MD & DO iPad Pro for Medical School

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iPad Pro Worth It?

  • Yes

    Votes: 163 76.5%
  • No

    Votes: 50 23.5%

  • Total voters
    213

Jdp00921

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Simple question really - is it worth the ~$700 for an iPad Pro for medical school? The school I'm going to be attending does give a laptop, however, would it be worth it to splurge for the iPad? I know I have read about step studying and how most of the step-prep materials have apps to assist with on-the-go studying - would the iPad be worth it primarily for this reason? Obviously, I will use it for other things - Spotify, social media, etc. - as well.

Secondly, if I did buy one, is the 64gb model enough storage for the step-review resources? My current cell is 64gb and even with tons of music/pictures, I still haven't come close to using that so I have no concern for that stuff.

Thanks in advance!
Jdp

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Buy the mini instead. Its nice to use on the wards when you're studying/looking stuff up because it doesn't look like you're just playing on your phone.
 
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MS1 here. I have an iPad Pro with the pencil and I love it. Writing with the pencil to take notes helps me retain info far better than typing does. I went with the 256GB - $150 for 4x the memory seemed like a no-brainer for me, and I'll probably never have to worry about running out of space.
 
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256 Gb, with the pencil. I never use a single piece of paper and have every resource with me. It's great. Worth every penny
 
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If being able to easily write notes is important to you then I think the iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil is 100% worth it. Writing helps me learn, so being able to have all of my electronic resources with me + have the ability to easily write notes/annotate documents and have all of that in one place as well made the iPad Pro a great tool and something I really wish I’d had back as an M1. However, if you’re mainly a typed notes kind of person/don’t have much use for the Apple Pencil, then I think a regular iPad or iPad mini (easier to carry come wards-time) would do fine without the extra cost of the pro.
 
If being able to easily write notes is important to you then I think the iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil is 100% worth it. Writing helps me learn, so being able to have all of my electronic resources with me + have the ability to easily write notes/annotate documents and have all of that in one place as well made the iPad Pro a great tool and something I really wish I’d had back as an M1. However, if you’re mainly a typed notes kind of person/don’t have much use for the Apple Pencil, then I think a regular iPad or iPad mini (easier to carry come wards-time) would do fine without the extra cost of the pro.

I don't usually type notes... For the most part, I like to read through the PPT's and annotate in the margins. Additionally, as I alluded to above, I would love to have my board prep materials with me when needed. Given these two details, and the above comments, I think I'm definitely going to grab one! I may still consider the non-Pro edition, but overall, definitely going to explore the iPod options!

Thank you and thanks all above for the comments/recommendations!
 
Get the biggest screen biggest hard drive you can. I skimped our in those two areas and regret it. My iPad is life.
 
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Get the biggest screen biggest hard drive you can. I skimped our in those two areas and regret it. My iPad is life.

You think the 12.9 inch ipad is better than the 10.5 inch one? I feel like the 12.9 might be too big
 
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You think the 12.9 inch ipad is better than the 10.5 inch one? I feel like the 12.9 might be too big
That’s what I thought too so I got the 10.5. The big one is really nice for pulling up two different things side by side. Didn’t realize how valuable that’d be until I got into it. I’m admittedly a very frugal person, but if I could do it again I’d splurged and get the most decked out iPad Pro I could get. You’re going to spend all day in front of it for several years so it’s not unreasonable to go all out on this imo.
 
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Does everyone use an iPad or do people use laptops too? I feel much more comfortable on my laptop but I just want to make sure it will be feasible
 
Does everyone use an iPad or do people use laptops too? I feel much more comfortable on my laptop but I just want to make sure it will be feasible
I thought I’d only use one or the other, but I find it pretty convenient to takes notes on my iPad while streaming the lecture on my laptop.
 
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I love my iPad pro. I download all the lecture PowerPoints and take notes right on the PowerPoint slides. I find my notes so much easier to follow that way, and you can draw out pathways and pictures so easily.
 
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As someone who uses an iPad Pro and really enjoys it, it’s not a laptop replacement. You will still need a standalone computer with a full desktop OS, though it looks like you’ve got that covered.

As far as portables go, though, the combination of iPad Pro + keyboard + pencil is outstanding. Worth the cost? Probably not - I think I’d rather get a Surface - unless you’re already embedded in the Apple ecosystem. It’s certainly a nice luxury, but it’s just that, a luxury. You can get by without it.
 
