<p>We are buying our son a laptop to take to college. He has a desktop and a larger laptop and he may take one of them to have in his dorm BUT he would like a smaller laptop to take to classes, etc.</p>
<p>Which begs the question...do you use your laptop in the library, to take notes, traveling around campus, etc?</p>
<p>I personally figured out that I cannot focus in lectures if I have my laptop with me. It’s just too enticing to get online, and reduce the amount of attention I’m paying to the prof. As a result I usually don’t bring my laptop to classes very often.</p>
<p>I personally also work best in my room, so I don’t know if I’m of much help, but I have a big laptop (17" screen), and I have no problems carrying it to the library or somewhere else, if needed. I think laptop size is really not that important. You can carry it pretty much anywhere, regardless of how big it is. If its really heavy, just stick it in your backpack. Its roughly equivalent to carrying a textbook, at worst. Focus more on its specifications (RAM, hard drive space, battery life,…etc), especially if he will be using it a lot (ie running programs, photoshop,…etc).</p>
<p>^ I’m identical to this.</p>
<p>I can’t focus with a laptop in class. I either end up going online, playing games, doing anything except paying attention to the lecture.
I also have a 17" screen which is bulky to carry around. Getting a sleeve helped a lot, but the battery life is only two hours, max.</p>
<p>If he’s going to get a laptop for class, get one of those netbooks (I think that’s what they’re called? Those tiny laptops?) that have a long battery and are compact. I would have got one myself if I had heard of it before buying the one I have now. But my laptop is my only computer, so I did need one with full capabilities.</p>
<p>If he’s going to already bring a laptop or desktop, then perhaps a netbook is all he’d need if he did want to take notes or write a paper in the library. They really can’t handle much other than that, though.</p>
<p>Of course, you weren’t asking for suggestions, so excuse my post. (I’m not a college student yet, so I can’t speak from experience)</p>
<p>Personally, and I’ve been to a few different 4-year colleges… I bring my laptop with me EVERYWHERE. My own personal preference is that I type a lot faster than I do taking notes. I have the self-control to avoid hopping online during lectures. That being said, there are certain professors who will make sure you are taking notes on your computer and not just surfing the internet. I’m taking a Linguistics course in which in our lecture she requires those who are using laptops to sit in the 2 front rows. Anyone who is using their laptop for other purposes is easily caught by the TA’s sittin a few rows back. ;)</p>
<p>Anyway, I’d suggest getting a smaller laptop that is easy to bring around campus. It’s nice for when you have a break in between classes and want to get some work done while eating lunch… or being able to bring it to the library.</p>
<p>Obviously the one downside to a laptop is how easy it is for it to get stolen. Make sure he never leaves it anywhere for a second (even in the library while taking a second to go to the bathroom), it will get stolen.</p>
<p>I really have never taken my laptop anywhere. Nobody around here does and if they do, they just mess around on the internet the whole time in class. There are already threads about computers in classes, so if you do a brief search you should find tons of info on the subject. What I recommend is that your son goes to college and assess if he really thinks he’d want to take a computer to his classes and carry it around all the time. If he does, then he can get one then.</p>
<p>OKgirl: That’s a thought. It is supposed to be a graduation gift, so it feels a little un-celebratory to give him an IOU and wait and see what he needs, but it’s a good thought. He might prefer a really fast, big screen all-the-bells-and-whistles laptop that might be bigger if he isn’t going to lug it around…or maybe get both? A netbook and then use his ginormous flash drive to store and transfer data? Or perhaps an external hard drive?</p>
<p>Of course when I went to school I just used a pen and notebooks…cheaper and the only decisions were red cover or blue?</p>
<p>Having more than one computer is really excessive for the average student. If you are really set on him getting a new computer, just get him a really fast, lightweight one with lots of storage space and a medium sized screen. It wouldn’t be too hard to carry to class and it wouldn’t be too small to do everything on.</p>
<p>I take my laptop everywhere (and so do most people at my school), but that doesn’t mean that I use it in every class. In some classes, the professor talks so fast, so typing is easier than furiously jotting down notes. Of course there is the possibility of spacing out during class with the laptop, but I use discretion when doing so. Im not going to take out my laptop and fool around when I now that I have to take good notes in a class. In a lecture when a professor just reads word for word from powerpoint slides posted online, that is when you see the most people surfing the net. And to comment on the extra computer thing, I think that is useless. Just have a laptop that you can use in the dorm or take around when having to meet up to do projects, assignments, studying in the library, etc.</p>
