It can be overwhelming deciding what to pack for college. You don’t want to overpack, but you also don’t want to underpack. I got you covered for all the tech you’ll need in school. From my experience as a college student, this tech is the most essential. From school work to entertainment, here are 12 college tech essentials every student needs.
A laptop is a college tech essential. When getting a laptop, you want to make sure it has a long battery life, plenty of storage, and is lightweight. You don’t want to be halfway through a paper and your laptop dies. Since you’re in college, most of your assignments will be done on your computer, so you’ll need plenty of storage to download notes, videos, and assignments. Flash drives are always helpful, but it would be beneficial to you to have a laptop with a lot of storage. You also want your laptop to be lightweight. Lugging around a heavy laptop everyday will take a toll on your shoulders. A lightweight laptop will be more comfortable and you can easily use it anywhere. Laptops also work a great substitution for a television.
Another college tech essential is smart backpacks. Smart backpacks allow you to charge your phone and laptop while walking to class. It also has built-in ports for earbuds, and built-in speakers. They are often waterproof and shockproof which will help protect your devices. While smart backpacks are more expensive than regular backpacks, I believe they are worth it. They last much longer than regular backpacks and come with helpful and convenient features.
No more rushing to the library before class. Finding a printer last-minute will feel impossible. For some reason, when you need a printer the most, everyone else does too. It will be very helpful to have a printer in your dorm room. You’ll be able to conveniently print out your syllabus, notes, and assignments. Having a printer in your dorm room will help you turn in your assignments on time since you can print it as soon as your done. I promise you will be thankful that you bought this.
It’s very convenient to store all your notes and assignments on a flash drive. My entire college career is stored on one flash drive. Having everything in one place and being able to organize it into folders made it easier to reference past notes and assignments. You don’t even need a fancy one. My flash drive is the one my university gave me during orientation. Keeping everything on a flash drive will ensure you never lose anything.
Make sure you have one of these before you go off to college. You’ll use this for charging and transferring data. These are really cheap and you can get them almost anywhere.
There’s usually not a lot of outlets in dorm rooms. A surge protector will let you plug in all devices. I put mine under my desk since my computer, lamp, charger, and alarm clock are. These are great for tech corners. But don’t go crazy and use too many of these. You should only use one in your dorm room. Using too many can be dangerous. Be sure to check with your school to know if these are allowed or not.
HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. You use this for transferring both high-definition audio and video through a single cable, from one device to another. This is another college tech essential to have, otherwise you’d have to buy an overpriced one from the bookstore. If you have a projector, you can use the cable HDMI cable to connect your phone or laptop to it.
This college tech essential is for both safety and convenience. Always keep a portable charger with you. You don’t want your phone to die while you’re out, especially if you’re alone. With a portable charger you won’t have to go searching for an outlet, or ask a stranger if you can borrow theirs.
Every student needs this college tech essential. Time management is huge in college. Nobody is there to tell you when you need to do things, so you need to schedule your time responsibly. An alarm clock will help keep you on track. These type of alarm clocks also double as nightlights.
You’re going to wish you had one of these the next time you’re hanging out with your friends and you want to blast your music. This is great for when you’re studying in your dorm or if you just want to relax to some music. A portable speaker is always good to have around.
Nobody wants to deal with wires. With bluetooth earbuds you won’t have to worry about them getting tangled. Since the pandemic, many classes have become hybrid or entirely online. This means you can have class anywhere, in public or at home. Earbuds would be great so everyone doesn’t have to hear your lecture. I personally like to use these to avoid uncomfortable conversations or awkward interactions.
This college tech essential is great for entertainment. I would watch Studio Ghibli movies on this all day. A projector is a great substitution for a television. You can project movies and shows from your laptop or phone on your wall. It will give you a bigger screen and make movie nights a lot more fun. You can project your videos onto the ceiling so you can watch while laying down. I didn’t bring my television with me to college, so I used my computer to watch shows and movies. A projector would have been really helpful, so I recommend getting one if you are still in college or about to start.
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