The Ultimate University Stationery List | 15 Essentials You NEED To Use

This post is giving you the top tier university stationery list of essentials items that you will need to help you succeed, stay organised, and ace your degree!

Now you’re a serious student if you are reading this post. You want to do well, you want to stay super organised and you just want to be that girl, that boy, that student! Using this stationery list for university students you can do just that!

After having completed a full three year degree, I know EXACTLY what university students need!

This post is all about the ultimate university stationery list!

This post is just focusing on stationery, so if you would like a full list of every single thing you need for College/ University click here to check out what to take to university

What Gives Me The Right to Write this Stationery List?

As a seasoned stationery lover and self proclaimed organization junkie, I went to University for three years for a BSc and I went through a lot of stationery. It was bad for my bank balance but fantastic for you because I really found out what stationery was best and what really works; not just for me but for many other people.

Best Stationery for University!

Now before we jump into this post and I let you in on the ultimate university stationery shopping list, I wanted to do a little foreword.

Having all of this stationery does not mean you are going to succeed. AKA do not think just because you have a binder and some highlighters, you are automatically going to get a first! Don’t get me wrong these items will help massively, some may say they’re crucial, for success. However you need to be in the right headspace and UTILISE these items effectively and put the work in. Uni is a place of fun, temptation, and freedom. You will need to work out a balance of work/ play that will work for you. It really is a trial and error process and you will fail at it sometimes (we’ve all been there). Just stay safe, have fun, and please please, get yo work done!

RELATED POSTS: For some uni tips on productivity click here for 13 best productivity tips, and here for some super time blocking tips (that will save your social life!)

University Stationery List UK!

You do NOT need to get absolutely everything on this list; this is a guide on what has worked for me and fellow students in the past and present. You most definitely do not need 3 packs of note-taking pens- the options are just there for you to make an informed decisions of what pens etc. will suit you best!

1. A Planner

First and foremost, you NEED a planner. I cannot stress how much it pays off to be organised whilst getting your degree. If you are not one for bullet journaling (click here to learn how to make one!) then definitely purchase an academic planner. The benefits of a planner is INSANE! It helps you to keep on top of school, your social life, your job, all whilst getting things done.

Ps. if you want to know how to stay super productive at university without risking your social life, click here!

These planners from Busy B are SO good, I used one for the majority of last year before I switched to planning. You can get so many versions and sizes! I included an A5 and A6 one below!

2. These Assorted Notepads

I recommend having different notebooks for different courses, if you are a hand note taker. This helps keep your notes nice, organised, and separated to make it easier for you to study and distinguish between modules. I would personally recommend the bottom set of notebooks more as they are higher value for money and come in a pack of 10 so these will do you for the whole year!

However if you are looking for a higher quality notebook, then these oxford ones are great.

Oo you can also combine the notebook sets and use the school style books for rough notes and questions etc and then the oxford ones for clean notes.

I experimented a lot during uni and found the best way to use notebooks for me was to take rough lecture notes in the binder listed below and then use these notebooks to write up neater notes for separate subject!

3. Binders and Folders

These are brilliant to arrange all of your notes and loose papers in. You will get so many handouts so a binder or a classic folder will be your organisation saviour. I used to take one to lectures with me and had rough paper in the binder and I basically had all of the notes from the past few days in that binder.

For one of my uni years, instead of having separate notebooks for my lectures I had binders for each module and then once I made neat notes and we didn’t have to revisit the lectures again I transferred them from my catch-all binder to their specific binder.

I did really like this method, it was nice using these folders within the binder as I had a place to put all handouts!

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Want some more back to school/ University and College posts? Check these out:

• Everything You Need to Take to Uni in 2022
• How to Organise Your Desk for School 2022
• Top Productivity Tips for Students
• 20+ Ways to Decorate your University Room
• 15 Things all University Students NEED To Know
• 22 Items all First Year Uni Students NEED
• Click here for a FREE 70+ Item Uni Packing Checklist

Click HERE for every student post we have ever posted (Ever!)

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4. A4 Dividers

I always used to get mine from my university shop for about 80p or even the pound shop! These are great for your binders to separate modules, topics, etc.

5. A5 Binders

Some people prefer to write out their notes in A5 form and these binders are perfect to take your notes in. They’re easy to slot into any bag; however just be mindful that most of your lecturers will give you a4 printouts.

