Prepping your instruments A checklist of things you might need or want to aid your studies

JACOB POLITTE Managing EDITOR

In order to succeed in your studies, you need to make sure you have the best quality of materials.

There are a lot of materials that you’ll need to be ready for college life. In order to progress further along in your college career, you’ll need the following to help you achieve your goals both in and out of the classroom. Some of them are more vital than others. Some of them aren’t necessarily requirements (it really depends on the courses that you are taking). However, they will help you greatly along your journey, and some are absolutely essential, regardless of what your courses require.

Below you’ll find a sort of checklist of these items, along with specific details about why you’ll need them and where you can find them.

Pencils, pens, highlighters and paper: These items are always an absolute given. Some professors will type out lecture notes for you to keep, but you might need the paper to take notes in case they don’t, or even just in case they elaborate on the various topics that they discuss. But even if your courses don’t always require a lot of notetaking, they’re always handy to have. You might also need a few highlighters to make sure the most important portions of your notes stick out on paper.

Binders: You’ll want to make sure that all of your notes and other vital documents for your courses are well organized. A zipup, cloth binder is pretty durable and does a better job protecting your materials, but any sort of binder will work. Textbooks: The amount that textbooks are actually used just depends on who your instructor is and how they conduct their class. Despite this, they are a requirement to have, and they can be expensive. Not to mention, the way STLCC can obtain textbooks has changed significantly as well. Beware though: not every textbook can be rented. Some, like many of the math and science textbooks, have to be purchased.

Laptop: This item isn’t necessarily a requirement to have unless you’re taking an online or hybrid course, but it will help you immensely in your studies. Most importantly, it will save you from relying too heavily on a library computer, as those can seem like they are in limited supply on some days.

Laptops can be found at various retail outlets. However, if you don’t wish to purchase one, the college does have a program where one can be loaned to you and eventually be returned or renewed on a semesterby-semester basis.

For more information on that, contact the IT Department.

Prices for both purchase and rentals can vary; it really just depends on the textbook, and what condition it’s in. Failure to return the rented textbook will result in a $25 fee, in addition to the difference between buying and renting the book.

If you are looking to purchase textbooks at a cheaper rate, Amazon.com is also a great place to look; they may be used, but they are much more affordable. As of this summer, however, textbooks can no longer be rented from Amazon.

Flash Drive: This is a rather essential item to have; it helps you to keep your assignments in one place and allows you to work on those assignments in places that aren’t your personal computer. Making sure that the flash drive is properly organized too (by course, subject or whatever works best) will help immensely.

Bookbag: It’s been said before, and it will be said again: you’re gonna need something to carry all of this stuff in. Carrying around all of these items in your hands just isn’t very practical.