Many colleges across the U.S. now recommend, or even require, students to have some form of portable computer, usually a laptop or netbook. While having a college laptop may be a no-brainer in today’s world, here are some accessories that are just as useful/important, but can sometimes be neglected.
1) A portable flash drive. While many college students have one readily on hand, some don’t. Flash drives are one of the most useful tools at a college student’s disposal, and they’re extremely affordable. Thumb drives are super portable, and very useful. Students that don’t own one usually regret it within the first week of school.
2) A mouse. No matter how much you love that multi-touch trackpad, or don’t see a use for a mouse, they are definitely worth having. A USB wireless mouse is extremely portable and low-end models can sell for around $12-15 at your local Wal-Mart.
3) A laptop sleeve/case. While these may not seem too important, laptop protection is a high priority in college. With many colleges moving to online resources and references, and with more and more homework being done on laptops, losing access to those materials because a laptop case seemed pointless can be devastating.
4) An external hard drive. A lot of homework is done on your laptop in college. Losing all your work is devastating and discouraging. By keeping an external drive, you can back up all your files just in case. After all, accidents happen(trust me on this one).
While these may seem extremely obvious, I have encountered plenty of college students who have regretted not backing up their data or protecting their laptop(including myself). Making good use of these four accessories can help to make the college experience a little less painful.
Do you have a computer accessory that helped you through college that isn’t on the list? Feel free to mention it in a comment below!
