Graduation Gifts for Soon-To-Be Grad Students

With college graduation right around the corner, many people are struggling to find appropriate gifts for their students. While there are many options out there, you may want to think a little harder if your graduate will be continuing on to grad school next year because they may want different things than someone who will be going to work.

A great book to give is Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Master's or Ph. D by Robert Peters. This book can be purchased for $10.88 on amazon.com. The book explains what a student can do to succeed in their graduate program. I think this book gives a great overview of what aspects a student should concentrate on and those that they should not devote as much time to. Getting What You Came For will help the student be prepared and ready for their graduate career.

A fun present would be to buy the graduate some nice school supplies. This one especially applies to girls. Target has a great selection of binders and notebooks with bright colors and patterns. Some new highlighters in various colors and fun shaped sticky notes will help keep them organized. Pick out a calendar to help them keep track of everything they will need to do. Many students purchase these items for as cheaply as possible so they will enjoy receiving some fun school supplies that will look different than what everyone else uses.

If your graduate doesn't have anything with the school logo on it, consider getting them a t-shirt, some sweatpants, or a water bottle. This could work for either the school they went to for undergrad or the one they will be going to next year. You know this is something that they will get plenty of use out of.

Many graduates would like to have some new household items instead of the stuff they came to college with. They will most likely want to make their new home more grown up. A nice bedding set or a set of glasses, dishes, and silverware would be welcome. Also, they have probably been decorating their walls with posters for four years and would enjoy some art or framed photos to hang up.

If you are looking for a pricier gift, consider an iPod Touch ($229 and up). This is a great product with tons of applications that will help keep your graduate connected, entertained and organized. I suggest this product over an iPhone (unless they have specifically asked for one) because there is no expensive service plan required to use it. They will be able to get on the internet and do everything an iPhone would do except make phone calls and most students already have a cell phone anyway.

There are many creative options that will make great graduation gifts. You are probably best off asking them what they would like. It might ruin the element of surprise but at least you will be sure to get them something they will use.