Back-to-school shopping: students prepare for the school year

Some students recommend buying school materials after the first week of school.

By Hannah Cho,
BlueDevilHUB.com Editor–

Launching off into a new school year, students want to start strong. One way to do that? Be prepared by making the best use of back-to-school shopping.

At the beginning of the year, teachers hand out syllabi to their students, often with a list of materials required for the class.

“It’s important that students are prepared,” AP Statistics teacher Michael Wright said. “It shows they want to be here, that they’re serious about the class.”

Wright likes to be prepared himself.

“As a teacher, [I purchase] circle dots, whiteboard markers, electrical tape, and labels. There are other things I buy throughout the year, but those are my go-to at the start,” Wright said.

Junior Graham Segel likes to shop for his school supplies after he gets his syllabus.

“That way, I know that I’m getting the things I really need instead of shopping randomly,” he said.

“Typically,” Segel continued, “I get one inch binders for each of my classes to stay organized, and then I get the stuff teachers ask me to get. I do that to be prepared for school but also to know that I’m spending [money] efficiently.”

Segel advises other students to get their supplies from local stores like Office Max or Target. “Most stores have back-to-school offers, so there’s not really one store I would specifically go to, which is good, because I can just go wherever is closest,” he said.

In addition to school materials, some students like to shop for new clothes to start off the year.

Senior Jessie Zhang enjoys transitioning into the academic year by acknowledging the end of summer.

“I dress differently when I’m in school and when it’s summer, mostly because I like to stay comfortable during the school year,” Zhang said. “I like to buy sweatshirts and jeans.”

While local clothing shops in Downtown Davis can be one option, Zhang likes to branch out to Sacramento to shop at stores like the Galleria.

“I would [also] recommend going to Zara and H&M,” Zhang said. “They have good clothes, but it really depends on the style people are going for.”

Zhang likes to shop for clothes midway through the summer, but agrees with Segel that back-to-school shopping for supplies should be done a little after school starts.

“For things like notebooks and binders, there’s no need [for me] to buy beforehand,” Zhang said.

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