Tablet. I love my iPad but if you only have money for one device, get a surface pro.
On that line of thinking, a note taking app subscription. I tried both and personally liked Goodnotes better. For $9.99/yr, can't really beat it. You can also buy it outright, but you'll be SOL when they come out with the next version. The other popular one is notability.
Littman stethoscope. Just a classic will do you fine in school, though I'll probably gift myself a cardiology III or IV for white coat/clinicals. I've heard people rave about Welch Allyn as well, but I'm a Littman girly.
Business casual clothes. We don't have a dress code but we do have quite a few events where you want to look a bit more put together. If you're someone who wears women's clothes, can't recommend these enough. Sweatpants material, comfy, flowy, but look work appropriate:
Offline by Aerie ChillUp Trouser.
I'm a jewelry person, but I don't switch my stuff out a ton. I have some sterling silver huggie hoops from
Mejuri that I wear 24/7. They're snug to my ear so I'm not worried about anything getting caught in them, and I can wear them to bed/in the shower/working out and they haven't tarnished. My other piercings are either Anatometal, Neometal, or off Etsy.
I always recommend a physical planner to keep track of classes, exams, ECs, deadlines (but maybe I’m old fashioned).
I'm the same way. If I haven't physically written it on paper I won't do it. I have a dot grid blank notebook that I make my schedule in each week. Some people prefer to have a digital planner on their tablet or a premade layout. Find what works best for your brain and do that. You will live and die by that book, I promise.
A local library card. I'm dead serious. Between the apps Libby and Hoopla, you have books and streaming at your fingertips all for free. I've read more this year than I have since high school thanks to my library card. You often will be able to check out passes to local attractions either for free or at a discounted rate as well.
Kitchen gadgets. Whatever is going to make your life easier when it comes to feeding yourself balanced food. I have a
Ninja air fryer and a
Zojirushi rice cooker (this was gifted to us and is especially fancy, do not spend this much money, get one of their simple ones with fewer settings). We're saving up for an espresso machine but we're getting by with our Mr. Coffee no problem.
Take advantage of student discounts. I get HBO Max for $5.49/mo post tax. It has ads, but they're not very intrusive. Spotify is dumb cheap, as is Hulu w/ ads. Check websites too of the places you shop regularly. Madewell offers student and healthcare worker discounts, which in my experience has included veterinary workers. Check out Unidays and Student Beans.
If you're a quizlet person, spring for the quizlet plus. I'm bitter they monetized it so I don't use it as much any more, but it is worth it. Another free alternative is Anki but I have yet to figure out how to effectively use it.
Good bluetooth headphones. I have 8 year old beats (heugh I'm getting old) and 3 year old AirPods and like them both. Sony would be just fine too. I have a lot of pre-recorded stuff or zoom only classes, and I'm a musician so I'm weird about my sound quality lol, and find that having something with an amount of noise cancellation helps me focus.
A good water bottle/coffee cup. I have an Owala and begrudgingly love it. Easy to clean, covered straw. My go to before that was a knock of hydroflask that was $13 from TJ Maxx. I also have a 20 oz yeti tumbler. Again, doesn't have to be name brand, just stuff that keeps the hot things hot and the cold things cold.
Compression socks. Our anatomy lab is 3-5 hours long depending and we're standing for most of it. The only ones I've ever had have been Cherokee and Nursemates, but I don't care how goofy I look, they really do work.
Creature comforts. Are you into crafting? Video games? Legos? Like having luxury bath items or nicer than average cheese? Let yourself, within reason, have those things. I really wanted some slightly nicer bedding so we sprung for duvet with a linen cover. Do I need it? Absolutely not. Is my bed super cozy and one of my happy places? You bet. Invest in yourself as much as your gear.
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