OYMS 2021 School Supply List
Last minute shopping for school got you in a panic? Fear not! This week’s blog features a list of valuable back-to-school items you may have forgotten in your hurry.
The team at OYMS wants you to be prepared for the upcoming semester so much that we’ve decided to put our current series on hold. Instead, we’ll be releasing a series of blogs focusing on getting ready for the 2021 school year.
Supplies, mental health, tech applications… everything to help you start classes off on the right foot. No need to worry, we will continue to explore more pre-med undergraduate programs in October!
Some of our readers may be returning to in-person classes, while others are completing online courses or a combination of both. This being the case, you may find some of these items more useful than others in a high school or post-secondary environment.
We hope that you find something worth adding to your arsenal in our team’s selection below. Without further ado, here is our OYMS School Supply list for 2021–2022:
Good Things Come in Small Packages
USB Flash Drive / External Storage
Even if you don’t own a laptop a USB is a powerful tool to have in hand. In elementary school, you may have gotten accustomed to using it for uploading your powerpoint to the teacher’s computer on presentation day, or stowing away music that couldn’t fit on an MP3. Today, the uses may be more varied, but they may still include file sharing to the library computer or storing old family photos.
Though the rise in cloud technology has made file storage reliably easy, many still prefer to have a hard copy of their information. A flash drive can prove a secure and accessible place to back up your files for safe-keeping and emergencies. Whether it’s study notes, academic material, past assignments, etc., you’ll have a way of storing important files you may need later on or simply things you don’t have space for on your computer.
Plus, you get another level of insurance should your electronic device crash (say, the week of exams) since you will have a handy copy of your essential files that you can view on another device.
Cost
Now onto the various types of external storage and how much 💸 they cost.
General school purposes → 4–8 GB: $3-$10
Larger file storage → 16–64 GB: $3-$10
For a lot of storage → 128–512 GB USB or even a 1 TB external hard drive: $10+ depending on brand and storage capacity
Keep in mind that USBs are relatively small and easy to carry in a pencil case or bag, and select designs come fitted as a keychain, while external hard drives are larger in size and can even have a passcode required for access if you’re storing sensitive information.
Day Planner / Agenda
We remember having them as grade-schoolers and we see TV show personal assistants carry them but… are agendas really still in use?
What this item really implies is an accessible note-taking tool that allows you to record tasks, reminders and information involved in your daily bustle. And this may not be exclusive to academic assignments and homework. Adding to a shopping list while between classes, a note to self to watch that new crime show, it can be the ideal place to keep any thoughts that your brain might let slip.
As such, a traditional day planner organized into pages for each week may not suit your taste if you won’t be using it to schedule in detail. Many prefer to use a calendar program for that. A small, sturdy notebook would suffice, providing blank pages where you can easily jot down what you need to remember.
In fact, an agenda doesn’t have to be on paper at all. Note and scheduling applications on your phone or portable device can fulfill the same purpose.
Cost
Getting down to the cost again here, you can easily get a small notebook with any cover your heart desires from Walmart for $2-$4.
Expect the Unexpected
These are our selections for those who haven’t heard of Murphy’s law, and the over-prepared. Here are a few items that can come in handy when the unprecedented comes your way.
Charger Pack
Dedicated phone users will love this one, especially if you’re the type who constantly forgets to charge their phone the night before (you know who you are). A charger pack or power bank is there to boost your juice should you leave the house that morning at 7% or over-exert your phone while on the go.
For regular usage, a 5,000 mAh or 10,000 mAh pack might be your choice. Also available are 20,000 mAh packs.
Cost
Charger packs will typically come priced at $20–100 CAD depending on brand, design, and charging speed. Most are around the size of a pencil case and weigh 5- 9 ounces, though slimmer models are also sold. Alas, power comes at a cost.
Umbrella
This one goes without explanation, you can save it for a rainy day. You may be surprised at how convenient it feels having an umbrella on you when you forgot to check the weather that day. Whether it’s waiting for the bus or a long trek across campus, you’ll be thanking your good thinking or good luck for having one in your locker when a storm hits. Just don’t open it indoors.
Cost
You can get a nice, small umbrella for about $10 and save yourself from tens of millions of days of rain (okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but you get the point.)
Nice To Have
These are some bonus items we wanted to add that might make anyone’s day at school smoother.
Chewing Gum / Breath Mints
This one’s just pleasant to keep so that you don’t need to bother that one friend who’s always got gum. Unless you are that friend, in which case, thank you for your service to society. Especially for those returning to in-person classes, something to keep your breath fresh while spending your day in a mask can make things that much better.
Cost
Though we trust that you probably know how much gum costs (in case you don’t: it’s $1-$4 depending on how fancy your taste buds are), we’re here to tell you that you should buy two packs at a time because some stores have offers that make this cheaper ;)
Whiteout
“Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts.”
Nikki Giovanni may not have expected how many of those mistakes were to be made in pen, but one can be prepared to respond with whiteout at hand.
Cost
Liquid whiteout is usually a bit cheaper at $1-$2 but if you want no drying time, the tape version is a bit more expensive at $4+.
We hope you found this helpful! But now it’s your turn. Let us know your thoughts on back-to-school essentials, which of these you’re thinking of purchasing, and anything we missed by leaving a response below.
About the author: April Sui is a second-year student in Medical Sciences at Western University in London, Ontario. She’s currently working with Hashtag Health Podcast (based at UWO) and the International Predental Student Alliance. Bookworm, origami fanatic and French tutor, you can find her on LinkedIn or Facebook.
