Must-Have School Supplies for Every College Freshman

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I love shopping for school supplies. Every year, I look forward to back-to-school shopping to prepare myself for a new and successful school year! Since I’ve started college, however, I am becoming more frugal and am getting used to the idea of reusing some of the same supplies for more than one year. I’ve found that binders have a longer lifespan when they aren’t being thrown in lockers and piled on top of one another and carried around the halls! 😉

When I started my freshman year at Temple, I wasn’t sure what I would need for college and what supplies should be left back in high school. Here is my must-have college school supply list for all of you who are starting to get those supplies together! If you already have these items lying around the house you should definitely use them! Any way to save money helps, trust me.

1″ Binder, one for each class (depending on your schedule)

I don’t like to use one master binder because I find it too bulky and heavy to carry around in my backpack all the time. However, if you scheduled a lot of your classes back-to-back, it might be helpful to combine one or two classes into a single binder.

Get them here.

College ruled notebooks with sturdy spirals (1 for each class)

I can usually use the same notebook for at least 2 semesters which is great. Some of my notebooks have lasted up to 4 semesters of classes! I would have never wanted to do this in high school, but in college it’s nice to reuse the same notebooks if they aren’t completely beat up.

Get them here.

Pencil case

The one I currently use is one I’ve had since my freshman year. I typically leave my favorite pens/pencils in the front pouch of my backpack, but the pencil case is helpful because I love to use a lot of colored pens and highlighters to take notes!

Find your favorite here.

Plenty of pens

Go with colors if you can, it makes note taking much more interesting! My favorite pens are Pilot G-2s. They write super smooth and don’t leave ink splotches on my paper! I also love Paper Mate Ink Joy gel pens!

Highlighters, various colors

Again, note taking is much more fun in color!

Get my favorite highlighters.

White-out

Trust me, if you like taking notes in pen… you’ll need this.

Get some here.

Mechanical pencils + lead, pink pearl eraser.

I’ve found that most classrooms in college do not have a pencil sharpener… so mechanical pencils are a must-have (or, if you’re like me, just use pen!). And if you’re using mechanical pencils, you’ll probably want a good eraser, too!

Get some mechanical pencils.

Get some Pink Pearl erasers.

A good, functional planner

This is IMPORTANT… I couldn’t have gotten through my freshman year without it! Check out this post to find the best planner for your needs!

Sticky notes + index cards.

Whatever size/colors you please. These are useful for note-taking and sticking in textbooks! And index cards for studying purposes, of course.

Get my fav sticky notes.

Get some index cards.

Stapler + three hole punch.

Obviously you’ll need to put those 5 page papers together somehow… a mini one for your pencil case might be helpful! The three hole punch is definitely optional, but if you’re like me you’ll hate having a binder pocket full of handouts. With this, you’re able to easily organize everything so you can actually see all those papers!

Get a stapler.

Get a three hole punch.

Hopefully you will now be able to get a feel for the things you need and the things you shouldn’t bother wasting your money on. Also, if you have a dollar store around, a majority of these items can be found there… don’t spend more than you need to!

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