Tucson, Arizona (PRWEB) May 1, 2006 -- This time of year, many Americans are planning to purchase high school graduation gifts. The list below should provide some ideas. Included are the best graduation gifts, which are not only popular among today's young people, but are useful for their transition to college life. Also included are the worst graduation gifts. These might have been popular a few years ago, but current college students would probably not want to get these gifts.
The following suggestions were put together by http://ParentOfCollegeKid.com based on their interaction with current students. ParentofCollegeKid.com publishes a free e-newsletter filled with many topics of interest to parents who have kids in college or have students planning for college. Topics include money saving tips, suggestions, what is happening on campuses that parents should be aware of.
Best Graduation Gifts
#1) Personal Data Assistant (PDA) – staying organized is one of the keys to a college student's success. Personal Data Assistants (PDA) are handheld computers that organize personal information. PDAs have built in calendars, address books, digital notepads, and much more. A PDA also enables students to take and store notes. Current PDAs can also work with common document formats such as word, excel, and other file types.
College life can be hectic, and planning ahead is critical to staying on top of project deadlines, upcoming exam dates, group meeting schedules, etc. The majority of PDAs range in price from $150 to $400. The two primary formats of PDA's are Palm and Pocket PC, both provide comparable features. Some manufacturers now offer combination PDAs and cell phones in a single unit.#2) Money along with Money Management 101
The most common gift to a high school graduate is money. Money is a great gift and students love it. Unfortunately most young people are very poor at managing money. Students are typically poorly trained concerning the basic financial tasks that will be necessary during college and adult life. Common money problems involve maxed out credit cards, bounced checks, late bill payments, and ruined credit scores.
For those planning to give a high school graduate a gift of money, a thoughtful item to also give is the self-study ebook called, ‘Money Management101 - Personal Finance Basics Explained To Young Adults'. This is an ebook self-study course that the young person can take right from their computer in their spare time. The course explains the basics of money management such as banking basics and checking account balancing; personal budgeting and living within one's means; responsible use of credit; maintaining a strong credit rating; taxes and withholding, identity theft and fraud prevention tips, and clearly explains the most important financial terms that all adults need to understand.
It was created by financial pros, but also designed with the input of parents and teachers. It will explain the basics of personal finance and should help them manage their money and make more responsible financial and spending decisions. Money Management 101 Personal Finance Basics Explained to Young Adults is available at http://moneymanagement101.com
#3) Flat Panel Monitor for computer and TV
Dorms are always too small and crowded. Fortunately, the new flat panel TV sets are better space-savers than the old CRT sets. A large flat panel plasma and LCD TV's will break most budgets of parents buying graduation gifts. However, a nice alternative is a moderate size (17 to 23 inch) LCD computer screen with a built in TV tuner. Not only can it be used as a TV, but is also can be plugged into the students notebook computer. This is useful when the student needs to work from a larger screen than the one built into their notebook computer.
Most modern notebook computers have the ability to play DVD movies, however the screens on notebooks are generally quite small. The monitor can be plugged into the notebook for DVD viewing on the larger screen. Another bonus is the student can hook up their video game console to the screen.
Worst Graduation Gifts
#1) Desktop Computer
Desktop computers are definitely not popular with the college crowd. Notebook computers are the way to go. Not only are desktops non-portable, but they occupy too much space in a dorm. The only students that might still want a desktop are hardcore gamers or tech students who want as much computing horsepower as possible.
#2) Stereo- Unless they are very serious audiophiles, young people listen to their music from their iPod or other portable music player. If they want to play music without headphones, they typically connect their iPod to their computer or into a speaker docking station. An entire personal collection of music can be housed onto an iPod. If someone still wants to buy the graduate a stereo system, make sure it has some auxiliary input jacks, so that an iPod, or satellite radio can be plugged in. Big booming stereo systems are frowned upon by administrators and other students in dorms.
#3) Camera (non-digital) – virtually no college student will want a film camera. If someone still wants to buy them a camera, be sure its digital. Also, most young people have cell phones with built in cameras. Camera phones aren't usually high quality, but they generally do a decent job of taking snapshots of friends.
About http://ParentOfCollegeKid.com The website publishes a free e-newsletter filled with many topics of interest to parents who have kids in college or have students planning for college. Topics include money saving tips, suggestions, and current information about what is happening on campuses that would be of interest to parents.
###
Press Contact: Rob Wendt
Company Name:
Email: robmm101@yahoo.com
Phone: 520-490-6640
Website: http://parentofcollegekid.com
AndhraNews.net News for May 1, 2006
