Paper, pens, whatever. It’s all the same, right? Wrong. Not just any old school supply list for college will do the trick. Luckily for you, Dudepins has all kinds of suggestions for your hunt: which type is the best quality? What do I actually need? (Hint: it’s less than you think). Where can I buy this stuff? Well, it’s all available online; this saves you the trip and gets you a prime price. Read on for our answers to the other questions – a handy list what’s gonna be going to school with me this fall, and all you should need for your upcoming year.
60 Pens (Bic Round Stic) – $5.29 – Buy Them
Yeah, 60. Seems like a lot? Think again. Not only is it an outstanding deal, but you can now afford to put all your miscellaneous doctor’s office and hotel branded pens in a secret location, not again to be touched. Why? Now, when you do homework, all of your work is in one color and one color only. Pick up a pen, and you know that it’s what you need; any carryover looks as if you didn’t actually started it 2 weeks before you finished it. If you like doing work in multiple colours, then buy a few boxes of each color. 15 bucks is worth the investment of never scrambling around looking for a similar pen again. These pens have been tried and tested as the very best, they don’t break or run out too easily.
24 Mechanical Pencils – $6.58 – Buy Them
No, this blog isn’t sponsored by Bic. They just make awesome stuff. Again, buy a bunch so that there’s no frantic searching. And make sure that from this day forward, you only buy pencils and lead of one size (I prefer 0.7 mm, I press too hard and break the 0.5s). This saves you a lot of suffering when you get them mixed up in the future. For erasing, keep a white gum handy (I usually just use the end of the pencil, but those run out fast).
Binders – 4 for $12.83 - Buy Them
I prefer to use one big binder for everything, and then use dividers (next item) to separate subjects. If that’s not your style, these are the binders to get – they’re made of one piece of flexible plastic (except for the clamps) so that you have a hard time busting them up.
Backpack – $48.89 – Buy It
If you’re still rocking the bag from high school, it’s time to freshen up your vibe with a new backpack. Keep it simple, and snatch this damn fine sac from Jansport, in one of something like 15 colours.
Highlighters – 12 pack – $8.13 – Buy Them
If you don’t highlight stuff, you should. The easiest and most efficient way to study is to just read stuff (especially your own notes), and highlight everything that looks important. Then just read the highlighted bits the next time over. Seriously, it works. Buy these and give it a try.
Lined Paper
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s not to totally cheap out on paper. From the printer to the lined stuff, just don’t get the least expensive option. Thankfully, when buying online, it’s not really possible to do this. Anyhow, it’s not a matter of the thin stuff being unusable, it’s a matter of the slightly nicer stuff being that much better. Interestingly, this is often much cheaper if you head up and pick it up on sale at your nearest store rather than finding it on Amazon.
Your smartphone (or other eDevice) – Snag an iPad Mini for $339
Ah yes. With the power of technology you now have a dictionary, calculator, calendar and everything else you could possibly need at your fingertips. Hopefully you’re in classrooms that don’t discourage the use of these, because it’s your best friend and can take a load off your back, literally and figuratively. A solid investment if you’ve got a little more to spend this year.
Aaaaaaaaand that’s it. A practical list for the practical dude. Gone are the days of elementary school where you need everything from oil pastels to coloured pencils. Don’t overpack, it sucks when you’re weighed down with stuff you don’t use. Be sure to check out Dudepins for all your manly content, I’m not too sure how many guys are pinning up their school supply lists, but hey – there’s more to life than school. (Like cars, women, and scotches that are older than dirt).
