How I got ready for grad school

So I may or may not have used grad school as an excuse to buy a bunch of fun supplies...but is that really so wrong?  I did a lot of research (go ahead, call me a dork) and finally settled on the following items.  But first, here is a little on why I chose Marymount University.

Why I chose Marymount: I went to a grad school fair at George Mason last winter.  I was a little discouraged because most of the schools I wanted to apply to would not accept applicants with less than 2-5 years of post-grad experience.  I had literally only been out of college for 2 months.  Finally I landed at Marymount's table and was relieved to hear they accepted applicants right out of college.  My sister spent 6 years at Marymount getting her Doctorate in Physical Therapy and I had always loved visiting!  Marymount has a Reston campus, which conveniently is only 15 minutes away from my house and job.  They have small class sizes which I think is perfect for a graduate program.  Seriously, I am one of 5 students in my class.  Big fish in a small pond theory at it's finest.

Planner: This is probably what I spent the most time picking out.  I tried going electronic, I really did.  I'm sorry to disappoint you generation y, but I just can't leave the paper planner.  Since I am only taking one class at a time, it didn't have to be crazy big.  I mulled over the Day Designer and the Simplified Planner but I knew I wouldn't utilize all the space since we primarily use Outlook at work. One of my friends has a May Designs planner and I fell in love!  It has just enough space to keep track of my one class and shifts at my part-time job, but small enough to throw in my purse.  The best part is that it's customizable!  Who doesn't love customizing the way they organize?!

Laptop: So whether or not I absolutely had to make this purchase was questionable.  I have a laptop that I got from Freshman year of college but it has since slowed down and has little battery life.  Still manageable however.  Buying a new laptop was in the back of my mind though and I was even considering going tablet.  Black Friday pushed me over the edge.  I found this baby for a great deal and snatched up one of the last ones.  It is a touch screen, has the latest version of Windows (I'm still a little bitter about purchasing my laptop in 2008 just before Windows 7 was released), and it is nice and slim!  I heard once you go touchscreen you don't go back and I'd have to say that is probably true.  I still store all my music on my old laptop and I find myself trying to touch the screen and getting confused. My new laptop is small enough to fit in my bag but big enough to type comfortably for long periods of time (hellO research paper).  I had never had a Lenovo laptop before, but so far, so good.  My only complaint is that the battery doesn't last as long as I'd like it to but it will still get me through my 2 hour and 45 minute class.

Laptop Sleeve: I decided to go for the sleeve as opposed to case this time around.  Something snug to protect my laptop from the wear and tear of my purse.  I seriously spent hours on Etsy trying to decide which was my favorite.  I finally picked this one from Bertie's Closet, though I almost picked this one.  I ended up going with the darker of the two since this will spend a good amount of time in a bag.  It arrived at my house exactly one week from the day I ordered it and it was love at first sight.  It fits perfectly around my 11.6" laptop.

Tote: Conveniently enough my sister-in-law is a Thirty-One Rep and my sister and I hosted a party a couple weeks ago.  I order the Cindy Tote in the Black Tweed print for a stylish but professional bag to haul my things to class.  It is not too big to use as a purse but still fits everything I need for class (binder, textbook, laptop, wallet, etc.).  I am a huge fan of my Jansport backpack but figured it was time to select something a little more sophisticated.  I chose not to get it embroidered because I go by a variety of names depending on where I am and where I'm working and let's be real, hopefully my last name will change within a few years...(subtle?  probably not.).

Don't worry, I ordered my textbook before all of the above and was plenty prepared for the academic aspects of grad school.

So that's my fun school stuff!  I have a couple more things on my wish list including a tablet and a nice desk.  But I have tuition to pay for instead of a tablet and I'll use the dining room and kitchen tables as desks until I find more space or get my own place.  I'd even like to have a large desktop computer eventually in addition to my laptop.  Less squinting and I'm also a huge fan of the mouse.  I'm using my mom's printer for now but eventually I'll need to replace the one that I had in college.

I spent a lot of time on Pinterest and other blogs learning about how others got ready for grad school.  I'd love to hear your thoughts and how you prepared for your first class!  Did I miss anything good?