<p>1) Hello guys, I'll be entering college as a freshmen in the Fall. I was wondering if a laptop is necessary for college class work or college notes. Can I still do well in my classes and get an A without having to utilize any computers? </p>
<p>2) A) For those of you who attend top colleges, how much assignments/homeworks do you get daily? B) Do most top kids bring laptops to classrooms?</p>
<p>A laptop is not necessary, I don’t think. Some professors may even prefer that you don’t use a laptop in class, but that is on an individual professor basis.</p>
<p>However, not using any computers at all, impossible. I don’t know of a single professor who accepts hand-written assignments, and many assignments must be turned in online in some form (e.g. turnitin.com). Your campus likely has some form of computer lab for student use.</p>
<p>1) It’s uncommon at Brown to see more than a few laptops in classes other than computer science classes. I’ve used one only once (when I found out right before class that my last pen had run out of ink) and survived. As XU2011 mentioned, though, the professor’s preference is on an individual professor basis. It would bother some and not others. Most assignments, though, should be typed and may even require internet access.</p>
<p>2) A) On a weekly basis last semester, I received the following assignments (with estimates of the time it took):
-Translate 500 lines of Latin (8-20 hours depending on the author)
-Translate 200-400 lines of Greek (6-18 hours)
-Math problem set of about 20 problems (4-8 hours)
-Nightly German reading and writing assignments, possibly an essay (4-8 hours)
-Design, along with rigourous proofs of correctness and of running time, an algorithm to solve a problem (5-12 hours)</p>
<p>Other students may spend similar amounts of time reading and writing essays or working on labs or doing engineering projects. Don’t assume my situation is standard, but feel free to contact me with any further questions.</p>
<p>B) The students I’ve noticed who bring laptops to class generally are playing games rather than paying attention. For what it’s worth.</p>
<p>To add to Uroogla’s point B, most people with laptops in class aren’t paying attention to class. They’re on Facebook…or, I’ve even seen someone on skype, just typing messages back and forth.</p>
<p>I think most college students have laptops nowadays. Speaking from my own personal preference, my Macbook is the best thing I own. I always bring it to class to type notes because I’m a slow writer and typing fast lectures keep me awake in dull classes. I use it for most of my assignments because most (if not all) want assignments to be typed. I find it extremely handy to write papers because you don’t always want to stay on the library computer all the time. I also use the iCal religiously to organize my assignment due dates. But like I said, this is my own personal preference. I have always been computer savvy and prefer typing over writing. But not having a laptop is not impossible, and it certainly depends on your major. Some majors, such as Political Science require intensive note taking and numerous papers whereas other majors, such as Studio Art obviously do not use laptops.</p>
<p>1) DITTO EXACTLY what InBloom said.
I too think most college students have laptops these days… I know very few people at my school who don’t have one. They are incredibly useful so I’d recommend getting one if it’s not too much of a burden for you. I suppose you can still do well without a laptop but it’s doubtful that you will be able to get by without using any computers at all, unless your college operates in the stone age (no offense!). Ditto above poster on using the computer lab if you need to.</p>
<p>I have a macbook and take it to most of my classes everyday. Lots of people take laptops to lecture classes at but less do for small classes. It helps me take notes and I use iCal religiously too… there’s just too much to keep track of mentally. I have a personal rule not to get on facebook/etc in class just because I don’t see the point of wasting time going to class if I’m not paying attention at all, but I do see people on facebook/etc during lecture classes particularly if they’re boring. I also see people doing work for other classes in lectures.</p>
<p>2) Haha I’m not sure what classifies as a “top kid” but I’m sure these “top kids” you speak of all have different things that work for them. I assume they do whatever helps them pay attention in class best. It also depends on the major/class… For example, I never use my laptop to take notes in math/science classes but I do in humanities classes.
Although I don’t claim to be a “top kid,” I personally tend to have LOTS of homework during the week. In math/science classes I generally have a problem set due every week and each one takes maybe like 10 hours to complete. So I do maybe like 3 of those a week. Then humanities will usually be like 7 hours of reading a week, and I’ll do like 4-5 hours of that a week. Maybe a paper every couple weeks and those tend to take a lot of time just thinking about and I average maybe like an hour a paragraph for actual writing which can really add up. So maybe on a bad day I’ll spend 12-14 hours doing homework and on a great day no homework… And I have like 2 bad days a week, maybe 2-3 moderate, and 2-3 great.</p>