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american apparel, blazer, Burt's Bees, cardigan, college, cross-body, fashion, flats, forever 21, Gap, H&M, J.Crew, lip balm, loafer, nail polish, planner, polyvore, style, sunglasses, sweater, tote
In college, you’ll likely be walking outside a lot. Remember in high school how you used to drive a mile to the Noodles & Company for lunch? Well, unless you’ve been blessed with a car on campus or an extremely reliable public transportation system, then you’ll be walking. And Murphy’s law explains that if you go for a long walk without wearing an outer layer, then you’ll be extremely cold and miserable. I always keep a light sweater in my bag for this purpose. This inexpensive sweater doesn’t take up too much space in a bag, and if you lose it, it’s not too big of a jab to your bank account. It’s also useful in those freezing cold lecture halls, or on those nights when you can’t decide whether it’s cold enough to wear a coat.
In college, you’ll go to job interviews. You thought you escaped that fate by going to college instead of going straight to work. But, surprise! Want an on-campus job? Want to perfect your interviewing skills at the campus career center? Want to look super-polished when you give a class presentation? Then a nice blazer is essential. Wear it over a dress, or with a (not-too-tight) pencil skirt. Don’t forget to iron it!
One of my big mistakes when packing for college was not bringing enough walking shoes. I have several pairs of pretty ballet flats, but after a few minutes walking in them, my feet ache. Make sure you have at least 2 pairs of cute shoes that you can wear all day, and no, workout shoes don’t count.
A big bag is extremely important! If you only bring one item from this list to school, then this is the one I recommend. I usually carry a backpack to my classes, but to the library, the gym, and other places, I prefer a large tote bag. I can fit everything in it, but it doesn’t shout, “I’m a student!” Most importantly, my stuff is easier to access than when it’s in a backpack.
At parties, you need to have your phone, wallet, and keys at all times. Buy a cheap cross-body handbag, so that if someone spills something on it, it’s not the end of the world.
I forgot to bring sunglasses when I went to college. So don’t make that mistake.
I probably have 50 tubes of lip balm scattered throughout my possessions. Especially in cold weather, your lips will get dry and chapped, so you can never have enough chapstick!
A great neutral nail polish is essential – it goes with everything, looks classy, and who doesn’t love polishing their nails? It’s an instant stress-reliever and a “productive” study break.
Everyone’s eco-friendly at college. And even if they’re not, then you should be. A travel mug is great for on-the-go coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or whatever. Most on-campus cafes will put your drink in your mug for you. Mine will fill my mug with hot water for free, and I add my own tea bag. Free drinks!
Unlike in high school, nobody will remind you to do your homework or study. So get a planner and use it. I can’t stress this enough. If you want to get organized, then a planner is the first place to start.
That’s all! Hope you enjoyed this post 🙂
Courtney Em 
Love the Lilly planner! I need to get a new one for grad school soon 🙂
They are great! 😀
Burt’s Bees’ chapstick is one of my favorites! With me going from Texas to Idaho for college, I’m sure I’ll be using a lot of it!
Oh yes! Are you going to BYU? One of my friends from high school goes there!
Im such a planner freak!! Well that and chapstick. I have like 80 tubes spread throughout my purses, soccer bags, and drawers at home!
Oh, me too! You can never have too much chapstick 😀
Great post! I could not survive the term without my planner and plenty of inky pens. I also second katalysthealth about the chapstick – chapstick, lip balm, lip gloss, whatever : it’s an addiction! Hollister has these really cute cardigans in their clearance right now for like $10 and I’m so torn about ordering them – I want them (and I need a cardigan) but then shipping costs so much and is such a waste. Gah!
Thank you! And have you tried looking for free shipping codes? Just google “hollister free shipping” and you’re bound to find some. 🙂
OOh!! Love that orange bag and yellow shoes. Those two stuck out to me first, and they’re both from Gap? Ok, I’m going to their website right now!!! Wait..I’m not a college student…haha too bad!
Yep! And it doesn’t matter that you’re not in college 😛