3 Must-Have Products to Help Your Teen Prepare for College or University

When your kids are young, shopping for school supplies usually involves finding the perfect backpack or trendy-yet-functional lunch bag. As they grow older, their back to school shopping list suddenly includes tech and accessories to help them achieve academic success. Forget pencils: we’re talking the full suite of Microsoft products, plus the coolest carry-alls to stash them in.

These products are ideal for college and university students, but they’re also great for high school students — and, if they familiarize themselves with these tools prior to starting their post-secondary education, the transition will be smooth and easy.

Here’s what to consider getting your teens to help them prepare for college or university.

Microsoft Surface Laptop

It all starts with an amazing laptop, and Microsoft has a wide range of high-quality options. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go offers great value with all of the features a student needs: a 10th Gen Intel Core processor, high quality graphics, plus long battery life and reliable performance. It’s lightweight, small and gets the job done. Plus, your teen will love how versatile and trendy the laptop-tablet combination is (a win for students AND their parents).

If you’re looking to get a bit more out of a laptop, consider a mid-range product like the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 or a sleek Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 with PixelSense Touchscreen. With more speed, storage and enhanced graphics, both are an excellent choice for students of all ages. There’s also this incredible upgraded version of the Surface Pro 7 with added features and up to a terabyte of internal storage. That’s enough room for a ton of apps, photos and Word documents.

Awesome Accessories

Once you’ve selected a laptop, it’s time to decide which accessories your teen will need. We recommend a protective sleeve or hard-shell case, especially for students who will be commuting by car or public transit or studying on the go. This simple black sleeve fits several different Surface models and this sturdy case is near-indestructible.

Other useful accessories include this Microsoft Surface pen, this compact, wireless mobile mouse and this awesome hub that allows your teen to do even more with their laptop. Remember to ensure that the accessories you’re buying work with the laptop you’ve chosen — there are a lot of options, and it’s important to get the right match.

Microsoft Office and MS365

No student laptop is complete without a Microsoft product that allows them to write essays, organize spreadsheets and create professional-quality presentations in class (no graphic design skill needed). Depending on your family’s living arrangement, it might make sense to purchase Microsoft Office Home and Student (MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint in a trimmed down but super useful package) or a subscription-based product like MS365 Personal or MS365 Family. The personal option works well for students living independently and the family version is great for (you guessed it) families with multiple users under one roof.

MS365 products include 1TB of OneDrive storage per user and the family option comes with safety features to keep kids safe online. Because these are online products, your membership automatically updates with the latest features. You can’t go wrong with an MS365 membership — it’s just a matter of getting the version that makes the most sense for your student or household. Now, if only there was a product that would get students to start that essay a week or two early instead of the night before it’s due…

Have a question about any of these Microsoft products? Just visit your nearest Staples location, and a team member can provide all the answers and support you need.