17 College Hacks You Need For School Now
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This post is all about the best college hacks. Utilizing these hacks in school can save you time, money, stress, and overall will make you much more successful.
These college hacks will help you to find cheap or free opportunities for college students, it can help you be more efficient with your time and learning, and it can help you stay more focused and organized to be more productive throughout the day.
College Hack #1 — You Can Get Tons Of Stuff For Cheap — Or Free! (If You Know Where To Look!)
Here’s a list of __ things you can get as a student that is discounted or free!
Shopping
Apple Education Pricing - you can save a ton on Apple electronics
Music
Spotify Student Premium — get it for 50% of the normal price.
Amazon Music Unlimited — get it for 60% of the normal price for 4 years.
Pandora — get it for 50% of the normal price for 4 years.
TV
Hulu Student Deal ****— get it for 75% of the normal price
Peacock Student Discount — $1.99 for 12 months
Apple TV - discounted for 48 months
Paramount Plus - 25% off the normal price
Food
** Many of these chains offer student discounts at participating locations!
McDonald's
Burger King
Chick Fil A
Dunkin Donuts
Subway
Taco Bell
Dominos
Chipotle
Other
Microsoft Student Discount - get 50% off Microsoft 365 Personal
Adobe Creative Cloud - massive discounts for college students
AMC Theatres - student discounts with ID at participating locations
Amtrak - students save 15%
Verizon - Internet and phone discounts
College Hack #2 - Use Your Meal Credits For Cheap Gifts (I Used My Starbucks Credits For Birthday Gifts!)
When I was in school my university forced me to pay for a meal plan my freshman and sophomore year of college — and their food was … not great.
So by year 2, I decided to pay for groceries and transfer the money from the on-campus dining hall to the other food providers on campus — in this case, Starbucks and Subway.
When birthdays or holidays came around I would use that money to buy gifts for friends and family!
Things like:
Mugs
Thermoses
Bags of coffee
Seasonal Items - such as ornaments
Trust me, if you have options like this on campus and you’re broke like I was … I highly recommend doing this!
College Hack #3 - Buy And Bring Tupperware (Events Often Have Free Food!)
This is a HUGE one I wish more people talked about.
Every weekend my boyfriend would come up to spend the weekend with me and I would head to the dining hall — stack up food a mile high on plates and we would dine on it in my dorm room. He bought me a bunch of nice Tupperware after a bit and it was a game-changer!
What can I say — I was broke as a joke lol.
I made it my mission to go to EVERY EVENT — because they were often catered or had freebies and snacks — and filled up my Tupperware.
I literally carried it around in my backpack all the time lol — it beats a napkin or paper plate any day!
College Hack #4 - Buy Waterbottles And Find Places To Refill Them
Okay, so my dorm freshman year was — not the nicest. I had a Brita at one point, but walking down the hall to the shared bathroom to fill it was not enjoyable.
The dean of my business school actually allowed us to use the teacher’s lounge which had a nice water cooler if we needed it.
I figured out that if I bought a 12-pack of plastic bottles and recycled them when they were empty, and grabbed my random reusable ones I could just fill them up at the business school!
I swear to god I did this haha.
College Hack #5 - You Can Get College Textbooks For Way Cheaper
Look babe, there is a solid chance you won’t need to buy the textbook …
Sometimes professors put the textbook on the syllabus as a reference or to check a box.
And sometimes you only need one for a few things — in which case you can share with another student.
If you do need the book try to get it from somewhere cheaper — get it used, borrow it, rent it, etc.
Here are a few places that offer cheaper textbooks:
College Hack #6 - Buy Extra Chargers For All Your Electronics (The Last Thing You Need Is To Wait For That Amazon Charger To Come)
Look I get it — chargers can be expensive — especially for a laptop for example.
But you genuinely should try to order duplicates of chargers. Trust me, the last thing you want is a broken charger and a late assignment.
