Skip to main content
DEAL WATCH: Keurig K-Express | 22% off $69.99

Keurig has changed the face of coffee, and snagging one of these for less than $70 is a solid deal. Read Review

BUY NOW
Home & Garden

10 popular college YouTubers on the best 'back-to-school' purchase they ever made

Your faves' faves.

Credit:

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

If months were days of the week, August would definitely be Sunday. It's still summer (AKA the year's weekend), but it's also coming to a close. Colder weather is upon us. Summer Fridays are ending. The kids are going back to school. Yes, you read that right: back to school. It's that time of year once again.

When it comes to back-to-school shopping for college students, you've got tons of resources out there. In fact, we have a giant list of the best products that you should buy for your dorm, tested and approved by our editors. But what about recommendations from real live college students who are actually out there right now doing the whole dorm thing? We have those, too.

We talked to ten popular YouTubers who go to college about the best thing they ever bought for school. Here's what they said.


1. Amanda Castillo: Long Phone Charger

Credit: Amanda Castillo, Amazon

Name: Amanda Castillo College: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo '19 YouTube Channel: ItsMandarin

"My all-time favorite item I've purchased for going back to college is a super long phone charger! This is SO convenient if your bed or desk is far from your nearest outlet. Definitely recommend!"

Buy now: AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable - 10 Feet, $11.99, Amazon


2. Tara Efobi: Bluetooth Speaker

Credit: Tara Efobi, Jawbone

Name: Tara Efobi College: Iowa State University '18 YouTube Channel: Tara E.

"I’m currently entering my senior year of college, and upon looking back at things I purchased for my freshman dorm, I’d have to say my favorite item is still my Jawbone Mini Jambox. It’s nice having a bluetooth speaker for a lot of reasons - sharing some cool tunes when you have visitors, connecting it to your laptop to give movies better sound, or to listen to a podcast while you’re cleaning your room. Really any bluetooth speaker would work, but this one has definitely stood the test of time for me."

Buy now: Jawbone Mini Jambox Wireless Bluetooth Speaker, $38.83, Amazon


3. Kevin Droniak: Whiteboard

Whiteboard
Credit: Amazon

Name: Kevin Droniak College: Western Connecticut State University '19 YouTube Channel: Kevin and Lill

"My whiteboard was the best thing I brought to college because it helped me stay organized. It made seeing which classes I had on the given day of the week so easy. I don't know what I would've done without it."

Buy now: U Brands Magnetic Dry Erase/Cork Weekly Calendar Board, $9.99, Amazon


4. Kenzie Elizabeth: Keurig

Credit: Kenzie Elizabeth

Name: Kenzie Elizabeth College: Santa Monica College '18 YouTube Channel: Kenzie Elizabeth

"My Keurig was by far my best college purchase. I use it at least 2 times a day whether it's for coffee, tea, or hot lemon water. It's saved my life too many times to count."

Buy now: Keurig K55 Single Serve Programmable K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker, $71.99, Amazon


5. Orly Alexandra: String Lights

Credit: Orly Alexandra

Name: Orly Alexandra College: Chapman University '18 YouTube Channel: Orly Alexandra

"I love the twinkle lights I put up in my dorm room. They add so much warmth to the room and gave the space such a homey and whimsical feel. It's super important to make your dorm room your own, so any way I could add personalized touches I did!"

Buy now: Fairy String Light, $5.99, Target


6. Tarek Ali: Colored Pens

Credit: Tarek Ali, Amazon

Name: Tarek Ali College: Georgia State University '20 YouTube Channel: Tarek Ali

"Other than my Macbook, my favorite back to school purchase has definitely been my assorted colored ballpoint pens. As a pre-med student, you take so many science classes with so much information. These pens help me organize my notes so that my brain can focus and knows to differentiate sentences. For example, in biology the name of the protein may be in blue, its function in pink, its location in green, and any questions I have in purple. Being consistent with these colors and their purpose will help you zoom through your notes when studying instead of re-reading sentences you may not need to."

Buy now: Paper Mate Profile Retractable Ballpoint Pens, $7.44, Amazon


7. Brooke Miccio: Long Phone Charger

Credit: Lexi Pappas (@photobylexi), Amazon

Name: Brooke Miccio College: University of Georgia '19 YouTube Channel: Brooke Miccio

"In college dorm room environments, outlets aren’t typically located in the most convenient locations. I love having a super long phone charging cable that can reach from outlets on the floor all the way up to my lofted bed!"

Buy now: AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable - 6 Feet, $7.99, Amazon


8. Catherine Goetze: Ottoman

Credit: Catherine Goetze

Name: Catherine Goetze College: Stanford '18 YouTube Channel: Cath in College

"An ottoman! Having a couch is always high up on people's lists of fun dorm room add-ons, but you never think about how badly you'll want to be able to kick your feet up right after you sit down. Bonus points for ottomans that double as storage space."

Buy now: Seville Classics Foldable Storage Ottoman, $24.66, Amazon


9. Kent Heckel: Storage Cubes

Credit: Kent Heckel

Name: Kent Heckel College: Principia College YouTube Channel: Kent Heckel Instagram: @kentresting

"Storage cubes. They are the perfect size for stacking up in any configuration you need, and they help you stay organized. I use them to hang up outfits and accessories, see all my clothing at once, and store random dorm room items. I used some baskets on the inside of the cube for socks and underwear then hung all my neck ties and bow ties on the side. Then the bottom tier was holding my shoes in one and board games in the other. Being in a small space, you don't have lots of room to express yourself, but when you can store your things and express your personal style at the same time it's perfect!"

Buy now: Whitmor Storage Cubes, $35.44, Amazon


10. Brittany Lewis: Scooter

Credit: Brittany Lewis

Name: Brittany Lewis College: University of Florida '20 YouTube Channel: Brittany Lewis

"My favorite thing I brought to college is my scooter. I love cruising around campus with the wind in my hair. Scooters are really popular at the University of Florida and help students survive the limited and difficult parking that surrounds my campus, which really needs improvement. They're also really good on gas!"

Buy now: Buddy 50 Scooter, $1,999, Multiple locations

Up next