
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<p>Maybe, but you probably won’t have the patience to master and maximize its use.</p>
<p>I have found that dollar store pens actually write well, the clicky kinds with the stylized S’s on them. They write well and don’t dig.</p>
<p>3 subject notebooks and pens. Personally I find binders to be too bulky.</p>