Laptop? Tablet? Paper?

[anc1991]

Happy Friday!

Starting as a 1L in Western this fall and pretty excited. I was wondering if any upper year students (from any school) could give some advice on the tools they use to take notes and study.

Can I get away with using the brick I’ve had for nearly a decade? Would you recommend getting a Surface Pro or an iPad Pro to take notes with a stylus? If exams are open book, am I better off printing everything and taking notes on paper?

Any input on this, or any comment on studying would be appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[Goblin King]

You basically just need something that’ll run your school’s exam software and a word processor. I don’t think IOS devices are compatible with most schools’ exam software. 

Beyond that, I’d get something light that you can carry to class and has  decent battery life. I’ve heard the Acer Swift 3 is pretty decent from some friends who are in law school. That said, I’m partial to my MacBook Air despite its poor value for money. I’d also recommend getting a separate monitor so you can read and brief or take notes at the same time.  

My sister has an iPad Pro and finds the stylus to be a poor substitute for pen and paper while writing notes, but good for annotating and highlighting. Overall I wouldn’t recommend the Ipad because of its price tag and limited functionality. 

[ProudCrocodile]

On 7/10/2021 at 3:05 AM, Goblin King said:

You basically just need something that’ll run your school’s exam software and a word processor.

I may need some clarifications! So even after when classes are held in person, students still take the exams online? Or is this only the case for this covid time?

[Goblin King]

4 minutes ago, Licn said:

I may need some clarifications! So even after when classes are held in person, students still take the exams online? Or is this only the case for this covid time?

To the best of my knowledge, exams are done in-person on your laptop using a specialized exam software (just a word processor that blocks you from accessing anything that you might use to cheat). You don't handwrite your exams. 

[Rashabon]

Unless things have changed since I was last in law school, you can opt to handwrite your exams, but very few people do.