6. A5 Binder Fillers

These packs are great! They come with some sticky notes, paper, a folder and some dividers for your current notes. They easily slot into your binder and if you would rather have binders full of notes they are perfect organisation tools.

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7. Flash Cards

For degrees where you need to remember key pieces of information or have short and snappy question and answer questions (like science, history etc), flashcards are a MUST! I used flashcards for my revision (I honestly had about 70 packs of them) and they truly helped me get a first. They are such a great tool to test yourself and study from, as you can repeat as many questions as you like, a really tailor them to yourself and your needs. I used to hole punch them and clip them with these ring bind circles to create little packs.

8. Pencil Pouch and Basic Pencil Sets

These are majorly self explanatory but you will be surprised at how many people forget coming to uni without your basic pencil and rubber, not even to mention a pencil case. These little sets are great especially if you are doing a note taking heavy or STEM subject (so basically every subject.)

9. Calculator

This one is a serious university stationery list essential! Please, if you are doing a science/ math based course bring a calculator and not just any calculator… the correct one. Someone once had their calculator taken off of them during an exam because it was not the correct one.

10. Black Note Taking Pens

A pen is the most basic yet the most important thing on this university stationery list! These Papermate pens were my favourite pens to write with; not too thick, glides on the page and doesn’t smudge! For a cheaper alternative these ballpoint pens should be the standard choice and right at the top of your university stationery list.

11. Coloured Note Taking Pens

My favourite sets of pens were these ones from Staedtler and Papermate; they are dream to write with/ You will love these! The Papermate pens glide nicer on a page, but the Staedtler Triplus ones are better when it comes to annotation as the nib is thinner.

I used them for note taking, annotations, and colour coding.

12. Coloured Highlighters

I really love these highlighters because they are pastel and quite mild compared to the neon colours we are so used to seeing. They last forever (mine still have not run our yet and it has been 3 years) so they are very worth it.

Another slightly pricier option is the zebra mildliners. They work as both a highlighter on one end and a marker on the other- great for taking notes.

(RELATED POST: If you want to see both of these pens in action, click for the best pens that DO NOT bleed through the page.)

13. Laptop

I think it would be quite difficult for you to go through university without a laptop of some kind. My macbook really saved my academic life. I took it with me to every lecture as it was so light weight. For my biochem module I would type up all of my notes, so they were on there as were all of my assessments and my dissertation. They are great to take to lectures with you and annotate the powerpoint as your professor goes through it.

However the Macbook is bloody expensive so save your money and go for the HP one below. It has been used by so many students and lasts years and years! It is also a fraction of the price, save some money (click here for my student money saving guide) and get a HP.

14. iPad Pro (but the Air is basically the same so I’m recommending that)

I’m saying an iPad Pro because I would have really loved to have had one whilst at University. With an iPad you can eliminate half of the things on this list. You can take your notes on your iPad, edit your notes, annotate books and use it as a drawing pad. Now this isn’t the most crucial item on this university student stationery list but it’s nice to have.

If you are going to get an iPad and thing the pro below is too spenny, I recently bought the Air 4 and oh my goodness, it works just as wellm and is so much cheaper.

15. The Best Back-Packs to Put These in:

Here we have two bags for you to put all of your items from this university stationery list. Both of these bags are super useful with myself carrying the second bag for two years. Not only do these both fit your university stationery essentials but also your lunch, water bottle, umbrella, and much more.

RELATED POSTS: f you would like to see more bags, definitely check out this post on 12 university bags for students recommended by students.

I used to have the bottom bag and it was my absolute favourite! It had so much space and could hold so many things! It doubled up as a weekend bag for when i went home some weekends (we love versatility!)

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Want some more back to school/ University and College posts? Check these out:

• Everything You Need to Take to Uni in 2022
• How to Organise Your Desk for School 2022
• Top Productivity Tips for Students
• 20+ Ways to Decorate your University Room
• 15 Things all University Students NEED To Know
• 22 Items all First Year Uni Students NEED
• Click here for a FREE 70+ Item Uni Packing Checklist

Click HERE for every student post we have ever posted (Ever!)

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Thats a wrap! This was the ultimate university stationery list of essentials items you need to succeed.

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