Scientific calculators are widely used in colleges by students to solve various mathematical problems including basic physics, finance and any other calculations which require dimensional analysis. The best scientific calculators are designed to fulfill the student needs and are easy and comfortable to use. Although there is a difference between these calculators, they are all designed to meet and exceed the typical college student’s needs. It is imperative for students to ensure that the scientific calculator of choice has the features that meet his or her needs before making a purchase. Scientific calculators are available in bookstores, variety stores, supply stores or price point retailers. Here is a comprehensive list of top 10 best scientific calculators for college students;
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10. TI 303 MultiView Scientific Calculator
This inexpensive calculator is a hot favorite with college students and goes right into the top ten scientific calculators list going by the number of positive reviews that it has attracted. The TI 303 MultiView has an 88 character support in addition to a 10+2 normal display. Apart from the general appearance which is conventional this calculator also comes with pre installed applications and a relatively high speed processor. It is imperative to mention that it does not support textbox display but that’s nothing major considering that it supports up to 23 levels of digressions and has a myriad of inbuilt functions.
9. Casio FX 115MS Scientific Calculator
This scientific calculator comes with nearly 280 functions, a natural textbox display and can solve linear equations. Although it’s a battery powered calculator, it can use solar when situations allow. The FX 115MS is hard to beat and possesses incredible aesthetics. It also comes with a large 2-line display and is capable of complex number calculation. It is the fraction fun feature that makes it possible to solve Algebra with this calculator. However, this calculator does not support RPN (Reverse Polish Notation), but that does not change the fact this fully engineered and reasonably cheap calculator is a great buy for college students.
8. Texas Instruments TI 36 Pro Scientific Calculator
Not only is this calculator ideal for college students but also for middle school students. The Texas Instruments TI 36 is specifically made to solve basic algebra and college calculus. It has a MultiView display which allows for multiple calculations simultaneously on the same screen. The MathPrint feature shows math expressions, stacked fractions and symbols exactly the same way they appear in text books. The TI 36 has the capability to convert fractions and decimals into other representations. This calculator is solar powered; therefore the student doesn’t have to worry about the use of batteries which makes this the calculator to buy if you don’t require graphing functions.
7. Texas Instruments Voyage 200 Scientific Calculator
This is one of the most coveted Texas Instruments products. The calculator features a QWERTY keyboard for easy typing in addition to a large LCD screen. The Texas Instruments 200 calculator is astonishingly customizable, allowing it’s users to solve even the most complicated mathematical problems. As if that is not enough, this calculator has a slot that accepts StudyCards thereby letting students turn the calculator into a flash card device for history, foreign language and English classes and also comes with pre installed applications including Geometer’s Sketchpad. For any student who wants a high quality calculator that can solve just about any mathematical problem, this is the calculator to buy.
6. HP 35s Scientific Calculator
Close to 85% of the HP 35s Scientific Calculator users highly recommend saying they were pleased with its performance. Compared to most scientific calculators, this calculator has fewer features and is reasonably cheap. Besides the price, the other reason that makes this calculator popular with college students is the sleek and simple appearance not to mention that it is relatively easy to use. This calculator has over one hundred functions and over eight hundred storage registers. It also has provisions for fractions, supports 2-line and has a 14 character display. If your college class does not require graphing, then this the calculator you need to purchase.
5. HP 50g Graphing Scientific Calculator
This calculator which is mainly used by college students for Algebraic and Textbook data entry has a large bright display, a feature that is not common among scientific calculators. It has vector operations capabilities, graphic, statistical and electronic specifications. The HP 50g carries quality that is associated with Hewlett and Packard products and has been touted the most powerful calculator with standard RPN input. This calculator offers versatility to students as it comes with a powerful SD slot with means an expanded memory. The huge 2.5 MB total memory and more the 2300 inbuilt functions make the HP 50g ideal for engineering students and professionals alike. Although the calculator is relatively new in the market, it is slowly gaining ground and has so far attracted positive reviews from most of its users.
4. Sharp Engineering/Scientific Calculator (EL-W516XBSL)
Coming with a myriad of features, this is a reasonably cheap scientific calculator and ideal for college students taking finance or other accounts related courses. The Sharp EL W516XBSL has more than five hundred programs in addition to keys that can be manually programmed. It also has LCD display screen, an extra large 4 line display and show condensed characters in textbook form. Other features include Normal, Stat, Drill, Matrix and Equation modes and can solve up to three simultaneous equations. Most college students who have used this calculator before give positive reviews meaning it is not a bad buy by any standards.
3. Texas Instruments TI 30Xa Scientific Calculator
This calculator is, like the name suggests is a basic machine. The Texas Instruments TI 30Xa is one of the most sought after scientific calculators by college students if the sale volumes are anything to go by a factor attributed to its reasonable price. It can perform logarithms, reciprocals, factorials, root, powers and trigonometric functions. It can also divide fractions entered in both traditional numerator and denominator format. It is also capable of rectangular and polar conversions. The 1-variable statistics show results for standard and mean deviation. In a nut shell this calculator is cheap in comparison to the many scientific calculators and has more than the basic features that an average college student may need.
2. Texas Instruments TI 83 Plus Graphing Calculator
Before the TI 84 was launched into the market, this calculator used to be the dominant calculator in the scientific calculators market. It is easy to see the reason behind this. The Texas Instruments TI 83 is the absolute calculator for college students as it typically meets nearly every need that they may have. It handles calculus, trigonometry, engineering and financial functions and can display graphs and tables on a split screen. The large 64×96 LCD screen has a high resolution for readable and clearer display. As a matter of fact, this calculator is at times the most advanced scientific calculator that is permitted in most exams. Make no mistake; this calculator is still popular with the college going students and a considerable number of students prefer it to any other version of Texas scientific calculators’ models.
1. Texas Instruments TI 84 Plus Graphing Calculator
This calculator has been known as the best calculators ever made and going by number of positive reviews from it’s users on the internet. It comes complete with USB technology making it possible to share files with a network of computers, laptops, iPads or other scientific calculators. It is also laced with twelve pre-installed applications, and offers users a chance to add any other TI 84 applications. The Texas Instruments TI 84 Plus Graphing Calculator is ideal for students in field such as finance,accounting, engineering, Computer science and any other subjects that may require advanced calculations. Though this calculator is not solar powered like most scientific calculators, it takes AAA batteries and comes with a silver oxide backup battery and also comes with a one year warranty.
