Late Additions to Your Back-to-School List

According to the company, the fridge can hold a dozen 16-ounce bottles, three 2-liter bottles, six yogurt containers and four containers of take-out Chinese with ample room for condiments on the door. The freezer holds seven full-sized frozen pizzas, a half gallon of ice cream and four ice cube trays -- at the same time.

The 2.9 cubic foot model -- which comes in trendy stainless steel -- is currently on sale for $375 at the company's Web site, www.microfridge.com, not including $55 for shipping. While a $430 fridge may seem a bit pricey, when that cost is spread out over four years, it's cheaper than renting one from the school -- and it beats emergency visits to the chiropractor.

Digital Earmuffs

When it comes to loud dormitories, wadded-up cotton balls can only do so much. Instead, hard-core studiers should block out background noise with noise-canceling headphones, which employ digital technology to cover the gaps where earplugs fail.

For the last few years, business travelers have been silencing droning jet engines with these innovative headphones, which work by fighting fire with fire, using a tiny microphone to read background noise and then producing an equal and opposite signal to cancel it out. As a result, any moderate, steady sounds -- from snoring to air conditioner units -- are silenced, enabling students to listen to music and study at lower volumes.

Noise-reducing headphones don't completely block all noise, however. Because of the way they work, abrupt, high-pitched noise, like a screeching roommate, will sneak past the digital barrier. Then again, that's not always such a bad thing, especially when the dormitory's holding a fire drill or the parental units are calling to discuss the latest bill.

A number of companies make noise-reducing headphones at price points ranging from $40 all the way up to $300, but be sure to look for the ones that take batteries, since they use active technologies to cut the chatter -- non-powered versions are glorified ear muffs.