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If you are a student, your life is busy! It can sometimes be hard to keep track of where you’re supposed to be and when. A student planner can help keep your schedule organized. We know you must keep track of homework assignments, extracurricular activities and more. Here’s a list of the best planners for college to help keep you organized, and we’ll go into the “why” later.
- Best Personalized Planner – Bloom Daily Planner
- Best Eco-Friendly Planner – Erin Condren
- Most Versatile Planner – Erin Condren
- Best Hardcover Planner – Indeme
- Most Detailed Planner – Blue Sky
- Best Bargain Planner – Feteulo
- Best Basic Planner – Vindora
Our Selection Criteria
Confession: I am a planner and organization junkie. I carry my Life Planner with me everywhere, along with a bag of pens–for color-coding. I also keep an electronic version, thanks to Google Calendar, and it’s so full it looks like confetti exploded on my phone/laptop screen. I’m telling you this because I understand how important finding the right student planner is.
Keeping due dates, event times, goals, timelines, and notes in one convenient place is key to organization. That way you don’t have to scramble with sticky notes, or accidentally erase something on a whiteboard. Haven’t kept a planner before? Now is the perfect time to start.
Hours of research went into my first big planner purchase, and my guess is (if you’re reading this post) you’re a bit like me. I’ve had my fair share of planners that didn’t work for me and finally settled on some of my favorites that do. So, in order to save you time and research, here’s my list of the 7 best planners for college.
Best Student Planners
The Academic Day Planner by Bloom Daily Planners
The key to this planner for college is customization. Bloom allows you to tailor the planner to your liking by picking from dozens of different cover designs and sizes. The included sticker set allows you to customize the look and feel of the calendar while also adding a special highlight for your most important days. This planner also provides both daily/weekly and monthly views to get a high-level look at your schedule while still adding details for specific days.
It comes in three sizes. The bigger size might be ideal for more note-taking space, but a smaller option can fit in your bag and not take up space. It all depends on you and what you want out of your planner.
Key Details:
- Size: 4×6″, 5.5×8.25″, 8.5×11″
- Best Feature: Free sticker sheet and bookmark
Shop: Academic Year Planner by Bloom Daily Planners.
Hardcover Weekly & Monthly Planner by Indeme
Who said style had to break the bank? These colorful, durable day to day planners are both fashionable and functional and come in a variety of colorful patterns and styles.
The cover is incredibly durable, so you don’t have to worry about it getting damaged in your bag. It’s thicker than a nickel! Each month comes with a tab and a two-page spread so you can jot down special dates. Have a hard time remembering holidays? Don’t worry, this college planner has you covered with pre-written in holidays marked on both the overview and individual day. The weekly spreads have space for notes and checklists. It even has a special pocket to store papers, notes, and supplies in.
This is also one of the best “bang for your buck” planners for college. In addition to a bonus detachable matching bookmark, you’ll also receive 175 colorful sticky notes, a ruler, and 92 planner stickers. It really has it all.
Key Details:
- Size: 8×10″
- Best Feature: Hardcover makes it super durable
Shop: Hardcover Weekly & Monthly Planner by Indeme.
Flagship Collection by Blue Sky
Each month is tabbed, for easy reading and navigation. Uniquely, each day comes with a proverb or quote that’s sure to inspire. For example, “Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart.”
This is a great option for students who are looking for organization and mindfulness at the same time. Life extends beyond the classroom, after all.
If you’re feeling the need for a bit more organization in your life, there are also a plethora of free printables available. These include bucket lists, notes, organizing your week, gratitude journals, food and exercise logs, and much more.
Key Details:
- Size: 8×10″
- Best Feature: Allows for tons of detailed notes.
Shop: Flagship Collection by Blue Sky.
Focused Planner by Erin Condren
This softbound planner is undated, so it’s timeless! It comes with vertical weekly layouts as well as monthly overview pages. Each weekly page also has space for a Notes section, which always comes in handy. It even has a ribbon so you can easily keep your place marked.
It comes in a stylish camel or navy blue softbound cover. For students looking for a customizable planner experience, this might be one of the best college planner options for you.
Key Details:
- Size: 8×10″
- Best Feature: Extremely versatile.
Shop: Focused Planner by Erin Condren.
