This week is (or I guess was) back to school week for a number of people, though some of us have been back to school for a while now (sigh). Well, I thought I would share a couple of thoughts on going back to school, since I’ve already been back for over two weeks now.

Get a good backpack - The further along you get in school, the heavier the books seem to get. I’m amazed at the size of the textbooks that my neighbors who are in junior high/middle school bring home. The thing about backpacks is that you will carry them around for a long time. Even in college most of the students still carry backpacks, and if you decide to go on for an advanced degree, you’ll still need them. There are even some professors on college campuses who carry them. Many backpacks now also come with a built-in laptop compartment. However, I would personally would not want to carry a bag from a big computer company or a computer bag company (example, Dell, Targus) because it advertises that you’re carrying a computer. However, you can get a pack from anywhere. Many people, myself included, carry daypacks (outdoorsy type bags: The North Face, EMS, etc) which are nice because they have lots of great pockets and compartments. Additionally they are also meant to withstand a lot of abuse.

Shop around for textbooks - Fortunately I only needed one textbook this semester, but even so there was a great distribution in prices. I could have gotten the book new from Amazon for only $59, after using a $5 promotional code and free shipping. However, I went shopping around town and found a used copy with no markings for $52. Now the prices in town ranged quite a bit (from $52 to $74 dollars). None of the other online resellers were cheaper than Amazon.com after shipping. If you’re going to go the used route then you need to make sure you look early (generally before classes start), because the best conditioned ones tend to go the fastest. Furthermore reusing textbooks is more environmentally friendly so there’s that added bonus as well.

Wait until after you go to class to buy notebooks and binders - This is really geared towards college students. Over the years, I’ve found that some professors give lots of handouts, while some still use a chalk and blackboard. So instead of spending a lot of money buying supplies that you might not need, wait until after you figure out the specific equipment that you are going to need for that class and then go shopping. I normally just show up for the first day or two of classes with some notebook paper and a pen and then take it from there.

Well those are my some of my thoughts, do you have any others?