Essential Items for the Returning College Student

If you're on your way back to school this month, or you know someone one who is, here are the essential items you will want to shop for before you hit that first day of class.

Day Planner ~
Not only are you going to need to write down your new schedule, so that you can remember where and when to be at all those classes. You'll also need to place to pencil in your study dates, your personal study time, and the inevitable party times. Having your schedule written down in a day planner will not only keep you from overbooking yourself, but it will also allow you to see at a glance just how busy you really are before you fill up too much of your time.

Bus Pass ~
Even if you've chosen to bring your own personal vehicle to college, you'll probably discover soon enough that taking the bus is almost always easier and faster. Save yourself the trouble and expense of driving around hunting for an empty parking meter. Bus passes are typically less expensive if you buy a monthly pass, and there's almost always a discount for students. You'll have safe, reliable transportation, even when the weather is bad.

Map ~
Unless you're going to a community college right in your own town, you'll probably have to get used to getting around in an unfamiliar city when you are going to college. Make sure you pick up a local map right away when you get there. In fact, check the information that the college sent you when they confirmed your registration. There's a good chance there's a map in there already; maps of the campus as well maps of surrounding parts of town, will help you locate stores and restaurants right away when you arrive. If you've signed up for a bus pass, be sure to get a citywide bus map as well, so that you can match up the routes of the bus to the shops along the way that you would like to visit.

Bookstore ~
Every college campus has a college bookstore somewhere. Frequently they don't have your textbooks in stock until the first day of class or just a few days before. Go ahead and find your way to the book store well in advance. On the day that books become available, there's going to be a line all the way out of the store, (and most of the way down the block), as everyone tries to get their books at once.

Don't make your situation, and your wait, worse by having to drive around the campus first trying to even find the bookstore. The sooner you get your books, the sooner you can start getting prepared for all those classes. Avoid being last in line at the bookstore by searching it out early when you arrive on campus.

Supplies From Home ~
Many things that you use during your time in college don't have to come from the campus bookstore. Your notebooks, your pens and pencils, your folders, your calculators, are all things that you can buy at your local discount store before you leave home. If you wait until you get to college, you'll find that these items are not only in scarce supply, but also marked up to make them much more expensive locally. Collect your supplies before you leave home, and take them with you in your luggage. You'll have one less thing to worry and stress over once you get there. And you'll save money as well.

Gathering these essential items will help make your new semester at college much more trouble free. Remember to collect as many of these things as possible before your first day.

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