<p>I always take it to class. For notes, to the library… for everything.</p>
<p>Well, just to clarify…the laptop we buy him will be his only new laptop ever. He has always gotten hand-me downs from his fathers computer classes…so we can and want to give him the best he needs.</p>
<p>im just finishing my freshman year, living on-campus, and my laptop has hardly ever been unlocked from my desk as i come back to my room after classes.</p>
<p>HOWEVER
i have recently (yeah i know took me long enough) realized that this will not be the case when i am off-campus next year. i spend a lot of time on the computer conversing, doing hw, and having fun. i am positive that next year i am going to bring it along with me to class everyday as i am going to want to spend all day on-campus to do all my classes/eat/gym, and my laptop constitutes as my chill-time between classes (ironically it also constitutes my work-time but no matter!) and i dont think i could go all day without checking my email or w/e. conveniently, this is also why there are lounges EVERYWHERE in EVERY building imaginable and wifi all over.</p>
<p>I always carry my laptop with me everywhere I go. I’m in the student government though and I need to check my e-mails very often, so it’s useful for that.</p>
<p>I also have a lot of programs like Matlab (I’m in engineering) installed on my laptop, so it’s useful for that as well.</p>
<p>I just won a netbook recently so that’ll be useful to carry around in college (even though I already have a laptop(…</p>
<p>but the problem is that I am Electric/computer engienering so a netbook might not suffice lol</p>
<p>I do. I do sometimes hop online during class, but it’s usually just when there’s technology troubles or the professor isn’t actually addressing the class, etc. I always see people sitting there the entire time on facebook during class though. Lately it is in my backpack all the time except when I’m in bed because I just don’t want to go back to my dorm.</p>
<p>Although unfortunately I did realize that it would’ve been juts as easy this semester to not bring my laptop and instead print out the slides and take notes on them, but I realized it too late, and I didn’t want to change my method. If I didn’t have the slides, it would be much quicker, I feel, to use my laptop because I can take down notes much quicker.</p>
<p>I know other people who refuse to use their laptop in class, though. But then they just sit there texting and doodling anyway. =P</p>
<p>I have a netbook that I use with OneNote to take notes in some classes. It’s not helpful in math classes, but most of my other classes it works fine. This is the first semester I have used it (I’m in my fourth semester). I wish I had had one from the beginning. It’s really very handy. I also used an OpticBook scanner to scan all my books, so I don’t have to carry them around. It has made things 100 times easier.</p>
<p>I use a laptop, but only in my dorm. Its less cluttering than a desktop. However, I don’t take it to class because it is SO distracting. The all-around Wi-Fi on campuses these days and Twitter don’t help the cause either lol.</p>
<p>so, to answer your Q jamiecakes, I do recommend a laptop. Just realize your son may get distracted if he takes it to class.</p>
<p>I use a laptop almost every day. It can be a distraction, sure, but it’s also very helpful sometimes. I have a few classes where the professors talk so fast you don’t have time to write down one thing they say before they’re already on another topic. In classes like these, I use my laptop for notes. I type faster than I write, and it’s much neater.</p>
<p>Also, if there’s time between classes or whatever, I use my laptop. I don’t know if it’s the same at single-campus schools, but at my school we have two campuses, and most of my classes are on the other campus, so I tend to either talk to friends or go online during my breaks, until I’m done and take the shuttle back to my campus.</p>
<p>I use the HP tablet to take notes in class.
It is amazing. I use one note, but instead of typing, I write my notes with a stylus. The one note program comes with different colors and highlighters, and when I want to erase, I flip the pen over like a real pencil. </p>
<p>I love this because I have all my notes with me all the time, i can send them to friends, and I can look things up on the internet to better clarify what the professor is saying.</p>
<p>If you want to splurge and get this for your student I would highly highly suggest it.
I use it in chemistry, and can draw molecules, do dimensional analysis, and write in my scribbly writing. Of course there is an option to convert to text, but I prefer my writing/images.</p>