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If anyone stealas my ipad pro I'd be royally screwed at this point. No regrets
 
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Samsung galaxy tab s3 has all the functionality for 550
 
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iPad-MacBook Pro duo is fantastic. I watch lecture/sketchy/Pathoma/B&B on my laptop, and take notes on my iPad with PDFs of lecture-powerpoints/sketchy/Pathoma/FirstAid.
 
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MS1 here. I use my 12.9 iPad Pro with pencil every day. I absolutely love it. I annotate ppts in the margins with notability and love the split screen feature when using apps/pulling up YouTube videos to watch side by side. It’s also great to use as a white board when reviewing practice questions or just needed to draw out ideas. It’s definitely an investment, but has been worth it so far for me!
 
Ipad pro with the pencil. Download Notability/Evernote.
Say goodbye to paper!
Just curious, why say goodbye to paper? is the iPad more efficient? What are the benefits of notes on iPad vs pen and paper?
 
I use my ipad pro for everything. Pairs nicely with my MacBook Pro. Zero regrets here!
 
Just curious, why say goodbye to paper? is the iPad more efficient? What are the benefits of notes on iPad vs pen and paper?

You can do everything and more on the Ipad vs. when using a paper/pen. All your notes in notability are safe and concise so it is much easier to review.
You can also add all your e-books, can copy pictures/tables/etc from it to your lecture ppts.
I used to be a paper guy in undergrad, where I would print color slides and take notes on them, but that stopped with the Ipad.
I can do the same without having to spend money on printing and using paper in general.
 
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10.5 vs 12.9 is the real question

I have the 10.5 and feel like it's the perfect size. While it isn't necessarily small enough to easily throw in a pocket like the iPad mini is, I was still able to carry it with me on many of my rotations during 3rd year without it being in the way or obnoxious. I definitely couldn't have done that with the 12.9. That being said, I still have a laptop computer that I can use when I want a larger screen--if the iPad was my ONLY device, I'd probably want the 12.9.
 
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I had used my iPad pro during M1-M2 to use alongside my laptop using the duet display app. It turns your ipad into a second monitor which is cool. Going back I would have saved money buying a portable USB monitor since that was the main purpose I used it for at the time.

I have a question, not to steer this thread away too much, but are any of you apple fans looking at this new samsung galaxy s9? I'm thinking about switching to it but I have all the apple products. Haven't been having good luck with their phones lately.

Back to the topic, I would recommend the 10.5 pro with pencil and keyboard or just a surface pro, depending on whether you prefer one OS or the other. I gave my 12.9 pro away. It was too bulky.
 
Definitely get the iPad Pro. I use it with my Apple Pencil to take notes all the time and it’s sooo convenient. I can draw on the PDF directly which is incredibly useful for all the physiology lectures (pretty much 95% of my lectures). I just take my iPad with me to school on a normal day but I take my laptop with me for exams because I can use a mouse with it. I have the largest screen size (12 inch I believe) with 256gb. I think it’s a bit overkill to be honest since my friends with smaller screen sizes seem to love their iPad just as much as me, and I didn’t need nearly as much as 256gb to keep all my school stuff on my iPad.
 
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Definitely get the iPad Pro. I use it with my Apple Pencil to take notes all the time and it’s sooo convenient. I can draw on the PDF directly which is incredibly useful for all the physiology lectures (pretty much 95% of my lectures). I just take my iPad with me to school on a normal day but I take my laptop with me for exams because I can use a mouse with it. I have the largest screen size (12 inch I believe) with 256gb. I think it’s a bit overkill to be honest since my friends with smaller screen sizes seem to love their iPad just as much as me, and I didn’t need nearly as much as 256gb to keep all my school stuff on my iPad.
What app do you use to take notes for those lectures? One note? Notability?
 
Just curious, why say goodbye to paper? is the iPad more efficient? What are the benefits of notes on iPad vs pen and paper?

My printer couldn’t keep up. I tried that. With notability, everything is stored in one place and i don’t have hundreds and hundreds of pages of paper notes to sort through.
 
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I had used my iPad pro during M1-M2 to use alongside my laptop using the duet display app. It turns your ipad into a second monitor which is cool. Going back I would have saved money buying a portable USB monitor since that was the main purpose I used it for at the time.

I have a question, not to steer this thread away too much, but are any of you apple fans looking at this new samsung galaxy s9? I'm thinking about switching to it but I have all the apple products. Haven't been having good luck with their phones lately.

