Back to School College Bound
July 27, 2026
Sending your kids to college is expensive, harried and generally overwhelming.
Getting their Dorm room set up and supplying them with tech doesn’t have to be.
Planning ahead, doing your due diligence, shopping strategically can save you 20-70% on everything from clothes & furniture to tech and supplies.
Here’s some tips for the College Bound:
If your student will be in a dorm room, they’ll need bedding, desk or table, strategic lighting and seating. If none of those can be are supplied by the school, friends, or family, go thrifting! Look for and shop local college area thrift stores first. You should be able to find good used deals on lighting, desks, tables, chairs etc. Some colleges, like USC, have a resale thrift store of their very own or a website platform where students trade or resell to one another.
Garage & Estate Sales can also be fruitful.
Necessities:
-A Laptop or Tablet will be necessary along with all the accessaries. Here is not where you want to scrimp.
Look at Factory Refurbished:
Apple
Dell
HP Weekly Deals
Savings run are 10-40%. But, with the use of Claude, Gemini and Chat GTP, make sure you check that the operating system, chip, memory etc are capable of handling AI. Older, hand me down models generally won’t cut it.
Apple also has a Shop Mac for Education, where you can customize, get advice and find a Mac at a marginally better price.
Don’t forget a Wireless Keyboard & Mouse, Noise Cancelling headphone, USB Flash drive, and a Surge Protector. Check out the Amazon Outlet and use Dealseek on Amazon to hunt for the best deals.
Subscriptions and software.
–Citation tools:
Zotero or Easy Bid for perfect for research papers. Both Free & Paid subscriptions available.
–Note Taking Apps:
One Note
Notion
Evernote
– AI:
–Gemini Pro gives a way a Free Year for College students.
-Claude ai may have Free full access is available if your university has an official campus-wide partnership with Anthropic (such as Stanford, Northeastern, LSE, and the University of San Francisco).
Sign in using your official school single sign-on (SSO) email at Support.Claude to check eligibility.
Dorm Room Bedding
I love shopping Costco, or local Costco Outlets for bedding. But let’s face it, Twin XL doesn’t show up often at outlets. So, I then check HomeGoods, JC Penny Dorm Room,
Of course they’ll need a backpack. Though style has it’s place, something that is useful & lasts is a better choice. Jansport has been a favorite and has a 5 year warranty. Sign up on Jansport website for a 15% discount.
Your student will be doing a lot more concentrated work on a laptop, tablet, computer and cellphone. Protect their eyes with Blue Light blocking eye glasses. EyeBuyDirect is currently running a Bogo deal with Code JULYBOGO.
If your kid is staying local to So Cal.:
Look for double duty deals at TR Trading Company. Pedestal storage/ file units with cushion pad are $69. Great for dorm room seating & storage! Office / gaming chairs are also here starting at $69.
Or check out more outlet stores and sales on BargainsLA.com