The Best Gifts for College Students, According to College Students

Eve McFarland, a recent graduate of Loyola University New Orleans, is one of the people I spoke to who found a solution to the couch shortage with a comfortable backrest pillow, which she’s had for four years. “That’s really my go-to, what I use when I do my homework on my bed.”

Editor’s Note: The specific pillow McFarland uses is out of stock, so we’ve linked to this Strategist-approved option from Pottery Barn.

College students who have roommates — and especially ones with differing schedules — will appreciate having a sleep mask on hand. Lucy Harris, a student at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, received this weighted one as a high-school graduation gift. “A lot of times, my roommate will be up with the lamp on doing homework until 2 a.m., and I’ll just stick that on and I’ll sleep like a baby,” she says.

Jellycats are one of the plushies of the moment, and Gremer has this adorable sun-shaped one. “Little kids have stuffed animals or blankets, I have my Jellycat,” she says. It sits on her bed next to a Squishmallow, which, Gremer confirms, “definitely are still a thing.”

Sometimes college students need a little extra help to stay on top of everything, and this trendy Papier planner, which recent Iowa State University graduate Tess Haug uses to keep track of her schoolwork, is the perfect solution. You can personalize it with someone’s name, school, and any other details you might want to include.

The freshmen I spoke to shared a love for their sunset lamps. They fit the curated aesthetic Mari Osman, a student at UCLA, was trying to create in her first dorm room, a task many students return to each year (sometimes more than once). “At nighttime, it just looks so pretty,” she says. “Especially looking up from when you leave my dorm building, you could just see it through the windows.”

Trays and catchalls will help your recipient stay organized and give a little personality to their living space. Coco Kennedy, a student at UT-Austin, likes the jewelry catchalls at Paper Source, which she keeps on her nightstand and in her bathroom.

Posters have long been the de facto way to decorate a dorm room, not least because many colleges will fine you for damaging walls. Anders Landgren, a student at Bates College, says he recently got made fun of because of his lack of dorm décor, so he’s eyeing vintage Formula One posters, but other students like Tyler Kwok, a student at Georgia Tech, prefer band posters. My boyfriend and his roommates each picked their favorite musicians to put on their walls at Columbia University.

While it seems like there’s always a new status water bottle surfacing on your radar, the classic Hydro Flask still reigns supreme on college campuses. Five students I spoke to said it was their water bottle of choice. Landgren appreciates how the stainless-steel insulated interior keeps water ice-cold for hours at a time. But for others, it’s the outside of the bottle that makes it their favorite: “It looks really pretty, and I actually get a lot of compliments on it when I’m out,” Gremer says about her pastel Hydro Flask. “I’ve been told it matches my vibe.”

If they’re not surviving on Celsius or Red Bull for late night library sessions and early morning lectures, college students are sipping (or chugging) coffee. Kwok recently received a Moka pot, and says, “Whenever I have extra time in the morning, I’ll make coffee with that.”

Not every college student has access to a stovetop, though, which is where a mini espresso machine comes in. This one, which is eight inches long, will fit well on a dorm-issued desk. Harvard University student Abigail Mack received one for Christmas and says, “I have used that almost every single day now. And because I have my fridge, I could just keep a little carton of milk in there and make coffee every morning, which saved me a ton of money.”

While the dining hall is always an option for a quick bite, many students I talked to preferred homemade meals, especially since air fryers make it so much easier to cook something tasty (or heat up a frozen meal). Brady Meyerson, a student at Miami University, says his air fryer is the most useful gift he’s received recently — “Me and my roommate use [our air fryer] literally every single day,” he says.

Meyerson and his roommate usually cook chicken breasts in their air fryer, but things can get bland quickly without some spices added in. A well-rounded spice cabinet takes up precious space, but this bundle keeps it simple with just the essential spice blends for things like avocado toast and pasta. (If you’re shopping for a serious college chef, though, I’d recommend the essentials collection from Spicewalla that I used in the dorms.)

Kitchen appliances are another category where form can be just as important as function. “Now that I’m in college, I’m cooking so much, and having cute things to cook with is very fun,” Maisie Stamstad, a student at Colorado College, says. This kettle is on her wish list.

If you haven’t heard: College students still love ramen noodles. These instant noodles from Momofuku, which are easy to make and actually quite tasty, make the easy dinner feel a little more special. (My favorite is the soy and scallion.)

You’d be surprised how often the smell of popcorn wafts through dorm hallways. Since bagged popcorn gets pricey and is high in sodium, I switched to popping my own kernels with the help of this gadget. There’s no oil required — all you do is put the kernels at the bottom of the silicone bowl, cover with the lid, and pop in the microwave for two minutes.

Since discovering a passion for makeup, Galindo gifted herself this makeup brush set, which she says, “has a makeup brush for everything you need, like eye shadow blending or bronzer,” making it perfect for the college student who wants to step up their beauty game.

With limited storage space and an often limited budget, college students often prioritize shoes that offer both function and style. For Meyerson, that pair is the Adidas Ultraboosts: “I like how I can wear them to the gym, but I can also wear them to class,” he says.

McFarland says slides or slippers are a great gift for students moving into a dorm because “some dorms don’t necessarily have the cleanest floors or showers, and it’s just a protective, easy [thing] to wear around.” Sean Fleck, a student at the University of Colorado Boulder, has had this pair for about a year, and says he likes them for their comfort, durability, and color.

It seems like every college has its distinct (yet unspoken) dress code, and Blundstone boots are essential to Colorado College’s style. Stamstad wears hers every day.

Yes, having to shower in a communal bathroom every day is a drag, but a super plush robe can make the walk down the dorm hallway more bearable. This comfortable, soft, and absorbent bathrobe from Brooklinen topped our lists of the best bathrobes for women and men. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, you can upgrade your gift to Parachute’s Classic Turkish-Cotton Bathrobe, which is even thicker for the perfect swaddle.

If you’re shopping for a college student who’s gone all in on the Apple ecosystem, this charging station, which Gremer and Landgren received for Christmas, is a hassle-free way to charge everything at once. Gremer brought it with her on her spring break trip, and says it was “so awesome for break because I didn’t have to bring a bunch of cords.” In fact, she says, “Everyone I went with was kind of jealous.”