College Hack #7 - Buy Cheap Ingredients In Bulk — For Endless Meals
Food is EXPENSIVE… so buying in BULK for your favorite staples is super important!
We’re talking:
Rice
Chicken
Eggs
Tofu
Oats
PB & J
Mac-and-Cheese
Pasta
Cereal
Instant Noodles
… or whatever else you can eat consistently.
… Look, I get it — eating the same meals over and over can give me the ick … so don’t think you have to eat them over and over.
You need to get creative — and mix it up!
Make fun sauces — or dupes for your favorites (I love a DIY Chick-fil-A sauce)
Experiment with new ingredients
Play with spice
Make healthier swaps
Add things you love (I’ll eat anything with cheese)
College Hack #8 - Lay Out EVERYTHING The Night Before (Clothes, Packed Bag, Skin Care, Etc.)
This one is such a good one. Laying out your stuff the night before is just — chef’s kiss.
I can’t tell you how many times I …
Woke up late and had like 5 minutes to get out the door
Forgot something because I left it in my dorm/apartment
Lost something because I left it in the wrong bag
Realized when it was too late my outfit was ruined because there was a stain
Made a mess because I was rushing
When you prepare you save yourself so much time, energy, and stress.
Plan as much as you can to make the next day easier…. here are some ideas:
Lay out your OUTFIT — not just one piece like a shirt (you might realize the rest are dirty)
Check for your necessities: ID, wallet, keys, etc.
Pack your bag — backpack, purse, etc.
Fill up your waterbottle
Grab an extra layer
Lay out weather gear — such as rain boots, your umbrella, mittens, etc.
Meal prep/pack your meals
Lay out your breakfast ingredients
Set up your coffee or drink of choice’s ingredients (don’t forget a thermos)
Organize your products — Have all your hygiene products/skincare products all together in one place
Lay out your shoes — make sure they aren’t dirty
The more you prepare the less you have to worry about!
College Hack #9 - LEARN HOW TO TAKE NOTES (Don’t Reinvent The Wheel!)
This one is one of my personal favorites and I harp on this all the time.
Why? Because I used to take random, unhelpful notes that were essentially just copied word-for-word from the textbook, PowerPoint, etc.
Don’t be like me.
Learn how to take useful, organized, neat notes that HELP you study and learn better.
I actually have a blog post — well actually several, all about this…
Check ‘em out!
College Hack #10 - Go To As Much Stuff As Possible! (You Never Know Who You Will Meet, What You Will Gain, Etc.)
I know that college is already super exhausting — but trust me, you need to go to as much stuff as possible.
We’re talking: Job Fairs, Networking Opportunities, Speaking Events, Volunteer Events, Competitions, Workshops, etc.
Why?? Because:
You never know who you will meet there
You never know what you might learn
You never know what might spark inspiration
You never know what opportunities you can get from attending
College Hack #11 - Make Your Own Coffee (I Know This One Hurts — But It Doesn’t Have To!)
Okay, so unless you are already paying for coffee — from a dining hall or meal swipe program — as tempting as it is … try to make your own coffee.
I don’t say this because I’m one of those podcast bros who thinks that if you save that money you’re going to become a millionaire. That’s just ✨ highly inaccurate ✨.
I say it because most college kids are broke — and even small amounts of money goes a long way … and while it’s fun to have a treat every once in a while — or even limiting it just a bit — really helps.
Making your own drink doesn’t have to be bland either. If you invest some time into:
Learning how to prepare it properly
Sourcing affordable but delicious ingredients
Teaching yourself how to make it look nice
… all of those things can make it much healthier and more cost-effective!
College Hack #12 - If You’re In A Rut Make One Change (Take Something Off Your Plate, Do Something New, Etc.)
In college — I think I got myself into a rut at least once a semester — maybe even more.
I would stop taking care of myself, I would get into a bad mental place, I wouldn’t care as much about my grades, I would isolate myself, etc.
