<p>I have five academic classes this semester and take my original notes in one large five subject spiral notebook. (I later organize them into Word Documents.) I usually carry the main text for each class and sometimes the secondary texts if were actually using them. Some of my profs lecture directly from the books, so I also carry a highlighter to mark sections of emphasis though I dont always need to with my used books. Beyond that, I carry pens, #2 pencils, and a calculator. Four of my classes are right in a row on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I dont have time for lunch, so I usually have some crackers and a piece of fruit to carry me over. I also have various and sundry toiletries and pain relievers in the side pocket of my backpack plus my phone which is always on pulse. All told, this comes to about 25 lbs on TTh.</p>
<p>Monday I only have yoga, so I don't really bring anything. Tuesday, I have english and geology, so I bring my geology notebooks (ran out of space in my first one from all the diagrams the prof draws!), my english notebook, my english text, and I don't have time between classes for lunch, so I bring a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as well. Wedensday I have publication layout as a night class, so I bring my spiral for that and my green file folder with my comps and stuff, or my notebook if I have a project to turn in. Thurday is the same as tuesday, except that I have Geology lab and bring my lab manual in addition to everything else.
I also always carry my dayplaner, gum, cellphone, lip balm, hand sanitzer, and, 9 times out of 10, my iPod. My notbooks have pockets in the front, so I just use those for hand outs that can get bent and stuff.</p>
<p>It depended on the class. I had one class where all the powerpoint slides were on blackboard (online site, you might use virtual classroom depending on where you go), I'd print out the notes ahead of time. Those classes got a three ring.</p>
<p>For the most part, I was most successful with one of those expanding file folders that had multiple sections: it was really handy b/c I could just take one thing and the proper notebook book to all my classes, and throw whatever I needed in the appropriate section. Every thing was in one place and I had enough room for all my EC's too. I ended up losing a lot fewer things...</p>