24 Best College Backpack Essentials Every Student Needs To Have
Going to college soon and trying to figure out what college backpack essentials you need? Here is the best list of things that you NEED to have in your backpack.
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When you’re first going to college, it can be hard to know what college backpack essentials you need to get. As a recent college grad, I’m here to tell you everything you need to know when it comes to college student backpack essentials!
These are all the things I ALWAYS made sure to have in my backpack when I was in college. If you’re wondering “what should be in my backpack for college?” this post is for you.
After you read this post, you’ll know about everything you need to carry in your backpack when you go to your college classes. Whether you’re looking for college commuter backpack essentials, college freshman backpack essentials, or the best backpack for college, I’ve got you covered!
This post is all about college backpack essentials every student needs.
College Backpack Essentials Every Student Needs
Table of Contents
College Backpack
When you’re looking for a college backpack, you want to get one that has a laptop compartment, space to carry your water bottle/ travel mug, and lots of storage space so you can keep everything organized.
This backpack is perfect for college because it has all of those things, along with a USB charging port for your phone!
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School Supplies To Keep In Your Backpack
1. Laptop
You’re going to need to bring your laptop with you to the majority of your college classes. If you don’t already have one, you’ll most likely need to get one before classes start! I used my Macbook all throughout college and I’ve loved it!
If you can’t afford a laptop, there are other options too! At my school we were able to rent laptops. If you’re short on cash I’d look into what options your school has for getting access to laptops!
2. Ipad And Apple Pencil
If you have an Ipad already, I would definitely recommend bringing it to class with you in your backpack. If you get a bluetooth keyboard like this, you could even use your Ipad as a laptop for your classes! I used the app Goodnotes to take notes on my Ipad for all my classes.
If you have one, you probably won’t need to take the majority of other things on the list to class with you because you can do pretty much everything on your Ipad.
If you don’t already have an Ipad, I highly highly recommend getting one if you can! It is a bit of an investment but it is SO worth it. I was scared to spend the money on mine, but it ended up saving me so much money on school supplies and textbooks. It also made it so that I could keep all my notes and books in one place and access them whenever I needed to.
If you want to get one but can’t afford to buy one brand new, I’d recommend looking at places like Facebook Marketplace!!! That’s where I got mine.
3. Pens And Pencils
I’m super picky when it comes to the pens I’ll use to take notes with, and these pens are my favorite right now! I’m also super picky when it comes to mechanical pencils and Zebra pencils are the best I’ve used. Don’t forget to get some lead refills to keep in your backpack too!
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4. Highlighters
If you’re a person who likes to highlight their notes, you’ll need some highlighters for class. These are awesome because they have a clear tip so you’ll be able to see what you’re highlighting. Perfect for studying!
5. Pen/ Pencil Pouch
You’ll also need a pencil pouch to carry all of your writing stuff in. This one is perfect because it has lots of different compartments to keep everything organized and separated. Also, it matches the backpack from earlier!
6. Subject Notebooks
If you don’t have an Ipad to write notes on, I would highly recommend getting some subject notebooks like these to take notes in.
Some people use their laptops to take notes, but it’s been scientifically proven that writing things down helps you process/ remember information better than typing.
I’d recommend getting some subject notebooks like this instead of using loose leaf paper because it will help a lot to keep your different classes organized so you’ll know where to find things when you’re studying.
7. Mini Stapler
You have to staple a lot of things for college classes. If they’re making you turn in a paper assignment, you’ll probably have to staple it before turning it in.
I can’t tell you how many times I have forgotten to staple an assignment at home before turning it in. Having a mini stapler in your backpack is insanely useful for when you need to staple something last minute, or for when you’re printing stuff off on campus.
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8. Calculators
If your classes have any kind of math, you’ll likely need a scientific calculator. This is the one I used whenever I needed one in my classes and it was great!
If you’re taking math classes, you’ll probably need a graphing calculator as well. They can be a little expensive, so I would check and see if you can find a used one before buying one full price! Your college might also allow you to rent them.
