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Back-to-school is the time for new classes, new friends, new challenges. But it's also a chance to get a lot of cool new stuff. So what are the must-haves for this school year? We asked some of the best students across the country -- and we mean the all-honors, well-rounded, have-my-hands-into-everything kind -- what they'll be toting the first day of school. And here's what our whiz kids had to say:

Must-haves include brightly colored geometric nylon totebags and the half-sneaker style below.

Bag by www.hervechapelier.com. Shoes by www.stevemadden.com.

For honor student Hayley Leventhal, 15, it's all about the electronics, especially her PDA (personal digital assistant). A junior at Beachwood (Ohio) High School, recently named a Blue Ribbon school by the Department of Education, Leventhal uses the Internet-ready, CD-sized device to manage her hectic schedule, which includes drama club, ballet, piano and Web-writing, in addition to her rigorous class load. But it's more than an electronic organizer for her. With a new "hideaway" keyboard and mini-mouse, Leventhal can convert her PDA into a laptop, making it easier to use for e-mails, online research and schoolwork on the go.

Some models even have built-in MP3 players and digital cameras. "The PDA is essential," Leventhal says. "I keep my life in there."

Chris Pohlad, a senior at the prestigious Breck School in Golden Valley, Minn., favors a low-tech organizing tool: the big three-ring binders by funky school-supply maker Russell+Hazel. With a dry-erase board inside for notes, the binder has a plain cardboard cover, which Pohlad decorated with photos of his favorite World Cup soccer players. Sick of the Britney Spears and 'N Sync motifs filling store shelves, Pohlad, 18, says: "Wherever you go, you see the same stuff. I liked that you could decorate these your own way." A striped binder belt holds everything together.

Katelyn Sherry, a nationally ranked fencing champion at Oak Knoll School in Summit, N.J., who's being recruited by Princeton, Brown, Northwestern and Stanford, can't live without a cellphone, which she says 95% of her schoolmates own. Why? "I think parents need to keep in touch with their kids, maybe because they work more," says the 16-year-old senior. "It's a security measure."

Sherry programs her phone with different rings for different callers. "When my mom calls, it plays Beethoven, but my friends get the standard Ericsson ring, because it's the loudest," Sherry says.

But her preferred method of keeping in touch is with text messaging -- sending short e-mail messages through her phone. Punching in words can be time-consuming, but she and her friends memorize the keys and use their own coded cellphone lingo. Besides being cheaper than calling, text messaging can be more discreet: "We've been known to text-message from class to class," Sherry says.

Peter Lee, a senior at York School in Monterey, Calif., and a medalist in last year's Siemens Westinghouse Science Competition, always has a graphing calculator handy, especially in his advanced math courses. "Once you're in the habit of using it, it's easier because you can see the numbers you're inputting," says Lee, 17, who won a scholarship from Siemens-Westinghouse for helping to design a hearing aid; he hopes to attend MIT, Harvard or Stanford. "You input an equation, and the calculator graphs it. Otherwise you'd have to do it by hand, which is not particularly exciting or fun. It saves time."

With the little free time he has between classes, Jarrod Carrol, 17, likes to pop a disc into his portable CD player. A senior honors student at Stanton College Preparatory School in Jacksonville, Fla., Newsweek's No. 1 "Best High School" in 2000, Carrol hasn't advanced to the higher-tech, more expensive MP3 player, he says, because his music time is so limited. "I always have the player with me in case I get a break -- which doesn't happen very often," says Carrol, who plans to run for senior class president. "Then Alicia Keys, Outkast or Ludacris can help me relax."

Whether you're talking clothing or gadget bags, fashion rules. "I have cute carrying cases for all my things," says Leventhal, who totes her PDA in a black vinyl zip-up "sport" case with a place for the pen. Her keyboard and accessories are kept in a black leather bag with long handles. Many purses now have cellphone pockets, and special padded backpacks and messenger-style bags are perfect for laptops. In nylon, cotton or leather, messenger bags are the rage as bookbags as well. "I bought myself a messenger bag because I thought it would be a step up from a backpack," says Greg Parish, 16, a cum laude and honor committee member at the prestigious Webb School for boys in Claremont, Calif. "It's something I was planning to do as a senior."

As for Sherry, she says brightly colored, geometric nylon bags by Herve Chapelier are the big thing at her school. "Everybody has them," she says. "They're different sizes and can be used as a purse or gym bag. My friend keeps her fencing mask in one."

For Leventhal, Sherry and their stylish friends, clothes are anything-goes as long as its cute and sporty. Flip-flops and half-sneakers are it for girls, with athletic shoes and logo-smattered clothing the favorite for guys. Because for today's busy teen scholars, it's all about the get-up-and-go.