do i need a laptop?

[alumafly]

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need some help here.

i'm debating on whether or not to buy a laptop for med school. about what %age of your class uses one?

 

[Espion]

need some help here.

i'm debating on whether or not to buy a laptop for med school. about what %age of your class uses one?

Considering that the classrooms at Texas Tech have ethernet hookups practically every three feet, almost everyone as a laptop. However, it is not necessary. Student affairs here even lets you rent a laptop for 24 hours at a time if you have to scribe a lecture, or need it for a powerpoint.

The reason why I like mine is because of the portability (I can carry it into most coffeeshops that offer free wireless internet) and because I can type fairly fast (which was good for in class lectures).

However, I wish I had a desktop. They're more dependable. The frustration I have with my laptop makes it almost not worth it.

 

[8744]

need some help here.

i'm debating on whether or not to buy a laptop for med school. about what %age of your class uses one?

If your school posts the powerpoints from lectures online, or if your student note taking service distributes the notes on disk or online, a laptop would be nice to have. This way, you can eschew hauling around all that paper and study from your laptop virtually anywhere.

At my school, we were required to purchase a laptop so essentially my whole class had the same laptop. It came in handy for everything. I did 90% of my studying looking at notes and Powerpoints directly on the screen.

You can get a decent laptop for about a thousand bucks. Considering what medical school is going to cost you it is not an outrageous sum considering how it will simplify studying.

 

[DrBodacious]

I have a laptop but I'm in the minority of my class in that regard. My school has more than enough computers on campus to meet our needs. Wait untill you start school and see what you think then. I sort of wish I didn't get one so I still had the $.

 

[nezlab99]

forget the laptop, go with a convertible tablet Pc. Since I've started my first year, about 15 people in my class have them and swear by them. Look into them if you're in the market.

 

[fielight]

you certainly don't need a laptop (any kind of computer access is fine), but it would be useful to have one since many classrooms have WiFi and it's convenient to download slides or documents while you're in lecture. if you are debating with buying a new laptop vs desktop, then i think it would be worthwhile to go for the laptop. but if you already have a perfectly good computer, then there's no real reason for the extra expense. you might also just wait until class and see how you feel... mobile computing is one of those things that can be incredibly liberating and useful, but not everyone appreciates/wants it.

 

[PeterGriffin]

UTHouston has wireless access basically anywhere at the school so it is really nice having a laptop. However, most of the time it seems like my laptop is more of a distraction than anything durning class. 😳

 

[docbill]

UTHouston has wireless access basically anywhere at the school so it is really nice having a laptop. However, most of the time it seems like my laptop is more of a distraction than anything durning class. 😳

Hey your my daddy

UNECOM as well.

 

[Rendar5]

I'm a PC person, but when it came to buying a laptop for class (i have an old pc desktop which i'm currently fixing. just gotta order a new motherboard), i made sure to just go w/ one that wouldn't need micromanaging or give me errors a lot, so i went Apple. I have an ibook G4 that i absolutely love. I so wouldn't want a PC laptop, just as I so wouldn't want a Mac desktop.

it's not necessary, but at a lot of med schools it is very beneficial to bring a comp to class or the library. that's why i finally got a laptop (had been refusing to get one for years). And since my desktop has been down for a few months, it's been a life-saver.

But if u honestly can't afford to get one on loans (u can get an educational discount on laptops, BTW), then ur desktop should suffice, though i don't recommend it too much.

 

[alumafly]

This way, you can eschew hauling around all that paper and study from your laptop virtually anywhere.

yeah... i was thinkin about that too.

i was always haulin around a $hit load of paper as an undergrad; i can only imagine how much it'd be for med. school