Top 20 essential laptop accessories for college
I remember college life as a hard and stressful time. I might be over exaggerating a bit because some of my best times of my life were in college but you get my drift. With the number of activities such as assignments, projects, work it can test anyone’s patience. Thankfully, there are plenty of external laptop accessories out there to help make your experience more pleasant. I have compiled a list of the top 20 essential laptop accessories for college students.
1. Laptop Lock:
Nobody wants to have their laptop stolen. In college life students will take anything that is not tied or bolted down. Although this won’t totally prevent your laptop from being stolen it therefore is a huge deterrent for thieves.
2. Laptop Privacy Screen:
This device is great for those who want to keep their work private. These filters restrict the viewing angle and therefore the screen is only visible to the one who sits directly in front of it.
3. Wireless Mouse:
Most laptop touch pads aren’t comfortable enough to use for long periods of time therefore if you are doing research or any other extensive work on your laptop having a wireless mouse is essential.
4. Laptop backpack:
If you don’t have a carrying case for your laptop yet, consider a laptop backpack. You can carry your laptop and your books in the same bag and not have to lug around two different bags.
5. External Hard Drive:
If you don’t have a carrying case for your laptop yet, consider a laptop backpack. You can carry your laptop and your books in the same bag and not have to lug around two different bags.
6. USB flash drive:
You want to be able to transport your files easily. Therefore having a USB flash drive is essential. It’s much easier to carry around a thumb drive than an external hard drive.
7. Multi-card Reader:
The more ways you have to back up your data the better. With a multi-card reader you can take the cards from your phone, camera, tablet and then transfer it to your laptop for easy use.
8. All in one wireless printer:
A small compact print that can also scan and copy will be very useful for students. Printing out reports, docs, references is a must in college life. You never know when you need to make a copy or scan a doc for schoolwork.
9. Surge Protector:
Outlets can be sparse in a dorm room or apartment. Therefore give yourself more power outlets while protecting your laptop from power surges that could damage your laptop.
10. Second Monitor:
A second monitor might seem extravagant and an unnecessary expense. Why we suggest it is because it can drastically improve your productivity. You can for instance do research on one monitor and then type on the other therefore eliminating the need to constantly switch back and forth.
11. Laptop cooling pad:
Airflow in most laptops is not very good. Therefore to avoid overheating and to extend the life of your laptop keep it cool with a laptop cooler.
12. Port replicator:
Imagine not having to connect and disconnect all your wires to your laptop every time you take it somewhere. With a Port replicator or docking station students can plug all USB, speaker, monitor connections to the device instead of your laptop.
13. Keyboard Protector:
Since college life also often includes late nights it’s wise to protect your laptop from spills with a keyboard protector. You don’t want to spill coffee, water, or beer on probably your most important device.
14. USB light:
Everyone knows that college life involves studying late. A small light like this will make it easier working in the dark without disturbing your roommate too much.
15. Lap Desk:
If you are tired of sitting at a desk or even if you don’t have a desk a lap desk will come in handy. These mini desks can easily fit a laptop, smartphone and a couple of other devices or objects.
16. External Speakers:
Most laptop speakers are weak and just don’t sound good. Therefore students can study or relax to some nice tunes.
17. Headphones:
You can’t use your speakers in the library but you can definitely use a good pair of headphones. Also comes in handy if you are studying late at night and don’t want to disturb roommate or neighbors.
18. USB Hub:
One can never have too many USB ports. Therefore a USB hub will help eliminate cord clutter and allow you to connect more USB devices to your laptop.
19. Ethernet cable:
Wireless network connections can be finicky at times. Therefore having a reliable backup is necessary. Plugging into your schools network via Ethernet port is usually much reliable and faster. No one wants to be in the middle of research and not being able to finish because of no internet.
20. Xbox one controller:
All students need some time away from studying. We choose an Xbox controller because it is officially supported by steam and other online gaming platforms.
Learning to make your college life easy with laptop accessories
We have listed the top essential laptop accessories for college. These accessories will not only push your learning experience but they could save you valuable time. How many of these did you own already? Another essential item in college life is coffee therefore we found a helpful article on the best single serve coffee makers for dorm rooms. Let us know your thoughts, comments or even if you feel we left out something below.