Gift shopping for college students doesn’t need to be difficult. From dorm room furnishings to travel accessories, there are countless gifts that the college student in your life will find both fun and useful.
Here are 30 gift ideas that any college student will love.
Graduation Gifts – Table of Contents
Technology
These tech gifts are useful in and out of the classroom.
Laptops
Dell XPS 15
The XPS 15 is Dell’s premium laptop and the best Windows laptop on the market. It provides exceptional performance and strong battery life. It can be configured with a discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU for gaming performance or image and video editing.
Macbook Pro 13”
The Macbook Pro 13” is the perfect laptop for most users. Built with Apple’s new M1 CPU and M1 GPU, the laptop promises speedy performance for work or gaming, and a full terabyte of storage. Whether the college student in your life is pursuing a career in computer science, graphic design, or finance, the Macbook Pro is more than capable of handling their new professional needs.
Macbook Air
For those who don’t need the full processing power of a Macbook Pro, the Macbook Air offers a more than suitable alternative at a discounted price. Configured with Apples M1 chip, the Air provides powerful performance in a thin, lightweight laptop. It is even capable of running both Mac and iOS apps for iPhone and iPad, giving users access to mobile applications on their laptop.
Tablets
Apple iPad Pro 11”
The iPad Pro is a perfect gift for creative college students. Illustrators and design students will love the suite of design apps available on iPad, including the newly released Adobe Photoshop for iOS, launched in November 2019.
Microsoft Surface Pro 7
For Windows users, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is affordable and powerful. The Surface is a 2-1 laptop, offering the full functionality of a typical Windows laptop in tablet form. Capable of running the whole Adobe Suite smoothly and functionally, it easily meets the needs of creative professionals. Paired with the type cover keyboard, it functions well as a primary laptop.
Portable charger
Anker PowerCore 20100
We’ve all had our phones die at the most inconvenient of times. A portable charger comes in handy for daily use and particularly for travelling. The Anker PowerCore holds 7 whole phone charges, fits in your pocket, and provides high-speed charging. Perfect for a student who will be studying abroad!
Entertainment
These entertainment gifts will help ease the stress in the off-hours.
Film and TV
Criterion Channel Subscription
Is the college student in your life a true film buff? The kind of film buff who loves classic, experimental, and foreign films? If so, gift them a Criterion Channel subscription. With a carefully curated selection of over 2,000 movies, as well as exclusive series on directors, stars, and genres, the Criterion Channel is a film lover’s dream come true.
Hulu with HBO Max Subscription
With thousands of TV shows and films, including iconic shows and movies from the past and present, a Hulu subscription is a great gift for any college student. Throw in the HBO Max add-on, which provides access to HBOs entire streaming collection.
Roku Streaming Stick+
College students need some way to decompress and binge watch their favorite shows and movies. Portable and easy to set up, the Roku Streaming Stick+ provides access to all the most popular streaming services.
Nebula Capsule Projector
The Nebula Capsule is a portable projector, no larger than a coke can, that can be used to project images and videos of up to 100 inches on any indoor surface. The Nebula Capsule uses Android 7.1, allowing access to Hulu, Netflix, Youtube, and other applications straight from the device.
Music
Spotify Premium
One of the most popular streaming services available, Spotify Premium hosts a massive music library, fantastic features for discovering new music, and social features that enable you to follow what your friends are listening to. If a music-loving student in your life doesn’t already subscribe to a streaming service, they will surely love Spotify.
Ultimate Ears Boom 3
Every student needs a speaker to help them jam out with their friends. The Ultimate Ears Boom 3 is loud and waterproof, so they can use it indoors and on outdoor adventures.
Bose Sport Earbuds
These wireless earbuds provide excellent sound and are sweat and weather resistant. Designed for exercise, they also provide great sound and make a great gift for any student who loves music.
Vinyl Moon Subscription
Vinyl Moon is a unique subscription service that sends its members a brand-new curated “mixtape” vinyl record every month. For each new record, Vinyl Moon chooses their favorite new songs from a variety of genres, including indie rock, electronic, and more, and presses them onto a unique colored vinyl with specially-made album artwork from international illustrators.
