In this day and age, being a smarter student usually means being a student who is equipped. If you want to study more efficiently, learn faster and do better in your exams, technology can lend you a pivotal advantage. Learn how to be equipped for your education and feel confident in your ability to be capable in every scenario, have everything you need in your backpack!
I'm sure you've heard the term 'invest in your education'. This advice isn't just reserved for the investment in books, courses, classes or tutorials, it also points toward your investment in technology that can improve your learning.
This expands further to purchasing equipment that allows you to feel more confident about your studies and furthermore leads to you gaining higher marks in exams.
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Being an equipped student will allow you to be more effective when it comes to studying, the advantages of having everything you need can save valuable time and result in a study motivation that is consistent and reliable.
Regardless of wherever you are in the academic year, take time to evaluate your own backpack and perform an inventory - are you equipped, happy and confident in your equipment, or do you need an upgrade!
The Best Backpacks for University
Your backpack should represent something, it should represent your level of commitment and determination to be ready and do well in your course. If you have a backpack than is beaten up, disorganised, full of things with little use....you're in need of a re-vamp!
The best backpacks for you will depend on what you really need, but generally speaking, we're all 'tech' people these days so there is a standard design we can start with.
Personally, I've always been a fan of the North Face backpacks, these are sturdy, great selection of compartments, durable and comfortable. I bought mine of Amazon, you can check their selection out here.
For me, choosing a backpack with lots of fancy compartments is important, I like the idea of everything having its place.
When I'm studying and I'm trying to keep the study motivation going, it's important that i can just reach into my bag for the thing I need, pick it out and keep going. I don't get distracted by rummaging around or not finding something.
Your backpack should be something you are proud of because it enables you to be more capable than you would be if you didn't have it (and the contents within)
Essential Equipment you Need for University
Okay, so that's the backpack covered. Now let's get into the 'tools' of the trade, whatever your trade is.
The equipment you carry needs to have a purpose, everything in your backpack needs to hold some kind of significance and helps you to focus on studying, or whatever you have planned.
Your day will go far smoother if you're equipped to welcome it using technology.
Laptop or Tablet
You may already have a dedicated desktop PC in your room, whether you do or not, I would recommend having a laptop or tablet. Having portable tech allows you to take your information anywhere, join study groups, take more efficient notes and study in more appropriate places.
You want something affordable, but purposeful. Ideally, you want it to last your whole academic career, so let's say that will be 3 years at least.
For this, there are a few options:
Dell XPS - Super high performance, looks fantastic, exists on the higher end of the budget but if you love this piece as much as I do, may be worth it. Good for STEM or anything where you need to download software etc
Apple MacBook - Super high performance, looks fantastic, higher on the budget side again, of course different operating system. This might be preferable for more creative studies but can support most software's.
HP Pavilion - Budget friendly options, great performance, can have a touch screen/tablet duo design - very cool and useful!
Microsoft Surface - Double as a tablet and a laptop, great for taking notes in class, high performance, looks great.
Laptops under 500 GBP - For this price, you can certainly get a good bang for your buck. Acer, Asus, HP and Lenovo like to have products in this range and they are all very suitable for university.
Laptops under 300 GBP- Laptops under this price can become limited. Though you can still get good word processing use out of these, you may be limited on some software that requires improved specs. Though again, will be suitable for the right scenarios!
If you want an additional means of protection for your device, include a laptop sleeve or laptop bag in your basket. Be sure to get the correct size for your device.
Laptop Charger
Of course, remember your laptop charger. A useful tip here is if you work with your device at home as well as take it to university, consider buying two chargers.
One you can leave plugged in at home at your desk, the other you take with you in your bag. Personally forgetting/unplugging things all the time really stresses me out, so this solves that.
Laptop Accessories/Interfaces
Within your backpack or laptop bag, you might be needing some additional kit. This could be anything to keep your device in a good condition or allow it to have more capability, here's what I suggest:
Mouse and Keyboard - Speeds up your use of the laptop.
Touch screen pen - If applicable, good for sketching etc.
Multi head interface set - good for all scenarios.
Cleaning cloth - Keep your devices sparkling!
Laptop USB light - For those late nights.
Batteries - Space for the laptop or mouse.
Having these available and ready to go could optimise your portable productivity setup or bridge over those moments of inconvenience (low battery power, lack of light etc)
Pencil Case
Yup, the humble pencil case. This alone should be a fully equipped pouch of productivity power!
Bare in mind, for the exams, you will be needing a clear pencil case. For this reason I would recommend getting one like this.
Within this pencil case you should have the following. I'll provide links to really useful items for each of these, again from Amazon (because they deliver super quickly!)
Pens - Multiple colours for taking notes.
Pencils - Sketching for note taking, ideas, graphs.
Rubber/Eraser - Pen and Pencil rubber.
Geometry set - Used for maths/engineering, protractor, rule etc.
Calculator - A very important tool to learn how to use quickly and to it's maximum. (Check which ones you are allowed to have!)
USB stick - I keep this in my pencil case, which is always in my bag, contains my CV, Past papers and other details I may need (though bare in mind you can use One Drive or equivalent to hold most of your information in a safer way)
Highlighters - For note taking on lecture notes etc.
Sharpener - For those pencils!
Whiteboard pen - For when you have access to a white board and want to explain something to your friends.
If you want an all in one solution you can find full or near full pencil case sets here.
Textbooks
Of course you should have the textbooks you need, but be sure to have the ones you need only. Avoid carrying all textbooks all the time, only have the ones you want to study from or the ones for the classes you have.
