Laptop or Desktop?

[EyeGotIt]

I was wondering what sort of computers people have in optometry school. I've had a laptop for undergrad but rarely brought it to class or the library so it mainly just sat on my desk. How much do people use their computers for actual school-related work, and what would you suggest I get for next year?

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[ODduck]

I was wondering what sort of computers people have in optometry school. I've had a laptop for undergrad but rarely brought it to class or the library so it mainly just sat on my desk. How much do people use their computers for actual school-related work, and what would you suggest I get for next year?

At Pacific, I (and probably 90% of my classmates) use our laptops everyday during class. I take and save all of my notes/powerpoints on my laptop. So in other words, my entire life is on the computer that I am currently typing on. Kinda scary actually!

 

[rpames]

I have always loved laptops. While in school we had many group projects/papers and it was really nice to bring my laptop to the study room in the library. When I was at ICO the school was really pushing toward having all the notes online. I don't know if they are there yet, but I would imaging having a laptop would be very helpful.

 

[sniklegem]

From what I've seen so far: people who've tried to switch to using their laptops for note-taking go back to what they are comfortable with before optom school started.

My laptop has a bunch of powerpoints on it, and study sheets, and papers, and all that jazz, but we get hard copy course packs and I have my handwritten notes on those.

If your laptop mostly sits on your desk @ home then (if I were a betting woman, which I am ) I'd say you probably won't use it during class too much.

So, if you really need a new computer, I'd say go with a laptop, but that's just me. Sometimes you just need to get away from your home... you can't really take a desktop with you to study in some corner of the library.

 

[mupreopt]

I am in undergraduate and only one person in my class use a laptop for notetaking.
I have thought about using my laptop for notetaking but sometimes the teacher will draw things on the board and I don't know how I would draw on my laptop (unless I purchased a tablet PC). So I just stick to hand-written notes.

 

[WoodyJI]

...but sometimes the teacher will draw things on the board and I don't know how I would draw on my laptop (unless I purchased a tablet PC). So I just stick to hand-written notes.

When I interviewed, I brought in a black leather professional notepad--you probably know the kind--with a pen holder in it. I use that when my professor starts drawing stuff or when I just need to scribble some things down. It's great because I keep a nice pen in there, so when I go to clinic use that instead of a clipboard. If you have a similar thing, that's what I'd recommend.

I'd just keep in mind that it's good to use as many different mediums as you can--I try not to get locked into just taking notes on my computer or never bringing it to class. I'll use the computer for lectures that are powerpoint based, but not for things like optics classes. Typing your notes is incredibly useful though because they can be instantly searched. I consider the fact that I'm building a library for myself to reference come boards time. Much easier than digging up old course packets and thumbing through them a page at a time. Just my $0.02.

 

[EyeGotIt]

thanks for the input everybody

 

[aam0050]

Almost nobody, except for some of the notetakers, use their laptops in class. We get tons of printed notes from our notetaking service, and almost all of the professors have notes they distribute in class everyday. So I just write on my powerpoints whenever there's something to add to the notes. Just depends on the school. It's probably still nice to have a laptop in case you ever wanted to work on something in the library without having to sit in the computer lab. Good luck.