<p>Hi guys, I'm starting at Cal this fall. I was just wondering if lots of students use laptops in class to take notes. If not, I'm just taking my PC with me.</p>
<p>Yes, but it depends on the professor.</p>
<p>In a humanities class, about half use laptops, half write down their notes. As others have said, if the professor uses PowerPoint slides, most people bring their laptops to read the slides off their own laptop, type the slide information faster, multitask with Facebook…</p>
<p>I guess the downside with bringing a laptop is that you’d have to have a “long” battery life or search/stake out an outlet. And your backpack is heavier.</p>
<p>In the chemistry, physics, and math classes I’ve taken, most people don’t use laptops to take notes because there are so many symbols and figures to copy down.</p>