Hot Plate advice for someone new to keeping Shabbat

Im in the process of becoming more observant and have been keeping Shabbat for the past several months. I live on a college campus so almost all of my meals on Shabbat are provided by our Hillel and Chabad and when they aren’t I eat with friends who have big hot plates to warm our food.

I’m going to be away from campus on Shabbat next week and im hoping to get a small hot plate that will be easy to travel with to help heat up my meals on Shabbat day. What are things I need to/should look out for when doing the shopping? What should I know about setting it up and operating it on Shabbat?

I already asked my rabbi for advice and I’m waiting on a response but I’d like feedback from additional sources too.