I can’t believe that it’s been over five years since I graduated from university. Sure, we’ve had a whole pandemic in between, but the time has flown by.
Even so, I can still vividly remember my undergraduate experience, including all the tech that I relied on. A 2014 MacBook Pro was invaluable for getting work done, while upgrading my budget Moto G 2015 for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 a year in made a big difference.
It should come as no surprise that a reliable phone and laptop are necessities for most people at university. If you haven’t got those yet, they should be your top tech priorities.
However, since becoming a tech journalist, I’ve been lucky enough to test out loads of different technology. And during that time, it’s made me realise that a few other products would have made my uni experience even better.
If you have the budget to do so, I’d recommend considering the following eight items that you might not have thought about.
1. Noise-cancelling headphones
This is one you might already have on your list. Looking back, I don’t know how I got through a full three years of university without a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.
Its benefits are obvious: listen to audio from your phone, laptop or other gadgets without disturbing people around, and crucially, blocking out a lot of that distracting noise.
If you’re trying to work from anywhere except your bedroom or the library (both of which can still be noisy), you’ll understand the specific appeal of the noise-cancelling feature.
The noise cancelling headphones I’ve used the most since uni are the PuroPro headphones, which combine decent sound quality with solid noise cancellation, superb comfort and decent battery life. They’re also relatively affordable.
But if you want the absolute best of the best when it comes to noise cancelling, get the Sony WH-1000XM5 (shown below) instead.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
2. A watch (smart or basic)
Throughout my time at university, I was often worried about running late. Whether it was an important lecture or worse, an exam, I was constantly waking my phone just to see what time it was.
You probably know the obvious solution for this: get a watch. For me, having the time on my wrist would’ve saved a lot of time and stress at uni.
As this is a tech site, you’d probably expect me to recommend a smartwatch here. And they can be very valuable as a student, especially if you want to track your workouts, monitor sleep or never miss a call or notification.
But for me, I think a regular, basic watch would’ve done just fine. The cheap Casio model I have now costs just £9.99, but it does the job for me. While that specific one isn’t available in the US, a similar model is just over $20 at full price.
3. A portable charger for my laptop
I had a portable charger when I was at uni, and it was great. Anytime my phone battery was getting low, I’d plug it in and not have to worry about finding a power source.
However, it simply didn’t work on my laptop, which had higher power demands. On more than one occasion, I was worried about my laptop giving up mid-lecture.
If only I’d known that there were portable chargers powerful enough to charge my laptop at the time! Since getting one in 2023, I’ve used it almost every time I’ve travelled to a work event.
My model of choice is the Anker 737 PowerCore 24K, which usually costs £139.99/$149.99 but is often discounted, but there are plenty of alternatives.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
As you might expect, a laptop portable charger is also powerful enough to charge your phone, tablet or almost any other gadgets you might have.
4. A portable fan
As soon as I moved into my halls at uni, my dad bought me a big tower fan for my bedroom. It was invaluable, helping make the room much more comfortable to live in.
Even if your room ends up being much cooler, I’d still highly recommend getting at least one fan – see our round-up for the best fans you can buy.
However, I’d underestimated just how hot other university buildings could be, especially in the summer and with no air conditioning in some places.
Therefore, a personal fan that you can take anywhere with you would’ve been very useful. The John Lewis Anyday hand fan costs only £12 in the UK, yet offers excellent power and battery life.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
While not available in the US, there are lots of similar hand fans on Amazon.
5. Trackers for my wallet and keys
It wasn’t until I lost my wallet (and was miraculously reunited with it) in 2022 that I realised the need to keep tabs on their location. If that’d have happened while I was at uni, I might not have been so lucky.
Almost immediately, I bought a Tile Slim to sit in my wallet and Tile Pro for my keys. I’ve been extra careful not to misplace either since, but it’s been invaluable on a couple of occasions.
Alternatives from the likes of Chipolo and Pebblebee can use Google’s Find My Device network instead. The huge network of Android phones means this should work better in most locations in the long term, but the service is yet to fully establish itself at the time of writing, so Tile is a safer bet.
6. An electric shaver
As a 18-year-old man without a beard, you might wonder how I managed without an electric shaver or regular razors at uni. The answer? Not well.
For some reason, I persisted with the trimmer attachment of my hair clipping set, which delivered a rough and inconsistent shave.
If only I’d have found the Philips OneBlade sooner. Since getting it a few months after graduating, I’ve used it several times every single week.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
Dominic Preston / Foundry
Dominic Preston / Foundry
The affordability of OneBlade makes it easy to recommend to anyone, with a Face & Body kit allowing you to safely remove any unwanted body hair. Most people don’t need the more expensive 360 or Pro versions.
However, if you’re not sure about the Philips OneBlade, a range of alternatives can be found in our best electric shavers guide.
7. An e-reader
When I was at uni, reading for pleasure wasn’t really on the agenda. Aside from compulsory textbooks for my course, the only reading I was doing was news articles and social media posts.
However, I don’t recommend you do the same. Since rediscovering reading in recent years, I’ve appreciated just how valuable it can be, especially when you get moments of downtime in between your busy student life.
Rather than carry loads of books around with you, an e-reader is a great alternative. Within a device the size of a small tablet, you can hold thousands of books and much more besides, without straining your eyes to look at a colour screen.
There are two main brands to choose between. Amazon’s Kindles are generally easier to use, with some models supporting audiobooks from Audible. Meanwhile, Kobo devices let you read books from anywhere (not just the official store) or borrow direct from your local library.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
None of these products are absolute necessities if you’re heading to university, but they would’ve made my life better there, so they might just do the same for you or the young person in your life.
