School Supplies!!!

[PinkSoil]

Yesterday I bought a backpack for holding a laptop and books and about 20349832 other things... for $99. Then I went home and looked on the Internet and found a comparable (hot pink!) backpack on Ebay for $25 + shipping/handling. Needless to say I returned the (expensive and boring) black bag and purchased the (reasonable and much more "me") pink bag.

I figured this would be the best way to go because I have had laptop bags in the past that you wear on your shoulder and those KILLED my back-- having all that weight on one side.

So far I bought all my books and I have been doing the reading. There are two more books to get, but I won't know what those are until the first day.

I bought highlighters, lol. I don't know what else to get. Does everyone else go with the backpack method to carry around all that stuff? When does everyone start classes? I start on Tuesday, August 26th.

Should I buy 274 glue sticks? I get very neurotic when it comes time to prepare for things like this.

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[RayneeDeigh]

Maybe I'm the world's biggest slacker but I show up with a notepad and pen and call it a day. I do buy a bulk box of highlighters 'cause I go through them faster than anyone I know.

Edit: And I think I start on September 4th, which is good because I'm not done my clerkship until the 22nd. That gives me just enough time to pack up my entire life and move 8 hours away AGAIN. I've moved 4 times in a year, this is getting crazy. lol

 

[JockNerd]

Glitter glue and sparkles?

I bought a notebook for each class, and one for meetings with my adviser. The last one is the only one that had more than 20 pages of writing. Also needed a binder for a class that had slides posted online. Lots of pens. I didn't need anything beyond that.

I carry everything in my backpack. I bring 3 meals with me when I go to school, so most of the room is taken up by that. Just make sure it's well-padded.

I start on the 25th. Guh.

 

[Ollie123]

I barely even use pens and paper. Laptop, and case for it. I only use paper for stats because graphs are a pain to draw on the fly unless you have a tablet.

I personally prefer the messenger bag, but only because I haven't found a backpack that provides as much padding and I'm overly paranoid about damaging my laptop.

 

[edieb]

A lot of students in my program bought hand-held audio cassette recorders for stats. Having tapes of the lectures REALLY helped when studying your notes...

 

[BellaPsyD]

binders. I find most of my profs have powerpoints of their lectures- I then just write on those- oh and an assignment notebook....that's all i use (a pen, pencil, and highlighter as well)

 

[myelin]

Yes, I carry a North Face "Recon" backpack around campus. It's great for school or a day hike on the trail.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I go with leather portfolio bags....I'm currently using one that i found from a local leather maker I stumbled across in the Carolinas. They tend to be nice enough if you have to dress up, but casual enough for everything else. It holds my (albeit small) laptop, a notebook, and usually a book.

 

[psychwanabe]

I also use binders rather than spiral notebooks. I like to keep one 2" binder and have a tab for each class. It tends to get pretty thick by the end of the semester, but it came in handy at least once a week last year that I had all my syllubi and/or notes from all classes with me.

I keep folders of articles (that reached my knees from the floor by the end of my first year) for each class. I started buying highlighters in bulk, too.

I have always preferred a shoulder bag (leather) to a backpack. I was able to find a great one (jazzy lining - just my thing) at a leather outlet store during undergrad that is still holding up beautifully (i think this is year 4 of using it). Conversely, I was going through a backpack every year, so it was also more cost-effective.

I start back on the 26th. My practicum training is currently underway, and after a really relaxing July and August, I can already feel my stress level rising. I think I need therapy.

 

[Lindz]

Ummmm, not to sound mean, but I don't think backpacks should be worn by anyone over the age of 20......they are not very professional.

 

[Psyched77]

Ummmm, not to sound mean, but I don't think backpacks should be worn by anyone over the age of 20......they are not very professional.

Better to look unprofessional than to create long term back problems IMO.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

Yeah I don't really see the problem with backpacks. I mean when you're just going to class does it really matter what you look like? And as far as being with clients, I'm pretty sure they care more about what's IN your backpack than anything else.

 

[Lindz]

Haha, yeah, I know it shouldn't matter how you look, but in reality IT DOES. As adults, we can put ourselves together better (and in a healthy way) if we choose to. Of course I know this isn't a fashion blog, but backpacks are a definite fashion don't for grown-ups.

Many more options- lightweight totes, switching shoulders frequently if you do carry a tote, laptop bags with long straps.....we can do better people!

 

[Psyched77]

Haha, yeah, I know it shouldn't matter how you look, but in reality IT DOES. As adults, we can put ourselves together better (and in a healthy way) if we choose to. Of course I know this isn't a fashion blog, but backpacks are a definite fashion don't for grown-ups.

Many more options- lightweight totes, switching shoulders frequently if you do carry a tote, laptop bags with long straps.....we can do better people!

Yeah...I'm WAY past the point in life where I care about what people think about how I look.

 

[myelin]

Haha, yeah, I know it shouldn't matter how you look, but in reality IT DOES. As adults, we can put ourselves together better (and in a healthy way) if we choose to. Of course I know this isn't a fashion blog, but backpacks are a definite fashion don't for grown-ups.

Many more options- lightweight totes, switching shoulders frequently if you do carry a tote, laptop bags with long straps.....we can do better people!

I was worried there for a minute for my backpack, but then I remembered I'm not a grown-up. Whew.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

If it shouldn't matter how we look then I'm gonna do my part to move society that way.

 

[Ollie123]

I do the messenger bag thing anyways for reasons stated above, but I can honestly say if I came across anyone who cared enough to judge me because of a backpack, I'd just write them off as someone whose opinions aren't worth considering. That pretty much summarizes my views of the entire fashion industry I just cannot understand how anyone can care that much about something so trivial. I dress up most days I'm seeing someone outside the program, but really...bags are for function, not form. Function > Form in my eyes, and if I was uncomfortable dressing up I probably would be less inclined to do so, but it doesn't really bother me. I never much cared what others thought of how I dress. I picked my laptop for processing speed and price not what color it was - I see this as the same thing. And if the person who felt that way was a client, I'm definitely not the right therapist for them, so I'd pass them along to someone more suitable.

I've seen plenty of grey-haired faculty still using backpacks. Whatever gets the job done. The fact that I bathe regularly and don't look like I sleep in a sewer I feel puts me in a relatively good shape for an academic.

 

[Psyched77]

If it shouldn't matter how we look then I'm gonna do my part to move society that way.

I completely get that plenty of people in society care, but I don't. My contributions & potential come from my brain & not my label or fashion sense. (If I was in the fashion industry, it'd be a different story.) Besides, I'm not one to follow social norms JUST because they exist; I only follow them if I interpret them as rational. If I publish a ground-breaking piece on effective treatment methods for ASPD, I'm sure no one will care if I carry a backpack or wear socks with my sandals or white shoes after Labor Day or whatever. I've seen plenty of screwy-looking, wild-haired psychologists...who were absolutely genius.