Back to the topic, I would recommend the 10.5 pro with pencil and keyboard or just a surface pro, depending on whether you prefer one OS or the other. I gave my 12.9 pro away. It was too bulky.

I literally just “upgraded” (using this term loosely) to the iphone 7 from my old 5s. (T-mobile doesn’t do the “free phone” thing with an upgrade) so nope. I don’t like androids anyway lol I am in the same boat, though, i own only apple products.
 
Quick question for everyone...

If the ipad's harddrive crashes.....or the apps become buggy (which is a huge risk with any app)....are you all screwed? Like do you guys back all your notes up from the ipad to your laptop just in case?? What if the app just crashes and resets (as in deletes all your notes)? lol

My best friend is an Apple tech and he says ipads crash EVERYDAY. There's lines out the door every morning for help with phones, ipads, macs crashing. The solutions usually involve restoring them (as in wiping it clean). It just seems so sketchy to have all your notes on one device that CAN crash at any time.
 
MS1 here. I have an iPad Pro with the pencil and I love it. Writing with the pencil to take notes helps me retain info far better than typing does. I went with the 256GB - $150 for 4x the memory seemed like a no-brainer for me, and I'll probably never have to worry about running out of space.

^this. I have all my lectures in one note and it is amazing. Highly recommend.
 
Quick question for everyone...

If the ipad's harddrive crashes.....or the apps become buggy (which is a huge risk with any app)....are you all screwed? Like do you guys back all your notes up from the ipad to your laptop just in case?? What if the app just crashes and resets (as in deletes all your notes)? lol

My best friend is an Apple tech and he says ipads crash EVERYDAY. There's lines out the door every morning for help with phones, ipads, macs crashing. The solutions usually involve restoring them (as in wiping it clean). It just seems so sketchy to have all your notes on one device that CAN crash at any time.

You can save it directly to your onedrive or dropbox. It syncs it in real-time so you don't really lose anything if the hardware crashes.
 
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Not seeing much love for the Surface here. I switched over from an iPad during my undergrad and haven't looked back. Offers everything a regular tablet does while also being an amazing laptop replacement when needed. It saved me a lot of space and backache when I needed to bring my textbooks and laptop on campus. iPad is a great choice though, especially if you're already deep in the Apple ecosystem.
 
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Adding to this thread versus starting a new one - thoughts on the new 9.7 inch iPad versus the 10.5 iPad pro? They both support the Apple pencil, which for me is key as I want to take notes with it, but the new ipad seems more basic (as to be expected) and I'm not sure what I would miss out on (if anything) if I go with that versus the pro... price-wise the new 9.7in ipad is $429 for the 128GB versus $649 for the 64GB ipad pro or $799 for the 256GB ipad pro. Thoughts?
 
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Adding to this thread versus starting a new one - thoughts on the new 9.7 inch iPad versus the 10.5 iPad pro? They both support the Apple pencil, which for me is key as I want to take notes with it, but the new ipad seems more basic (as to be expected) and I'm not sure what I would miss out on (if anything) if I go with that versus the pro... price-wise the new 9.7in ipad is $429 for the 128GB versus $649 for the 64GB ipad pro or $799 for the 256GB ipad pro. Thoughts?
I am wondering this same thing as they released the 9.7in compatible with the pencil.
 
Adding to this thread versus starting a new one - thoughts on the new 9.7 inch iPad versus the 10.5 iPad pro? They both support the Apple pencil, which for me is key as I want to take notes with it, but the new ipad seems more basic (as to be expected) and I'm not sure what I would miss out on (if anything) if I go with that versus the pro... price-wise the new 9.7in ipad is $429 for the 128GB versus $649 for the 64GB ipad pro or $799 for the 256GB ipad pro. Thoughts?

Try them both out in the store. If they both have the same responsiveness to the pencil, I would get the cheaper one. I don’t use it much else then for taking notes on OneNote and watching some shows. I find it super useful though IMO.


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I like using the ipad pro for annotating First-Aid throughout my first year (I use FA to study for exams and go over material here and there for my first year classes). I have reserved the actual physical book for my second year. lol

I like using my ipad for drawing over notes and just looking for a more engaging way to interact with the same material. Worth it!

Oh and its great for anatomy btw! especially if you are able to get a pdf version of the anatomy text being used at your school.

Download either Notability or GoodNotes to annotate pdfs.
 
