An alarm clock: If you don't wake up in time to get to class, you will fail out of Purdue. It's just that simple. So get an alarm clock, or set the alarm on your cell phone, or program your television to turn on at a certain time. Do whatever you have to do to make sure you make it to class.
Protip: Extra annoying alarm noises do work, and they also piss off everyone within a 5 mile radius if you accidentally leave it on when you go home for the weekend, so make sure you disable the alarm when it's not needed.
A backpack/messenger bag: It goes without saying that a bag is essential, especially for off-campus students who can't run back home between classes. Everything you need for a day on the West Lafayette campus will have to fit inside your bag or else it gets left at home, and you'll be jamming a
lot of stuff in your bag: wallets, keys, textbooks, notebooks, writing utensils, mini-staplers, calculators, snacks, water bottles, laptops, PDAs, light sabers, etc. Find a bag with tons of pockets and padded straps for additional storage and comfort. Expect to spend at least $50-100 on a decent bag, more if you're planning to laptop it up.
Protip: Don’t buy something wimpy like you used in high school. This is the Big 10, and your bag needs to be as Big 10-caliber as you are. Get something durable that will last for your entire Purdue career.
A notebook: I subscribe to the
5-Subject Notebook Theory of Note Taking. Why buy one huge notebook for all your classes instead of scoring a bunch of smaller 70ct notebooks at 10 cents a pop? Simple--only one notebook to remember to bring with you to campus! Plus, some of those fancy 5-subject notebooks have pockets for syllabi or returned quizzes. Save your folder/binder organization solution du jour for your desk at home. There won't be room in your bag with all the other random stuff that'll be crammed into it, unless you make room.
Protip: Acquire a notebook with perforated pages and you don't have to carry loose-leaf paper around with you. Sweet.
24-hour access to a computer: GREETS TO COMPUTER NERDS!!!!1
Information Technology at Purdue [ITaP]
operates several dozen instructional computing labs on campus. Sadly, only one is open 24 hours--that'd be MATH B10--but there are quite a few open until 2:00 AM. University Residences peepz have conveniently located mini-labs in each hall accessible with their room keys anytime. Off-campus people would be wise to locate the lab closest to their apartment and memorize the open hours. Branch out your horizons from STEW 102 and MTHW 116; there are other ITaP labs on campus, really. My personal favorite for printing out last-minute assignments is ENAD 426 [shhh, don't tell anyone]. Also, quite a few departments run their own computer labs, so if you score access to them, definitely take advantage.
If you have your own desktop computer, you've saved yourself the experience of sitting in MATH B10 trying to write a paper at 3:00 AM on a Monday morning while surrounded by gamers pwning n00bs on CounterStrike ... unless you're into that kind of stuff and built your own totally awesome rig, in which case you should be rolling with the
Purdue University Gamers Group. But I digress.
There's also a growing Boilermaker laptop massive utilizing the
Purdue Air Link all over campus 24/7/365. This year, ITaP is breaking out with the
Purdue Mobile Learning Initiative, a program where you can buy a HP or Apple laptop complete with
four years of on-campus technical support. I swear I am not making this up. Of course, if you want to rock a black MacBook or a Dell Inspiron with a Purdue skin, you'll have to ferret out a hot deal somewhere in the
Internet tubes.
Protip: Students can and do bring their laptops to lecture, but you should check with your instructor if it's okay to actually use it during class. Some are cool with it, and some are Luddites. Don't find out the hard way like the guy in
my PSY 240 class who decided to play some music on his laptop within hearing range of the professor and got called out for it.
A personal music player: Walkman, CD player, MP3 player, iPod Giganto, it really doesn't matter what you have as long as you have it for those times you're packed into the
Silver Loop with everybody and their sorority sister and they're ALL on their cell phones. I dubbed my iPod "Josette's
reality distortion field" for exactly this reason. Try studying in the Union without a soundtrack, I dare you.
Protip: If your MP3 player has USB flash memory, you don't have to bring floppy disks to the labs to save your work anymore; that's one less thing to lose. Don't forget the USB cord, though. That would suck.
A comfortable sweatshirt: Key for surviving crazy Indiana weather and an easy way to show pride in whatever you support, whether it be Purdue Engineering or
City Name Sports Team. Last year I didn't even bother with a winter coat. Did I mention that Indiana weather is crazy? Sneak an umbrella into your backpack too, because you're gonna need it.
Protip: Please don't buy a Purdue sweatshirt in those silly neon colors. AND ESPECIALLY NOT A RED PURDUE SWEATSHIRT, THAT IS A HUGE FAUX PAS. INFORMED.
A date book/personal digital assistant: Another essential item in your educational arsenal, date books come in handy because trying to keep track of all your assignment due dates in your head is pure folly.
Mortar Boards, a campus tradition with gobs of Purdue information packed into its pages, are available in two delicious sizes for you dead-tree fans. The list of
PDA options is endless. I won't even try to recommend one.
Protip: There are 230948203498092384 web sites that have calendaring/organization capabilities if you don't want to lay out cash to buy a PDA. Some of them will even text message your phone to remind you to go to class, like
Backpackit. I heard the kids enjoy text messaging.
A Facebook profile: Boiler Gold Rush is legendary for its networking opportunities, but Facebook runs a close second, especially for finding people in your classes.
Setting up a profile is easy as pie. Put as little or as much information about yourself online as you want; privacy options can be jacked up in order to keep things on the down low. Also, finding and joining Facebook groups is one of the greatest study procrastination methods of the 21st century.
Protip: Do you really want a future employer knowing you joined the "I Drink, I Party, And Damnit, I'm Awesome!!" group? Remember to set your profile to be viewed only by your friends before you start tossing resumes around. The
Center for Career Opportunities has a seminar on Facebook and how it could affect your job search that you should check out if it’s offered again in the fall. Another good rule of thumb: don’t post anything on your profile you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of
The Exponent.
A cellular phone: You have to call your parents for money somehow, so why not call them while you're standing in the middle of the Memorial Mall? Camera phones are good, but a plan with free night & weekend minutes plus unlimited text messaging/Internet data is more gooder. Skip the whole “wearing a watch” thing by checking what time it is on your phone instead.
Asking which cellular provider in the Lafayette-West Lafayette area is best can jump-start any conversation because everyone has an opinion on this topic, even people who don't have cell phones at all. For more complicated questions like "Does the Sidekick 3 have MMS capabilities?" or "Where are Cingular's towers located near campus?" go talk to the hardcore cell phone nerds at
Howard Forums. [Hi Doug!]
Protip: Spare everyone the embarrassment of your
"Promiscuous" ring tone by turning your phone off before class starts.
A source of cash flow: Get a job or get a credit card or get your parents to put you on their credit card or take out a student loan or win a scholarship. It goes without saying you'll need money for important things like buying textbooks at
University Bookstore or Beach Clubs at
Jimmy John's. In related news, watching student job listings on
The Purdue Channel is hypnotic. Who knows? You might even find a job you like.
Truly resourceful party people TiVo that
sexy bitch Jim Cramer throwing chairs on
"Mad Money" on CNBC and trade stocks during class breaks to raise funds. To those people I give this message: There are free copies of the
Wall Street Journal in
Krannert & Rawls if you know where to look.
Also, please start a Purdue Mad Money Club so we can compete with IU in yet another area. Booyah, skeedaddy!
Protip: Learn how to budget your cash. You'll thank yourself later.
Did I forget something? Leave a comment with your suggestions.