This allows you to not distract yourself too much with other things.
As for where to get textbooks from, buying them is probably going to be the last thing you want to do, look online for PDF versions or try to find them in your library at least.
In this day and age, having the use of CTRL+F (control find) will save an awful lot of time, try to use it as much as you can.
Anything you can't find, you can try Amazon!
Scientific Calculator
Exam halls allow certain types of calculator, you need to check with your school office on what calculators you are allowed.
When you find which are allowed, be sure to get the calculator with the most useful functions and anything else that allows you to save time.
A common calculator is the Fx-83GT PLUS but I would invite you to upgrade to the Fx-991ES PLUS (if allowed!)
Lip Balm, Lemsip, Allergy medications
Lip balm for when it's too cold, Lemsip for when you're too ill, allergy medications for when you want to curl up and be a vegetable. Always have these handy. Note, Lemsip does have paracetamol in it.
Studying when you are suffering from anything is a real challenge, having anything to cope with it is for sure a thing you want to do. Though understandable taking meds themselves can make you sleepy.
Maybe think about hand lotion too, sunscreen if you study outside etc.
If it's cold season, remember those tissues and handkerchief's!
Spare money and Wallet
I'm talking cash here, always have a small amount of spare cash on you or within your bag. This can just be for one of those moments where you never thought you'd need it, yet...it happens!
Though everything has gone digital, anything that isn't digital, be sure you have your wallet with you. Also this is true if for whatever reason your digital version of paying fails!
Headphones/Earphones
This is a priority for me, I wear these pretty much round the clock. Getting a good pair that can block out noise and allow you to really 'feel' the music is powerful.
If you wanted a tip on study motivation, my advice would be to listen to music that gets you in a good mood and then force yourself to study for a short time, you may often find that after doing that you actually want to study.
Bose Headphones/Earphones - Reliable, broad type of products
Anker - Affordable but really great quality (my personal favourite)
Sennheiser - Super high quality, lots of products
Cutlery and sachets napkins
For those study sessions at university/school or a friends house, you want to continue to eat pretty well. Having cutlery and condiments with you will help you eat better and keep your energy levels up.
It's common that we eat like crap during the revision period, it's a huge mistake by many students. If you want to study hard and long your body need to be fuelled appropriately.
Knife, fork, spoon,
Napkins,
Sauces (Ketchup or whatever you like)
Tea bags,
Sugar, salt, sweetener,
Any meal prep you have prepared, you can find great Tupperware here,
Spare carrier bag
Again, this is preparing for an inevitability moment. Just have a spare bag or two should you need it. You could use it to go shopping at lunch time or to carry some additional stationary you buy on a trip to town.
Always useful to have!
Spare underwear
Bare with me on this one.
You know those really hot days when you just get really uncomfortable, you need that refreshing feeling but you're not at home?
Change your undies, honestly, it's a great quick fix, socks too maybe. This is such a little thing you can do to make you feel more comfortable.
Also maybe you spill something on yourself and it goes through, well, with this perpetration step, you are now ready for that!
Carry them in a little plastic bag for hygiene reasons (especially if you swap them)
On a slightly different note, if it's warm and sunny take sunglasses with you, if it's cold and damn take scarfs and gloves with you!
Towel
You're walking to university when BAM, the rain has arrived. You are too far to go back home, so you go to university to study.
Luckily, you have a towel and can dry yourself off. Oh hey, you also have spare underwear because you followed the point above, heck even bring spare shorts/joggers too!
You can pick up some good towels here, obviously you don't want anything too big to fit in your bag.
Stationary
We almost covered this above, but this refers to the 'other' things you may need. Stationary items are just general ways to organise your notes and note taking.
Spare paper
Spare pen
Small equation book
Anything relevant!
Charger kit + portable charger
You want to keep your devices powered and capable, be sure to bring along additional chargers with you.
I always have multiple of each charger, so I can keep them plugged in at home and have some on the move with me, it's an easy way to keep on top of moving things around.
I always carry a battery charge bank with me too, just for when I need to recharge when I'm on the move and still use my devices, super useful. Anker do a really great battery bank that ive relied on for years!
Refreshments
Be hydrated and be fed to study. If you get this step right, you will be well on your way to using the hours in the day (and night) correctly and efficiently.
The worst cycle to get into is eating poorly, then because of that napping, then because of that sleeping bad, then the cycle continues - this leads to...a lesser version of yourself who also performs bad in exams...when you could actually do a lot better.
Be sure to take a bottle of water with you everywhere and have a means of filling it up, always have it in view.
Additionally I mentioned meal prep earlier, if you can do that, do it! It'll save you money and boost your ability to study coherently.
Maybe have some power bars to keep you going, fruit, or whatever else that doesn't make you crash.
Plasters
All those books, all that paper...don't be getting a paper cut!
Though if you do, you can just carry some plasters with you for paper cuts, blisters...whatever conundrum you get yourself into that results in you bleeding all over the place.
You can buy a plaster set that has a range of different ones, then just take a few of each in your backpack wherever you go.
Keeping up with the theme of health, make sure to include some hand sanitiser!
All in all, that's about everything i could advise you to have in your university/school backpack. Being prepared can really save your bacon sometimes, be proud that you are someone who has an ace up their sleeve for most scenarios.
If you have any questions for me or other readers, pop them in the comments below. Hit the <3 icon if you enjoyed the post! (doing this also follows the post, if you have an account, which I invite you to get!)
Thanks for reading
PutSimply
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