The Softbound 12-Month Vegan Leather Planner by Erin Condren
In addition to the eco-friendly vegan leather cover, this planner for college is constructed with special lay-flat binding. The softbound planner is easy and comfortable to write in for both left and right handers. This is the perfect planner for the minimalist college student who doesn’t need all the extra stickers.
Key Details:
- Size: 8×10″
- Best Feature: It’s eco friendly!
Shop: The Softbound 12 Month Vegan Leather Planner by Erin Condren.
Academic Daily Planner by Vindora
The Academic Daily Planner is a hardcover planner with weekly and monthly planning pages. The monthly spread of the academic planner contains an overview of the month as well as a section for notes. The weekly pages allow you to make sure you are on top of all your class assignments and other daily planning activities.
Perhaps best of all, this journal comes with supplemental pages that are jam-packed with information. There’s a holiday list, a year goal tracking page, a website login/password tracker, scheduling templates, plenty of contact info pages, and way more. It also has an awesome academic scheduler placed in the beginning pages. There are places for time, class, professor name, and room, all by day of the week and term.
The cover has a simple, modern, stylish feel to it. My favorite part of this planner is that it holds an inner folder pocket so you don’t lose stray paper. One the best planners for college, this is a great comprehensive option and runs on the less expensive side.
Key Details:
- Size: 6×8″
- Best Feature: Inner folder pocket (oh, and a great price!)
Shop: Academic Daily Planner by Vindora
Academic Weekly & Monthly Planner by Feteulo
The Academic Weekly & Monthly planners by Feteulo come in a few eye-catching designs, with various colors and patterns to give it a touch of personality without being overbearing or obnoxious. If floral patterns aren’t your vibe, you can opt for rainbow stripes or dogs instead!
It has a 12-month academic calendar with tabs separated by month. Each week has a two-page spread. Each month has holidays marked. There are whole pages dedicated to note-taking, and the planner also comes with a yearly overview page. There are even spots for future planning. It’s a note-taker’s dream.
These planners come are 6.4″ x 8.5″, and are one of the best bargains out there. It’s a great, stylish, no-frills option for students who want a bit more organization in their lives.
Key Details:
- Size: 6×8″
- Best Feature: Low price point
Shop: Academic Weekly & Monthly Planner by Feteulo
Tips for Staying Organized
Now that you’ve carefully selected your awesome college planner, here are some tips staying organized:
- You bought the planner. Now USE IT! It does you no good to buy the planner and not fill it out with your schedule and assignments.
- Make it fun! Use accessories like colorful pens and stickers. It will feel like a fun project rather than a chore.
- Give it time. It may take some getting used to filling all your activities out, but in the long run will help you stay organized, and it will likely remain fresh in your brain.
- Put the important stuff in your phone. Now that you’ve laid everything out in your planner, put deadlines and other important dates in your phone and set reminders to keep you on track.
Here a few of my favorite student planner accessories:
- Pilot G2 pens
- Post-it multi-colored sticky notes (1.5″ x 2″ size)
- Post-it Study Flags
- Activity Stickers
- Washi Tape
Having the best planners for college are unique as the people who use them. Whether you want to keep it simple, neat, and minimalist, or use color and stickers for motivation, your planner is your own. It can be a great organizational tool that helps keep student life running smoothly.
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Very very helpful, thank you so much!
My son, who is a freshman, just asked me for a planner. I just came upon your site. Very helpful. Thank you.
This is a great list of planners! I used to use Mead’s planners for most of my college career. Senior Year and during my first year in graduate school, I liked using the Quo Vadis Notor planner – it gives you a lot of space for daily to-do’s and notes. And you can customize the format. I currently am using the Happy Planner which I got for a great deal! I talk about my planners in my blog, if anyone’s interested 😉
I use the List It Planner and would highly recommend it, especially for school students with lots of homework (and to do’s!). I love that you can start it when works for you (I needed mine for October) – not just January or mid-year like most planners. I also love the multiple ‘to do’ lists and that I can see my week at a glance. http://www.listitplanner.com
I recommend trying the iSmart.Life app. I use this app to planning my goals, tasks, projects.This is a very simple and free web app. You can see the demo and decide whether it suits you or not …
Thanks for making this list of planners. I could also recommend EverNote app. It’s easy to use and have a lot of possibilities for planning and making notes.