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Do I Need a Laptop Case for College?

Do I Need a Laptop Case for College?

Once you get to college, you will always have to carry your laptop around and without some sort of protection, the risks of it breaking are big. So you might end up wondering: “Do I need a laptop case for college?” We’re here to answer that.

Yes, a laptop case is extremely useful for college students. It will protect your laptop from getting scratched or suffering other type of damage. A solid backpack for your laptop would also be a good choice.

Ideally, the laptop case you will get will be large enough to hold your laptop, but also a few other items like a book/notebook and pencil. Basically, your laptop case will double up as a bag.

Therefore, your best option would be not to opt for a sleeve-type of case for your laptop, as that won’t be easier to carry around, nor have more room for you.

Instead, you should opt for a larger bag, such as the Laptop Bag from Amazon (affiliate link) or get a backpack for your laptop, like this really cool one (affiliate link).

In case you have back problems, we wrote an article about the best laptop backpacks for back pain – make sure to check it out as it will surely make your life easier.

Do you need a laptop case if you have a laptop bag?

do you need a laptop case for college

I know that we want to be as protective as we can with our devices (or at least we should), but it would be a bit too much to get both a laptop sleeve AND a bag or backpack for your laptop.

Usually, in most cases, just one is enough. We prefer the larger option like a bag or backpack instead of a small sleeve simply because it offers more room and you can put more items in it.

Now that we got this out of the way and you need a bit more depth before deciding if you really need one or not, let’s focus on the why’s.

Reasons why you need a laptop case for college

It’s not that we recommend keeping up with the Joneses, but you will rarely – if ever – see students walking around carrying their laptops without at least a sleeve. Usually, they will have them in a bag or backpack.

This is the best approach for various reasons that we’ll go through below.

1. Protection for your laptop

A laptop case will simply offer better protection for your laptop. From external scratches, to at least some sort of protection in case you drop it, a case gives you a bit more peace of mind.

Some models even have a foam protection setup or similar builds to increase the safety of your device.

And it’s not just drops and scratches that a case will protect against. There are some that can also be locked for even more protection!

2. Privacy

Keeping your laptop inside a case – even if it doesn’t have a lock or any sort of extra protection, will reduce the risks of colleagues or strangers snooping around and checking potentially personall stuff that you have stored on your laptop.

In most cases, simply taking the time to get the laptop out of its case just to look through it will be a turn off for most people. Sure, you will have password protection – but it’s still best to know that there’s an extra layer of security to your privacy concerns.

3. Easy to carry around

Walking around from class to class or even to and back from school, when carrying a laptop around, with the charger in one pocket and maybe your mouse in another gets old pretty soon and it’s pretty silly.

Things get a lot easier if you opt for getting a laptop cases for college: you will have at least one hand free (both if you opt for a backpack or a messenger’s bag) and moving around will be easier and more comfortable. And comfort is extremely important.

college student

4. Helps you express your personality

With so many models available, a laptop case is great for letting you express yourself. Not only that you have all sorts of patterns and models available, but you can customize your laptop’s case even more with stickers, badges and other items to send a message and say “This is who I am, this is what I believe in”.

We wrote an article with some tips on how to decorate your laptop, but you should know that you could achieve similar results with a laptop case as well.

They are highly customizable and only your imagination is the limit here. Your laptop case can become anything from a fashion statement to a message about your personality or just an accessory that you need and use because it’s good.

5. Keeps the laptop clean

This is a bit of an extension of the first reason why you need a laptop case, but we have to highlight it.

College is definitely not one of the safest – nor cleanest – places on earth, at least not when technology is involved.

A laptop case will help you keep your device clean by protecting it from accidental spills of all sorts of beverages, but also from dirt and other goop that might be laying around.

And a clean laptop is a happy laptop which will have a longer lifespan than other laptops.

6. Offers extra space

Unless you opt for a laptop sleeve that doesn’t offer you much extra room, your laptop case will be able to offer storage for lots of other items.

From being equipped with a charger for your phone and headphone ports to more “traditional” things like various pockets for various items – from books and notebooks to extra devices, a bottle of water or a snack or anything you can think of actually, a laptop case is extremely useful.

It’s also very versatile because of the same reasons and you will surely end up using it not just at school but whenever you go out or travel. This makes it a really good investment indeed – so make sure you get a good one!

How to choose the perfect laptop case for college

Now that we decided that you indeed need a laptop case for college, let’s see what are some of the most important things that you have to consider when getting one.

1. It should match your laptop’s size

This is probably the most important thing to look at. You want the bag that you’re getting to be able to hold your laptop. You don’t want to end up with a case that’s too small for your device, but not one that’s too big either.

Even though, usually, getting a bag that is larger is still good, the best approach would be to have matching dimensions.

All laptop bags and cases will offer you information about the laptop sizes that you can fit inside. Usually, most of them are good for a range or sizes, from the small 11.6″ laptops to larger 17″ ones. Just make sure to read the details.

You don’t want to buy a laptop case for a 11.6″ laptop if you have a 15.6″ one. It won’t fit!

2. It should be of high quality

Laptop cases are really affordable, which means that you can find a really good quality one for a really low price. Don’t choose a knockoff or a poor quality one just to save a few dollars – you might end up regretting this.

Instead, get a high quality one which has great reviews from other owners. This way, you know that you are putting your money into a good product that will offer protection for your laptop and other belongings, as well as be comfortable and durable.

3. It should offer enough space

Unless you really want to carry your laptop only, make sure that you think ahead about the other items that you’re going to put in the same case or backpack.

Make sure it is large enough to hold both your laptop and all the other objects that you want to have on you.

4. Consider additional bells and whistles

Modern laptop bags and backpacks might come with some solid features that could prove extremely useful for students.

For example, the backpack that I recommended above has a built-in USB and headset port, which makes it easier to charge your phone from an internal power back or listen to music.

It also has an external lock and tons of pockets for storing items small and big. These all come in handy in the long run, so make sure that you consider all options before making a purchase.

Wrapping up

Hopefully this article managed to answer your question and now you can decide if you need a laptop case for college or not based on all the data we shared.

And if you decide that the answer is yes, you know what are the most important features it must have to be the best one for you.