I had a ton on my plate (self-inflicted lol) and I have always just been a ball of stress. I have high standards for myself so I would often just force myself to burn out.
After many a bad time here’s my advice.
When you get into a rut — change one thing. It doesn’t have to be a big thing.
Here are some ideas:
Go for a walk/run (or some form of exercise)
Take a shower — you’d be surprised how much this can help your mood
Do a self-care routine
Write one page of something — a journal, a poem, a short story
Clean up something — it can be as big as cleaning your whole apartment or just cleaning up your desk.
College Hack #13 - YouTube Is Your Best Friend (If You Didn’t Understand It In Class — Watch A Video)
Dude, one of the best things I did for myself in my advanced classes — finance, analytics, accounting, economics — trust me… sometimes it helps to have another reference.
Here are some of the best educational YouTube channels:
College Hack #14 - Set Reminders For Everything (LIVE In Your Phone’s Digital Calendar!)
This one should be a habit you start to institute into everyday life — so no better time to start than during a crazy, hectic, ever-changing, whirlwind: college.
It doesn't matter how much you record — as long as it’s important and/or valuable to you.
If you just need important events on the calendar — do that. If you need a detailed class schedule on your phone every day — do that.
Make sure you consistently fill it in — that’s the important part.
Set reminders, timers, alerts, etc.
Classes change every semester. Schedules change every semester. Responsibilities change every semester. You will get confused … so just put it in there and thank yourself later.
College Hack #15 - Quiz Yourself On The Go — Quizlet Is A Life Saver (Digital Notecards For The Win)
Quizzing yourself consistently — a.k.a. testing yourself … well that’s essentially what college is. You’re in-taking information and determining how well you can recall it. Therefore, to prevent getting caught by surprise — testing yourself consistently is super vital.
My personal favorite tool in college for making notecards was hands-down Quizlet.
Quizlet is a fantastic tool for making digital flashcards.
You can use it on-the-go
You can reference it later
You won’t lose them
You can reference it later
You can share it
It’s more organized/cleaner
Here are some great flashcard tools to try!
College Hack #16 - Make A Least One Buddy For Every Class (It’s Important To Have Someone Looking Out For You!)
It can be tempting to isolate yourself — especially if you’re new to the school, shy, introverted, or you just don’t know anyone.
However, I think it’s important to try to make one connection (at least!) for every class — whether that be a friend, acquaintance or just someone sitting near you.
Why?
Having someone in class you can rely on is important because …
They can provide you with what you missed if you miss a class
They might catch something you did
You can study together
You can bounce ideas off each other
You can ask them questions
They can remind you of things you forgot
You can quiz each other
You can compare notes, materials or findings
College Hack #17 - Time Blocking & Batching Will Save You So Much Time & Energy (Trust Me)
Last but definitely not least — time blocking and batching.
Time Blocking — sectioning off periods of time
Think of it this way… you wouldn’t leave work to come home and tackle cleaning your house. You would complete your work at your job and then come home and tackle house-hold chores.
Time Blocking is critical for staying focused throughout the day on certain tasks and can be helpful for budgeting your time responsibly.
Batching — is when you tackle similar tasks in the same period to be more efficient.
Think of batching like cleaning. It wouldn’t make sense to jump from room to room when cleaning or task to unfinished task. You would want to stick to similar tasks to work on in the same period. So if you were to move from room to room, maybe you would only work on picking up certain items or cleaning one type of item like surfaces or floors.
Batching is super helpful because it can help you stay on-task, focused, and more organized.
Utilizing these time/productivity methods will save you so much time and energy in the long run and is absolutely critical in college.
Grade & Credit Tracking Template
I always try to create a helpful takeaway for my readers — something they can take to use and apply in their own lives…
So here you go! I created a grade and credit tracking template for you! I offer my products and templates for very low cost or free in order to make sure people can afford them if they would like them!
I really hope it’s helpful to you! :)
This post was all about the best college hacks you need now!
