The hard part is already over. Acceptance letters in hand, your soon-to-be high school graduates are starting to prepare for the big move. Naturally, you want them to have everything they need to succeed. But what is that exactly? There are so many products on the market now that claim to make life a little bit easier; unless you’re a techie you might feel a little overwhelmed.
Ultrabook
Laptops are an obvious go-to when looking for a practical graduation gift. It’s easy to pack up your work to bring to the library or to go home for the weekend. But have you seen Ultrabooks? This is a new spin on popular technology. Armed with the newest generation of Intel processors, these laptops are able to keep up with the challenges a multi-tasking college student will throw their way. Not to mention they have a stronger battery life than most laptops can even dream of. Eight hours or more of continuous use without needing a charge comes in pretty handy when there are limited outlets in the campus library. Oh and did I mention this is all packed into a body that is under an inch thick and weighs less than 3 lbs? It couldn’t be easier for your student to fit this into their bag and head off to the library.
E-Reader
Remember back in college, having to lug a bag all over campus just to bring your 20-lb. microeconomics books to class? Imagine condensing all of those books into one single device that weighs just a few ounces and slips into just about any purse or bag. E-Readers allow you to purchase books at a fraction of the cost of any paper book, and highlight or annotate the text as you go. Not to mention, trees everywhere will be thanking you for saving on the paper.
Digital camera
Camera technology is always advancing, and the hardware is seemingly more portable by the day. College is going to be a life-changing experience for your grad, and you’ll want them to be able to capture every memory. A point-and-shoot digital camera will help them make their new experiences into memories that they can keep forever. Not to mention, a digital camera can always come in handy if your grad needs to make a PowerPoint presentation for class at the last minute!
Smartphone
Nervous that your new college student won’t call home very often? Putting a smartphone in their hand may help. Smartphones don’t just call and text. They make it easy to access social networking sites like Facebook in seconds. Students can access their email on the go to get in touch with professors, manage their bank account, read the newspaper, or even start a messaging pod with classmates to coordinate group work. You’ll always be able to get in touch with them, because they’ll never want to put it down!
Wireless printer
This is probably the most over-looked accessory for a college student. Speaking from my own last-minute college writing experiences, nothing is more of a time-waster than having to run to the library in the middle of the night to print your paper that’s due in a few hours. A wireless printer can easy be placed wherever it’s convenient, not necessarily needing to be next to your student’s workstation.