The Surface Pro 1 and 2 has a Wacom Digitizer with 1024 levels of pressure. The Surface Pro 3 has a N-Trig Digitizer with 256 levels of pressure. While N-Trig is not that popular, people say it's still good enough for serious drawing.
I kinda doubt the difference between 256 and 1024 levels of pressure makes a big difference for someone starting an art degree or doing hobby work. Even the guys from Penny Arcade said it's still pretty good.
I still agree to the rest of SarcasticJoe's post.
The real issue with N-Trig isn't the pressure sensitivity steps (Wacom's claims in this area are basically marketing BS). N-Trig's digitizers have very poor linearity compared to Wacom's tech, which makes them a questionable choice for actual art usage. Most people aren't aware of the concept of digitizer "linearity" and don't know how to test for it, but will report the issue as the drawing experience just not feeling right (or as seeing wobbly lines when they draw more slowly, which they often incorrectly attribute to the slippery glass surface)
Mike Krahulik (PA) didn't seem to mind the linearity issue, but he also draws comics with a very distinct fast stroke style (thick black brush lines, no detail work). N-Trig may be okay for note-taking but I wouldn't really recommend it for anyone who needs to do professional work with a pen.
Here's a thread from another forum where linearity is tested on a number of devices:
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/art...-tracking-accuracy-test-multiple-tablets.html
You'll see that Wacom Penabled digitizers (SP1/2, Thinkpad Yoga) do better than N-Trig, but still show some wobble. Only the Cintiq was able to more or less "pass" the linearity test which is how Wacom manages to charge such absurd prices for them (no competition at that quality level). The tests largely involve drawing straight lines, but these "wobbles" will appear on any stroke done at a slow to moderate speed.
N-Trig also has a kind of strange pressure curve, with higher minimum activation force and a much higher peak force (too high for a device like the SP3, we're talking enough pressure to deform the glass until it presses on the LCD panel). Whether or not that's an issue really depends on usage.
Edit to add personal experience w/ SP1:
I should mention that I picked up a new SP1 when MS was selling them for $500. The main advantage of this kind of device is that you can do work that would normally require pencil and paper: Solving equations, drawing out diagrams for complicated word problems, or doing chemistry work like electron transfer diagrams. Anyone going into a field which uses lots of math or diagrams (engineering, physics, mathematics, maybe chem and bio?) would probably get a lot of use out of a system with a digitizer.
On the other hand if the notes you'll be taking are largely of the ... softer variety (words!) it probably makes more sense to use a keyboard, and I couldn't say much about the SP experience in that context because I never even picked up a keyboard for mine.
I'll end with the disclaimer that I've worked with digitizers for years so I'm pretty familiar with the usual issues (parallax, calibration issues, and linearity issues resulting in pointer offset, some latency). Someone who's never used a digitizer might not find this kind of device as useful and see at as awkward compared to a pencil on real paper.
