Must Have School Supplies for Law School

Ok so all the summer students have left the building and I am super sad that it’s back to business as usual—meaning, I’m the one in charge of all the business.  So sad to not have anyone to help out here and there…

But the end of summer also means that I get to stock up on school supplies! I know, I don’t technically need them as my agency provides basics but I so much prefer to have my own things, you know?

Since the new semester is starting, I thought I’d share some must-have school supplies. I’m trying to not be obvious about it because like duh we all know that you need things like pens, etc. Instead, I want to share some things that I found really useful that may not always be on your school supplies list:

One. Figure out your Electronics. Ok, so this may age me (eep!) but when I was in undergrad most of us did not have laptops. Why have a small, convenient laptop when a massive desktop takes up so much more space, right? 🙂 When I started law school, I knew I needed to upgrade to a better system. I did exactly zero hours of research and just bought what everyone else had (Big Ups to all my fellow Apple users!). It probably makes more sense to actually figure out what works best for you and the manner in which you’ll be using your electronics. I knew someone that tried to go the ipad/portable keyboard route and that did not work out for them as a lot of sites at the time were not equipped for that type of mobile device. So pick what’s best for you and how you work. That also includes gathering all the apps you need. Again, exposing myself, but word processing apps were limited to Microsoft when I was in school and that shit was hella expensive. I had some poor man’s version of Microsoft Word that constantly crashed. Super great when you’re on deadline working on memos! How lucky you all are to have the google drive options, but even if that’s not your preference, just make sure that you are coming to school equipped with what actually works for you.

Two. A Bag that Works. I literally wrote a saga once on how many bags I went through in law school because I couldn’t afford high-quality bags (so I thought) and many of the bags I selected ripped from the weight of the books, dug into my shoulder & caused bruising, or were not professional-looking. I have since found my go-to handbag place, but tbh I don’t ram my bags with heavy text-books anymore so ripping may still be risk. If you’re a 1L, the professional aspect may not be as important, and even if you are doing an internship people will know you’re in school so having a backpack or something similar won’t be a huge deal. But at the same time, there’s a dress code (whether we like it or not) so I would probably consider something more understated and professional-looking for upperclassmen.

Three. Planners.  Planners are life when you’re in school. I loved to have them to pre-plan my studying schedule, but again, upperclassmen will have a lot to juggle and need to keep themselves updated. If you prefer online calendars that’s cool—I totally am still a need-a-pen-in-my-hand kind of girl so “real” planners are a must for me.

Four. Earplugs. Maybe this semester you’re planning to study in a library or think it would be fun to study in a café. Regardless of where you are, the one thing you need to block out is noise. Pharmacies carry super affordable earplugs that work. I take them with me when I’m flying, but they definitely do the trick for when you’re studying.

Five. Highlighters & Tabs. I’m pretty sure I used a highlighter as an undergrad, but I was like a highlighter-user on steroids—especially my 3L year when I started just writing my notes in my textbooks. I always promote to study how you study, but if you didn’t always have great study-habits then there will be some things you have to pick up. For me, it was tabbing and marking. Stock up because tabs and markers will be your place of Zen come finals.

Six. Groceries. Yes, it’s not a school supply, but imagine how easier your first few weeks will be knowing you have a fridge stocked with good food for you. Not having to think at the last minute about dinner or whether you have something for breakfast. Make it a goal to do your grocery shopping before your semester really starts so that you can give your body and mind real nutrients (even if you only do it for the first week). It will make a difference.

What are some of your must-have items for law school?