<p>What would you all recommend bring in terms of notebooks, binders, etc. etc. I know for sure I'm not going to bring my computer to class, because I wouldn't do any work. Thanks!</p>
<p>I remember someone telling me to bring a single subject notebook for each class, I'm partial to the Five Star brand of notebooks myself. And while those notebooks have pockets inside for holding papers, I'm going to look into some sort of expandable folder to go in my backpack. </p>
<p>I'm not really sure yet if I'm going to bring my laptop to class, I'll decide on that once I get there, but I'm leaning toward it since I have about an hours worth of down time between each of my classes.</p>
<p>I'm partial to 5-star also because of the plastic cover & the pockets. But, 3-sub notebooks or more are handy because then you only have to put one notebook in your backpack & be ready for all your classes. I used the 1-subject notebooks for awhile but I always had extra pages at the end of the class & could use the notebook again for like 2 more classes before it ran out... the 3 subject has a few more pages & the dividers are in there already.</p>
<p>Oh by notebook you meant the kind with pages and stuff :)</p>
<p>Well, I'm bringing my X41 TabletPC, so notebooks are gone. But in the old days, I just bought a few 1" binders (whatever colors you like) and notebook paper. I couldn't use the notebooks because I'm lefthanded, and the spirals would cut into my arm and hand. It was distracting and irritating. Occassionally, I just wrote upside down (flipped the notebook), but I preferred binders to notebooks.</p>
<p>As for ORGANIZING said 'books and binders, that's up to you. Once in college, no one is going to tell you that you have to have dividers or anything. For me, I just kept my notes organized by chapter, no divider or anything. It worked. For me.</p>
<p>h_thealogian, do you find it better to use the tablet or plain notebook paper? Also, if you bring a tablet to class everyday, don't you waste a lot of money on computer batteries?</p>
<p>tablets use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. you dont buy multiple batteries unless you need a backup. rather, you would recharge your battery each day after classes. its that simple.</p>
<p>I use 3 subject notebooks, or ones that flip open at the top (I'm ambidextrous and will switch hands based on where I'm sitting in the room and the desk type). I also have an expandable file that I carry to store any loose papers I get or create. I have a soft flexible binder with notebook paper that I use for homework assignments that have to be turned in, notes from study sessions and exam reviews, and things like that (I do everything possible by hand. I much prefer paper to technology) that I could possibly need to remove and reorganize.</p>
<p>Disorder drives me nuts, so whenever possible I don't tear sheets out of my notebooks. I write drafts of my papers and research notes in those blue test notebooks that english professors use. Sounds weird, but it's nice to have all your notes and drafts of a paper in one notebook that's filled, so everything's organized.</p>
<p>Organization is really personal, though, so you can organize and do notebooks/binders however you like. Binders are a bit more cumbersome, especially with the tiny desks in some lecture halls, so notebooks can be better for that.</p>
<p>I use spiral notebooks inside of 1" binders. That way I can take note on the spiral (which are cheaper than buying a pack of looseleaf) and still have places to put handouts, syllabi, etc. where they won't get lost. I tend to find that if I take notes on looseleaf, the papers get strewn everywhere and I lose stuff.</p>
<p>AUlostchick: how do you keep all of your papers organised in a sprial notebook? Do you glue the papers in the notebook?
Don't laught at me, y'all. I bought a big thing of sprials and I am wondering how to work things with the sprials. When I was a younger gal at school, it was against the silly rules to use a sprial.</p>
<p>I'm doing the same thing as "h_thealogian", in that I am also bringing a tablet pc to class with me. I hated using paper notebooks, and it didn't help that i'm not the most organized person in the world, so a single computer with all my notes will be nice. With the newer tablet technology they write just as well as pen and paper now, so I think i'll be fine. As for the battery thing, not only can you simply recharge the battery, but most classrooms have plugs at every desk, so there's nothing to worry about in regards to running out of power.</p>
<p>No, I have a binder to keep the loose papers in. I get the kind of spirals that have the three holes in them so I can keep them in the binder as well. I write notes in the spirals and then keep loose stuff, three-hole punched, in the binder with it (but outside the spiral).</p>
<p>AUlostchick thanks for not laughing at me:) I go to Southern Christian (online version) over in Montgomery btw!</p>
<p>cool, I'm at Auburn.</p>
<p>"most classrooms have plugs at every desk"?? damn, i wish...why can't we have cool stuff like that? we're just glad when the window a/c works.</p>
<p>I am starting off with just three classes (all 4 hours, fourth class starts halfway through the semester) so I bought three 1" binders with pockets. I put four dividers in each of them and a little bit of notebook paper. I'm using my laptop for notes, but the notebook paper is for diagrams or if the laptop dies. I figured that the dividers will be useful and I will decide a couple weeks into school what I want each section to be -- I could divide it by subject, or just by "Book Notes", "Class Notes", "Articles" etc. Its good to be organized. </p>
<p>I also bought a holepunch so I can print out my notes daily and put them in my binders. I think that will be easier to study because I can flip through it. </p>
<p>I am naturally disorganized, lazy person which is why I'm setting myself up to be as organized as possible. I obviously will fall into some old habits but if I do my best to give myself a system, I think I will manage, haha.</p>
<p>Use whatever's comfortable, but I'd advise waiting until the semester starts. At Wake, a lot of professors put powerpoint slides up online, and if you want to print those out, you obviously don't want to be using a spiral notebook. On the other hand, for classes where you're taking all the notes, writing in a spiral notebook can be easier because it's harder to lose a page from a spiral notebook than it is a binder. Generally at Wake, the humanities courses (including languages) plus math and your FYS and writing seminar are the ones where you're more likely to take all your notes, and the sciences are the classes where you're likely to get slides on BlackBoard.</p>
<p>As I've said before, notebooks are not necessary if you don't like them. I use legal pads, rip the pages off, and stuff them in my textbooks. The good thing is that unlike in HS where you get yelled at for putting stuff in textbooks you don't have to worry about that when you use a book you bought yourself.</p>
<p>I would recommend using pencil instead of pen for your notes though. At some point you'll want to erase something. Eraseable pens still suck and white out is inconvenient.</p>
<p>I have the opposite view of MacTech92, I think pencil sux for taking notes, I've always had issues with pencil smudging and making my notes useless. I have to write my notes in pen now. Although I guess it might not matter if you're keeping your pages in your text book. But thats just another reason for me to go to a tablet pc.</p>
<p>i'm probably going to bring my laptop to class. In high school, I wrote out my notes and ended up typing them up anyway. So I'll probably have a few binders to keep paperwork and stuff in.</p>