Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Going back to college!! POST YOUR GEAR!!!!

Kermit the frog

Kermit the frog

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 30, 2007
147
0
Atlanta, GA
It's been about 8 years since I've had any kinda schooling. I'm starting strong with 14 credits for my first semester.

Anyways do you guys reccomend any "equipment" set aside from the obvious notebook, paper, pens, etc...... i wanna be somewhat prepared
 
Kermit the frog said:
Anyways do you guys reccomend any "equipment" set aside from the obvious notebook, paper, pens, etc...... i wanna be somewhat prepared
Click to expand...

That's all I use. I prefer taking notes by hand since you retain information better if you write it rather than type it. Plus taking notes by hand forces you to listen and decide what is important rather than typing an entire lecture (which does you no good).

If you find that you need more later, buy it then, but I wouldn't recommend buying something ahead of time to only find out later that it's pretty useless (like how I would have purchased an iMac instead of my MacBook if I knew that I wouldn't like taking notes on a computer).
 
GimmeSlack12 said:
6" Bong. Or 4" pipe.
at least 10ft beer bong.
Good table for beer pong.
Lawn chairs.
Pilot Pens.
Click to expand...

All good advice. :D

A few things I find indispensable at Uni:
-iPod and a set of good earphones. I find studying a whole lot easier if I've got some tunes to listen to - all the more so when there's a bug going around and everyone in the library is coughing and wheezing. :/
-travel mug. You'll soon appreciate it, trust me.
-good pens. It might just be me, but I cannot stand to take notes with cheap pens. For me spending a little extra to get a nice pen that writes well is really important.
-a comfy bag. Shouldn't require any explanation.

As to what else you need, I guess that depends on what you're taking. :)
 
Kermit the frog said:
It's been about 8 years since I've had any kinda schooling. I'm starting strong with 14 credits for my first semester.

Anyways do you guys reccomend any "equipment" set aside from the obvious notebook, paper, pens, etc...... i wanna be somewhat prepared
Click to expand...
:apple:MacBook Air is great for notes. Also get a laser printer I beleave Brother has one in the Apple store for $149 20,000 pages before you have to replace the ink!:apple:
 
Airforcekid said:
:apple:MacBook Air is great for notes. Also get a laser printer I beleave Brother has one in the Apple store for $149 20,000 pages before you have to replace the ink!:apple:
Click to expand...

While I disagree with the laptop suggestion, I completely agree with the laser printer suggestion if you're majoring in a subject that requires you to write/print a lot of papers. I recently dumped my ink jet for a Brother laser printer and I will be saving so much money because of it.
 
For school i have two folders, one to put in any handouts i get and the other for printed out lecture slides, a mini notebook and pen for note taking plus a USB thumb drive to move/store files. I carry all these in a small leather vertical messenger

I also have my MBP for general computing and churning out essays and hobbies like video/picture/music editing and of course an iPhone to stay in touch and to act as my iPod.
 
If your just going to school and not working you should be all set with the other posts, but if your gonna work and do school I suggest a trunk full of 5-hour energy drinks! :D
 
For me I found having a laptop at the begining was nice but as I moved deeper into my major it became less useful and I was working on my desktop more and more.

For paper writing I preferred to use the laptop but when it came to more indebt work with heavier excel useage or code writing I went to the desk top. Mostly because it was bigger and I had extra monitors set up for it but by the end I was doing more work on paper.

The printer depends on how much you print. I would go print less than 500 pages a year and a lot of it was not school related.

As for supplies I was a huge fan of the 3 ring binders. I had one for each class. I stored all my notes, homework, test ect in them. It made it very easy to keep track of everything.

As for other stuff like for fun I will assume you been on your own long enough to know what you will be living off campus and be moving to the city the school is to live or already live there so that advise is not needed.
 
I like my netbook (msi wind) for notes and in-library essay writing as it's nice and small, just in my bag it goes. As others have said, a laser printer is a must to save on ink costs. I would add an xbox/ps3 so you havesomething to do when essays are due, after all who the hell goes to school to do work?
 
sikkinixx said:
I like my netbook (msi wind) for notes and in-library essay writing as it's nice and small, just in my bag it goes. As others have said, a laser printer is a must to save on ink costs. I would add an xbox/ps3 so you havesomething to do when essays are due, after all who the hell goes to school to do work?
Click to expand...

are laser printers pretty affordable?

how does the cost of toner compare to ink?
 
dukebound85 said:
are laser printers pretty affordable?

how does the cost of toner compare to ink?
Click to expand...

Like anything, you can spend a little to a whole heck of a lot. The cheap lasers can be had for a hundred bucks or so. Do a search on black and while laser printer reviews, and you'll get an idea of what's out there. A good source for used laser printers is Craigslist - they're really heavy, so instead of eBay, lots of people let them go cheap if you're in the area.

For my laser, toner runs around $70, but it'll print 5000 pages. So in the long run it's usually more economical for me to use the laser for the black and white stuff. I have an inkjet for pictures.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back