I recently picked up a caliper ... went with this one. It's $26 rather than $9, but I read a comparison review that pushed me towards it. (review here)

I've had the really cheapo ones before and they are not very well made. They also seem to fall apart / damage relatively easily. I've only had the one above for a month or two but it meets my needs and feels very solidly made.

Dude he's a college student. He doesn't need a $150+ set of calipers right now.

iGaging IP54 Electronic Digital Caliper 0-6" Display Inch/Metric/Fractions Stainless Steel Body https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AQEZ2W/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_TZhPvb8B1QCWM

Will suit his needs for years. He's not a professional. By the time these wear out he'll have access to nicer stuff at his place of work (not to mention the funds to buy whatever).

I bought this 3 years ago, it works well for what I need it for. measuring plastic aluminum, and wood. The best feature is it goes mm, inch and fractional inch when i need equivalence for drill sizes. Battery life is probably my biggest complaint, even that isn't too bad.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AQEZ2W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have this ~25 dollar iGaging: https://www.amazon.com/iGaging-Electronic-Digital-Fractions-Stainless/dp/B001AQEZ2W

For quick checks, sanity checks, basic stuff, etc. 20 dollar calipers are fine. My iGaging rarely disagrees with the calibrated Mitutoyo's in our quality department.

Oops wrong link. This one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AQEZ2W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1