Computer necessary in pharmacy school?

[Gnomo]

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Little sis starts pharmacy school this fall. She has to have an iPad, but I'm trying to lobby her to not get a computer as well to save some cash. Is a computer absolutely necessary in pharmacy school (i.e, are there papers to write and such)?

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Yes, she's going to need a computer. Or plan on spending a lot of time in the computer lab.

 

[gh0lee]

Little sis starts pharmacy school this fall. She has to have an iPad, but I'm trying to lobby her to not get a computer as well to save some cash. Is a computer absolutely necessary in pharmacy school (i.e, are there papers to write and such)?

For the most part, pharmacy schools will require you to have one (There are schools like mine that REQUIRES to purchase laptop from the school since all the software and programs they use are already installed)

👍

 

[Twentytwelve2]

Some schools require you to have a laptop.

 

[Notecard]

Yea she needs one. I only have a desktop though and it works for me.

 

[chrispharm]

some schools even require that you have an i device, such as iphone,ipad, or ipod touch.

 

[Prepharm0425]

some schools even require that you have an i device, such as iphone,ipad, or ipod touch.

Not sure if serious or not, lol

 

[owlegrad]

Not sure if serious or not, lol

It's true.

 

[PharmD for Me]

I personally have both an iPad and a laptop. The iPad is awesome for taking notes on, using pharmacy apps, distracting yourself in class, and it very portable. However, I personally think it's biggest downfall is that it is not easy to type papers on. You can buy keyboards for them, but unless you want to buy the appropriate software you cannot really do much as far as formatting, tables, etc. There are probably some tech gurus out there that know how to do it though... who knows. I also don't like studying straight from it because the screen is smaller and you generally can't look at multiple "pages" at the same time. That being said, she can also use the school's computers for typing. If she isn't picky about laptops she could buy a cheap used one to do what a tablet cannot.

 

[confettiflyer]

Assuming there are no hard computer requirements from the school, I would recommend the following for budget purposes:

1) Buy a keyboard for the iPad, use it for in-class note taking. Pony up for some iPad software that can maybe take notes on powerpoint lectures, or annotate PDF's.

2) Buy a budget desktop PC for < $400 and park it at her apartment. If you can get a budget laptop for around that price, that could be better and you would negate the need for a keyboard for the iPad.

You *could* theoretically avoid the need for a desktop PC, but expect to spend a lot of time in the university library/computer labs. This may or may not be feasible depending on a) where your sister lives and b) the quality/safety of the facilities.

 

[smercer]

I think most depends on comfort level. If they have never used an iPad for more then just playing games...then it will be hard. If they have used an iPad for a lot of tasks before, then it will not be bad, as they know the interface and probably some shortcuts for doing things.

I personally dislike apple products, but that is because I have always used Windows based computers and Droid phones. Thus working off an iPad would suck for me. Yes you can learn how to use it and you will, but it will definitely add time to your tasks until you do.

There is a no-tax weekend coming up. Not sure, but you may be able to get a comp/laptop with no tax on it, if you need/want to get one for them.

 

[confettiflyer]

There is a no-tax weekend coming up. Not sure, but you may be able to get a comp/laptop with no tax on it, if you need/want to get one for them.

"no tax weekends" vary by state and are mostly on the east coast.

 

[Gnomo]

Thank you all for your replies. It seems like a home computer is necessary. I thought she could use one of the college's computer labs, but she doesn't live that close to campus and there would be safety concerns. Also, it sounds like there are papers to write, and iPads kind of suck for that. I suppose computers are pretty cheap now anyway, so it won't be too much of a burden. Thanks again!

 

[Kwiz]

IPad will be more expensive in the long run. You can get a decent Dell laptop with about 10 times the hard drive size for like $400. MacBook Pro will run you a pretty penny ($3,100 for all upgraded specs).

 

[xtsukiyox]

The majority of people in my class seem to prefer an iPad for taking notes, and many use Noteability. There are also a good number of laptops.

I had a desktop prior to pharma school, and I bought a "budget" laptop for $325 that seems to do everything I need it to. I have issues handwriting, so a keyboard for notes is a must. I also have a rolling backpack, so the weight isn't an issue.

Find out what kind of tables will be in the lecture hall - for the first year, we're in a classroom with those individual fold up desks, so a smaller laptop is a more comfortable fit. (I think mine is a 15", and I certainly wouldn't want anything larger.)

 

[Gnomo]

IPad will be more expensive in the long run. You can get a decent Dell laptop with about 10 times the hard drive size for like $400. MacBook Pro will run you a pretty penny ($3,100 for all upgraded specs).

I believe she has to have an iPad. Her school sells them pre-loaded with certain apps she will be using. My question, which has been answered thoroughly, is whether she could survive using a campus computer lab, allowing her to not shell out $600 or so on a personal laptop.

Thanks again.

 

[confettiflyer]

IPad will be more expensive in the long run. You can get a decent Dell laptop with about 10 times the hard drive size for like $400. MacBook Pro will run you a pretty penny ($3,100 for all upgraded specs).

Yeah I hate when people compare the cheapest of cheap to the highest end MacBook Pros. No **** there's a $2500 difference.

$999 macbook air is super portable, comparable Samsung Series 9 is like $1149.

But if this will just sit at home and the OP's sister is driving to campus then a chunky cheap laptop will do just fine....especially if it's just web browsing and MS Word.

If they're walking more than 3 city blocks or traveling on flights, go ultra portable... it makes a huge difference in QOL.

Okay, I'm out of this thread before it turns into a mac/PC pissing contest.

 

[Kwiz]

I was just comparing two decent laptops that I have. The purpose of me doing that WAS to do exactly what pisses this guy off apparently, but most people refer to my advice as giving you what is known as a "price range". Apparently people hate "price ranges" and go off on price rages. Anyway, anywhere from ~$400-~$3,000 for a laptop is what you're looking at. Apparently having one at each end of the price spectrum draws haters so maybe next time I'll get 7 laptops, one at the mean price and one at + or - 1,2, and 3 standard deviations so I don't drown in the river that guy just cried.

 

[foreveros]

It is absolutely necessary to have a LAPTOP not home computer.
Sure ipad is good and fancy, but it is not powerful as a 400 dollar laptop.

You cant type or take notes as in an ipad as fast as a laptop. so you will missing tons of stuff her professes says in school. If they have lecture recording in their school. it will take her for ever to watch/listen to lectures and taken notes at the same time on an ipad.

How you going to watch a lecture and type at the same time ipad is not capable of doing that. its much easier and faster to do things on a laptop than on an ipad. I highly recommend that you get her a laptop STAT

 

[Kwiz]

Yeah, a decent dell or something with a 3-4 year warranty would be recommended. That way, you're planning for the future at least up until after pharm school.