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Looking for the absolute best college planner? Here are 12 of my college planner recommendations for all students!
After going through four years of college and way more than four planners, I realized my issue was the fact that I wasn’t using an academic planner. Even then , when I found what I thought was the best college student planner, it was always missing a thing or two. That’s when the BSL College Daily Planner was born, and all of my college planner dreams came true.
I designed my planner to be for the extremely type-A person and I know that’s not for everyone, so I thought I would share some of my other favorite planners! There are about a million college planners that have the cutest designs, but you can easily find all of those on Papier. I wanted to give a variety of options from Target planners to super high-tech planners! Here are all of the planners I would recommend to college students.
This post is all about the best college planner.
THE BEST COLLEGE PLANNER:
1. The BSL College Daily Planner
This college planner is truly my pride and joy. After I tried so many planners I kind of felt like the college planner pro, and I wanted to make something that I wish I had this when I was in college (you’re welcome haha). We also took feedback from all of the college students on our team, so it was really a collaborative effort to make a planner that will work for every college student!
Looking for an iPad version? We’ve got you covered… click here.
2. Ban. do Weekly and Monthly Hardcover Daily Planner
If you’re into colorful, fun designs, Ban.do is going to be your new go-to!! They seriously have the best designs and so many different planner formats. My personal favorite Ban.do planner is their undated to-do planner, but I am super intrigued by this monthly planner that has great reviews.
“There is a section called “reasons to party” to list important dates and set yearly goals and intentions.”
3. Fringe Studio Non-Dated Daily Planner
Fringe has some of my favorite stationery ever. This black, leather planner is simple and no frills. It’s perfect for the person who wants an undated planner that they can use when they need it and don’t have to feel locked into a planning schedule.
“What I liked about this planner is that I can use it for days when there’s a lot on my plate, but I don’t feel obligated to use it every day nor do I feel guilty if I don’t use it every day.”
4. Academic Year Planner
Papier has all of my favorite designs! They have everything from cute, minimalistic designs to super trendy, colorful designs. Aside from how cute they are, they have so many different kinds of planners from academic to meal prep.
“The structured weekly pages are there to help you shine, not stress.”
5. Completely Custom College Student Academic Planner
OKAY – I did not know about Plum Paper, and I am shook. This planner is completely customizable down to all the text and colors. You can put your name on the cover, change the labels for each section, and even rearrange the layout.
6. Genius Juice Academic Year Planner
How cute is this?! I’m seriously obsessed with everything Papier does (as you now know) and this is one of their fun, quirky designs that I just can’t get enough of. They have the best habit trackers in this college schedule planner too.
“Find your flow with handy term timetables, deadline, finance & grade trackers, plus space for meal plans.”
7. Endless Rainbows Academic Planner
Of all of the planners I have tried, the Erin Condren planners have been some of the most impressive. You can customize the planner with your name on the cover, the color of the coil, and the design of the month and week planner pages.
“this popular organizer features proven layouts designed to help students get organized, reduce stress, and reach their goals”
8. Hourly 2024-2025 Planner
This college assignment planner had amazing reviews on Amazon, and as I looked at it more I realized how perfect it was. It’s really simple but it has all of the pages you need. It has time blocking (just like our BSL college planner) and monthly pages too!
“I love how much info you can add into this planner, it gives you yearly view, monthly and daily ! it’s perfect for someone who is on the go all the time and who needs to write everything down neatly and organized!”
9. Black Rugby Stripe – Day Designer
I always thought Target had the best selection of planners, but recently I realized they lack a really good college course planner. This is the planner that I used throughout college, the Day Designer, and I really think it is a great planner.
“I have been repurchasing this planner for 3 years in a row now! I absolutely love the entire layout and design. Especially the top three and then the to do lists.”
10. Spiral Academic Planner 2024-2025
If you’re a die hard Target fan (like me) you will know that this is the BEST. Their planners are so cute and they are really good quality too. This minimalistic dot planner is adorable and perfect for a college student who just needs a good, basic planner.
“not enough words to describe the functionality and genius of this design. I take this with me everywhere and it helps me keep my life together and have all my ideas in one place on one page.”
11. Target Academic Planner
This Sugar Paper planner from Target is so cute and girly!! I’m obsessed. It also comes with a ton of cute stickers which makes it even better!
“By far the best planner I’ve ever owned! I’ve been purchasing this planner every year for the past 4 years, and it has helped with my work productivity so much.”
12. Rocketbook Academic Planner
Have you ever heard of this super high tech reusable notebook? You use a special pen to take notes and then you can upload all of your notes to your computer through an app. That would be soooo helpful in college when you have to submit everything online.
“Use the Rocketbook App to blast your notes to the Cloud then magically wipe your notes clean with a damp cloth. Erase and reuse to get straight A’s semester after semester”
COLLEGE PLANNER Q&A
What planner is best for college students?
I may be biased, but I really believe the BSL College Daily Planner is the best planner on the market for college students. I designed it so carefully alongside other college students and it truly is perfect. We made sure to include every single thing a college student will need to stay organized and on top of everything their days throw at them.
Should I use a planner in college?
I HIGHLY recommend using a planner in college. When I tell you you will have a lot on your plate, I’m not kidding. Not only will you have a million school assignments with due dates and test dates, you will also have a social life to balance that you will need to fit in. You 100% will need a planner of some sort.
How many college students use a planner?
While I don’t have an exact number to give you, I can tell you that almost every single of the successful college students I knew and know now use a planner. If I were to give you a rough estimate, I would say that about 80% of college students use a planner of some sort.
How do you organize college planners?
I like to organize my college planner by using time blocking for the week days and a simple to-do checklist for my assignments and errands. I also like long term planning in my college planner to visualize my due dates throughout the year.
Do planners really help students?
Short answer: YES. Long answer: planners are literally the only thing that I think can effectively help students organize and prioritize their to-do’s. Always write it down, that’s just my motto in life.
What do you write in a college planner?
I put pretty much everything in my college planner. I scheduled out everything from classes to doctor’s appointments to parties. Basically, if something was happening in my life, it was in my planner!!