Fun + Games
Catan Board Game
Take game night up a notch. Catan, previously called The Settlers of Catan, is one of the most popular strategy board games around.
Cards Against Humanity
Billed as “a party game for horrible people,” Cards Against Humanity is a guaranteed good time for anyone who loves crude jokes (and who doesn’t) and one of the best icebreaker games around. If they already have it, give them an expansion pack.
Spikeball
Make your way to any public park or beach during the summer and you’re sure to find someone playing Spikeball. Easy to learn, set up, and play anywhere, this game is a perfect outdoor activity.
Retrospec Harper Coaster Single Speed Bike
On many campuses, a bike is an indispensable travel tool. The Retrospec Harper Coaster Single Speed Bike is fast, simple, light, and easy to maintain.
Wayfair Foldable Indoor/Outdoor Table Tennis Table With Paddles and Balls
This indoor and outdoor ping pong table is sure to get plenty of use in any college house.
Food and Drinks
Thes kitchen utilities and food gifts are useful outside of the dining hall.
Trade Coffee Subscription
Whether as a late night study aid or a morning pick-me-up, many college students drink coffee religiously. Trade Coffee is the perfect gift for any coffee connoisseur. Each month, they send a fresh bag of coffee from carefully-selected roasters around the United States.
Nespresso Vertuo Next
The Nespresso Evoluo is the one-cup coffee machine for coffee enthusiasts. Nespresso machines are capable of brewing espresso, double espresso, and regular coffee instantly and effortlessly using Nespresso pods. A perfect dorm room coffee machine.
Ninja Air Fryer
The Ninja Air Fryer enables you to cook fried foods without all the unhealthy oils. Give it to them for easy meals in the dorms.
Nutribullet 600W Personal Blender
A personal blender capable of making delicious and healthy smoothies on-demand is an excellent gift for any health-conscious student. The Nutribullet 600W is affordable, easy to use, and easily packs enough power to create creamy smoothies in just minutes.
Yeti Rambler 36 Oz Bottle With Chug Cap
The Yeti Rambler is one of the best water bottles on the market. It is dishwasher safe, with temperature retention, and capable of holding both cold and hot beverages. Perfect for hikes, camping trips, or trips to the gym!
Accessories
These bags, watches, and travel accessories will help them navigate campus life.
Backpack
Tortuga Setout Divide Backpack
The Tortuga Setout Divide Backpack is a versatile backpack that is suitable for daily use, travel, and outdoor activities. The backpack features storage for a laptop and an expandable design that opens up the available storage space from 24L to 34L. All around a great backpack that is fit for daily use or backpacking while studying abroad!
Tote Bag
L.L. Bean Boat and Tote
The L.L. Bean Boat and Tote is a heavy-duty cotton canvas tote bag notable for its durability and versatility. Affordable and built to last for decades, this simple canvas tote can easily handle 50+ pounds. Perfect for grocery shopping, the beach, or for picnics in the park. Also excellent for lugging a couple of notebooks and a laptop between classes.
Smartwatches
Apple Watch SE
The Apple Watch SE is Apple’s mid-level smartwatch product. The Apple Watch SE is an updated version of the Series 3, with a faster chip, more advanced health and safety features, and available with LTE functionality. An all-in-one fitness tracker, wallet, and phone, it’s the perfect smartwatch for any student Apple user.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is the best available smartwatch for Android users. With a classic, elegant design, the Galaxy Watch 3 has a strong 2-day battery life, music storage space, contactless payments, and fitness features.
Fitbit Charge 4
Is the student you know a gym rat? Help them keep track of their fitness with the Fitbit Charge 4, which features Spotify support, advanced sleep tracking tools, GPS, and best-in-class fitness tracking.
Passport Case
Cuyana Classic Passport Case
The Cuyana Classic Passport Case is a sleek, handmade, and sustainably-sourced leather passport case and travel wallet. Measuring 9” x 4”, it is longer than the average passport case, and capable of storing a boarding pass in addition to a passport, credit cards, and paper money. It makes a great gift for a student planning to study abroad.