I’d recommend carrying both of these in your backpack because there is nothing worse than getting ready to take an exam and realizing you left your calculator at home (speaking from experience).
9. Planner
You 100% need a planner for college. If you don’t already have one, you need to get one! It will help you keep track of all of your assignments and important dates.
It’s important to carry in your backpack so you can keep track of all the things you need to do throughout the day, as well as being able to go in and change things if your professor decides to change a due date or something.
10. Scantrons
For the first couple years of college when you’re in bigger classes, you’ll probably need to bring your own scantrons to take tests.
I would recommend getting some beforehand and just keeping them in your backpack for when you need them. These are the scantrons we used at my school, but make sure you check what kind you need before buying them!
Other Backpack Essentials
11. Reusable Water Bottle
You’ll need to have a reusable water bottle in your backpack to keep you hydrated throughout the day. Any reusable water bottle will work, but lots of college students use hydroflasks like this one!
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12. Travel Mug
If you’re a coffee/ hot beverage drinker, you’ll also need to get a travel mug so you can take coffee or whatever to class with you.
13. Headphones
Headphones are an absolute essential for walking around on campus or for studying, because college campuses can be quite loud.
My first year of college I used some wired headphones to walk to class, and then switched to wireless headphones as soon as I could afford it because it was so frustrating trying to walk and keep the wired ones in my ears.
I use Airpods and I absolutely love them! I definitely think they’re worth the investment.
14. Chargers
Getting some extra chargers to keep in your backpack is a good idea just in case your phone, Ipad (or any tablet), or laptop are running low on battery when you’re on campus.
15. Snacks
You’ll also want some snackies to keep in your backpack just in case you get hungry while you have classes! These three snacks are all really good options to keep in your backpack.
My first year of college I always had some Cliff bars on hand, and I usually kept some fruit snacks in my bag too just in case me or any of my friends got hungry.
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16. Hand Sanitizer
It’s a good idea to keep some hand sanitizer in your bag at all times because you’re probably going to be touching things a lot of other people touch, and you never know what those people have been touching.
I remember my sophomore year I used to study in these little study pods, and one day I was in the middle of studying and looked over and someone had wiped a BOOGER on the wall. So keeping hand sanitizer is a good idea for that reason, but also important right now because of COVID! People can be seriously nasty.
These bath and body works hand sanitizers are super cute and they smell amazing!
17. Mask
Keeping some masks on hand this year is also a good idea. Even though there aren’t mask mandates in a lot of places in the US right now, at my college if someone in one of my classes tested positive for COVID we were all supposed to wear masks for 2 weeks.
Depends on your college, but you might want to have some on hand!
18. Self Defense
You might also want to keep a little bit of self defense in your backpack, especially if you have night classes! College campuses can be scary at times and it doesn’t hurt to play it safe! This taser and pepper spray set would be a good option to keep in your backpack.
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19. Medicine
Keeping some extra medicine, like ibuprofen, allergy medicine, etc in your backpack is a good idea. You never know when a headache is gonna hit during class.
20. Mini Deodorant
You might also want to keep a little mini deodorant in your bag if you’ll be walking around a lot.
21. Lip Balm
I would also get some chapstick to keep in your bag for when you need it! It is really hard to remember to pack chapstick in your backpack every day, so I would get some just to keep in your bag.
22. Tissues
It’s also a good idea to have some mini tissue packs on hand for when you need them! You may need to use them to wipe something up, or you might need them because you have to sneeze in class.
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23. Student ID
Make sure you keep your student ID in your backpack just in case you need it! Some colleges make you scan your ID to get into places like the gym.
24. A Bit Of Cash
It’s a good idea to keep a bit of cash in your backpack in case you want to get something out of a vending machine on campus or something like that. Sometimes student groups will also sell things on campus and will only take cash. Keep some cash in your backpack just in case you need it!
This post was all about the best college backpack essentials you need to carry with you to your college classes.
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