Not seeing much love for the Surface here. I switched over from an iPad during my undergrad and haven't looked back. Offers everything a regular tablet does while also being an amazing laptop replacement when needed. It saved me a lot of space and backache when I needed to bring my textbooks and laptop on campus. iPad is a great choice though, especially if you're already deep in the Apple ecosystem.
I’ve been looking at the Surface Pro. If I got that, would I still need another laptop? (I have a desktop computer at the house.) Are there apps on the iPad that are so valuable in med school that it’s better to get an iPad than the surface? I thought toting a laptop AND tablet would be annoying, but now it’s sounding like even if I get the surface pro I’ll still need a laptop
 
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I’ve been looking at the Surface Pro. If I got that, would I still need another laptop? (I have a desktop computer at the house.) Are there apps on the iPad that are so valuable in med school that it’s better to get an iPad than the surface? I thought toting a laptop AND tablet would be annoying, but now it’s sounding like even if I get the surface pro I’ll still need a laptop
you would probably need a laptop to take exams. I will be getting a laptop, and a tablet.
 
I’ve been looking at the Surface Pro. If I got that, would I still need another laptop? (I have a desktop computer at the house.) Are there apps on the iPad that are so valuable in med school that it’s better to get an iPad than the surface? I thought toting a laptop AND tablet would be annoying, but now it’s sounding like even if I get the surface pro I’ll still need a laptop

You should check your school’s laptop policy and see if the surface pro is ok to use.


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Adding to this thread versus starting a new one - thoughts on the new 9.7 inch iPad versus the 10.5 iPad pro? They both support the Apple pencil, which for me is key as I want to take notes with it, but the new ipad seems more basic (as to be expected) and I'm not sure what I would miss out on (if anything) if I go with that versus the pro... price-wise the new 9.7in ipad is $429 for the 128GB versus $649 for the 64GB ipad pro or $799 for the 256GB ipad pro. Thoughts?

Microcenter has the 10.5” Pro 64GB for $499 and the 256GB for $649, just FYI.
 
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Thoughts on the 2018 Dell XPS 15" 2-in-1s? Was thinking about getting that as a laptop/tablet combo vs a cheaper laptop and an Ipad Pro.
 
I don't have the iPad Pro 12.9-inch but it seems like a superb device for ANY student. Lightweight, big screen, pencil, tons of apps --- you really can't go wrong. Plus, there is no fan noise which kinda dings the Surface Pro 2017 somewhat --- although the slightly slower Core i5 model is fanless.
 
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Thoughts on the 2018 Dell XPS 15" 2-in-1s? Was thinking about getting that as a laptop/tablet combo vs a cheaper laptop and an Ipad Pro.

My friend uses that and he loves it - great device, however the Apple Pencil is unreal for note taking / annotating pdfs with GoodNotes or Notability
 
The only class it is remotely useful for (i.e. not easily replaceable by having a laptop) is anatomy. Other than that, you're not going to be using it very often.
 
MS1 here. I have an iPad Pro with the pencil and I love it. Writing with the pencil to take notes helps me retain info far better than typing does. I went with the 256GB - $150 for 4x the memory seemed like a no-brainer for me, and I'll probably never have to worry about running out of space.

I'm starting medical school this fall and I was thinking about buying an iPad pro, what apps do you recommend to take notes and/or help me study. Do you know if the surface pro is also useful?

thank you
 
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I'm starting medical school this fall and I was thinking about buying an iPad pro, what apps do you recommend to take notes and/or help me study. Do you know if the surface pro is also useful?

thank you

No notes. Only Anki.
 
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Adding to this thread versus starting a new one - thoughts on the new 9.7 inch iPad versus the 10.5 iPad pro? They both support the Apple pencil, which for me is key as I want to take notes with it, but the new ipad seems more basic (as to be expected) and I'm not sure what I would miss out on (if anything) if I go with that versus the pro... price-wise the new 9.7in ipad is $429 for the 128GB versus $649 for the 64GB ipad pro or $799 for the 256GB ipad pro. Thoughts?
Same question. Wanting to get an iPad for year 2 and rotations but I really would only want to drop the money if I could use the pencil, would the 9.7 be discrete enough do you think?
 
I just picked up the new gen iPad (non pro) 9.7” and it is now compatible with the pencil and it costs a fraction of an iPad Pro. Only difference is slightly slower processing and refresh rate on screen and a slightly lower quality screen. All these are darn near negligible imo for Med students. I love mine.


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