What’s in My College Binder and What to Put in Your Own

Growing up, my mom had a little display of file folders on our kitchen counter. They were labeled “Spring Break” and “Coupons” and the like. There was also one for me and my siblings. We each had our own file folder that held our important information or things my mom wanted to keep. This included everything from report cards to certificates or awards we had received, to schedules and information about extracurriculars.

Before I took off for college, I put together what I refer to as my college binder. There are so many important documents and things you should have with you at college, and keeping them all organized in a binder makes it that much easier to keep track of everything.

Why a binder?

Binders and organization are my jam. I love how binders keep everything together; they keep my papers in order and my mind at ease. Using a binder means I always know where everything is and can get whatever I need at a moment’s notice.

It’s magical. I’m a binder person.

If you read that and thought, “Peyton, binders and organization are not my jam,” don’t worry! Putting together a college binder isn’t hard, and it’s a huge, huge help for any and all college students! As I said, there are a lot of perks to always knowing where everything is.

What do I put in my college binder?

Anything important that I need to have with me at college and want to keep safe. It’s that simple!

What sections do I have in my college binder?

I have a pretty large college binder.

My first year, it filled up a one-inch binder fully. Sophomore year, I upgraded to a two and a half-inch binder. As time goes on I have divided my paperwork into more specific sections, and combined sections I didn’t get much use from.  For my junior year, that two and a half-inch binder was full and I put together a couple of file folders that I kept with it. For my senior year, I will definitely have to add a second binder!

Here’s a list of some the sections I have had over my college career:

• Academic information and degree audits
• General university paperwork
• Club information
• My job and any paperwork I have that is employment-related (please print any contracts you sign, as well as saving a digital copy on your computer!)
• Medical paperwork and information
• All of my service dog’s veterinary records
• Financial records/bank statements (this is now a file folder, being upgraded to an accordion folder shortly!)
• Coupons (this also fit better in a file folder for me)
• Scholarship information and resumés
• Papers from networking events and job fairs (I have dividers in my binder that have little pockets in the front, this is where I keep all of the business cards!)
• Essays/assignments/readings that were printed off that I want to keep (sometimes when you feel like you can’t possibly keep studying or finish that essay, it helps to remind yourself of the exams and essays you did really well on)
• Miscellaneous!

Hopefully this list can help you start thinking of the sections you would need in your college binder!

As I said, I have added and taken out sections over the years. Not all of these are needed or appropriate for everyone! For example, most college students do not have a service dog or need to keep vet records with them. I do, so I have that section, but you may have other sections that you need that wouldn’t apply to me!

Why should you make a college binder of your own?

Simple: They make life easier.

It can be surprisingly easy to lose important things in a shoebox-sized room. And if you’re lucky and get a larger room, it means there are even more places for things to get lost.

Trust me, my first year of college I lost my key in my room. It took me six hours to find it and no, that is not an exaggeration. That missing key not only took away most of my day, but it also had me ridiculously stressed out!

Papers can get shuffled and piled up. When it comes to things that are important or irreplaceable, you can’t afford to lose them. There’s also some information that you should always have access to! This includes things like emergency contacts, bank account numbers, important addresses, physicians, the list goes on.

And that’s that on college binders!

Putting things together is likely easier than you think. If you have an old binder laying around from high school, that’s all you need. Or maybe your parents or siblings have one that you can use!

If you don’t have a binder or dividers, here are some you can purchase on Amazon to get started as soon as possible!

Simply click on one of the images below to shop the product on Amazon. These are affiliate links, which means that if you click the image and make a purchase on the website, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you!

My binder and dividers are Avery and have stood up to multiple moves to and from campus so I thought I would recommend them to you!

Good luck making a college binder of your own!

I would love to hear if you found this helpful or what sections you plan to have in your college binder. Let me know in the comments below!

If you want to read about what my good friend Julia keeps in her college binder, click here to be taken to her blog post!