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Worth it for a student?

B

Bleak

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 7, 2010
77
0
I'm going to university next year and I am contemplating getting a device for reading PDF's and powerpoints, I often find myself annoyed reading these from my computer/laptop and think the iPad would provide a better experience in that regard. So do have any students had good experiences with the iPad for school or have you found yourself going to your laptop/computer instead?



Sidenotes:
Which storage size would you guys recommended to someone who hasn't passed 16GB on his 32GB iPhone? I'm thinking the 16GB should be enough unless app size is huge on the iPad.

This one is for anyone from Canada.
I'm planning on ordering it online since I'd rather not line up for 15 hours so I can pay $600 for a device... Do they require signatures on mail arrival? I've heard stories of peoples iPads being left at their doorstop and I'd rather not have mine stolen :(

Thank you :)
 
Bleak said:
I'm going to university next year and I am contemplating getting a device for reading PDF's and powerpoints, I often find myself annoyed reading these from my computer/laptop and think the iPad would provide a better experience in that regard. So do have any students had good experiences with the iPad for school or have you found yourself going to your laptop/computer instead?

Sidenotes:
Which storage size would you guys recommended to someone who hasn't passed 16GB on his 32GB iPhone? I'm thinking the 16GB should be enough unless app size is huge on the iPad.

This one is for anyone from Canada.
I'm planning on ordering it online since I'd rather not line up for 15 hours so I can pay $600 for a device... Do they require signatures on mail arrival? I've heard stories of peoples iPads being left at their doorstop and I'd rather not have mine stolen :(

Thank you :)
Click to expand...

I had an iPad 1 that I used solely for school. In my online classes, I always ended up emailing myself papers and excel assignments so that I could submit them on the portal. My sit in classes worked out decent. I take programming classes though and I travel a lot. I took the iPad 1 on a 2 month trip and the experience was horrible. I ended up using my laptop the most.

I sold that iPad 1, and bought a MBA. The MBA would be better for school.
I agree though, PDFs were a dream on the iPad. I am actually buying another to use for when I study PDF documents, and to view media.

For primary use, I would get 32GB. 64gb is good if you can afford it. Bigger apps get released daily, and 16gb is going to be a joke.

When I get an Apple product delivered, they always request my signature.
 
I'm going for my masters in the fall and a lot of universities r giving students the option of digital books which r super cheaper!!!!! They go through amazon kindle but u can still get them! Its also great for note taking once u get the keyboard down!
 
Really depends on the type of school.

For a law student, it's more than adequate so long as you have true computer to write papers on and whatnot.
 
Ramrod82 said:
I'm going for my masters in the fall and a lot of universities r giving students the option of digital books which r super cheaper!!!!! They go through amazon kindle but u can still get them! Its also great for note taking once u get the keyboard down!
Click to expand...

You're going for your Master's? What has our educational system come to...
 
As a first time iPad (2) user, I am in love with the iPad for coursework. I just recently took statistic notes on it the other day, and I must say, it was awesome! Using Dropbox to view my documents and such is nice also.I used to lug around my Macbook but now it just stays at home. The iPad comes with me now :)

As far as creation goes, I think an actual computer would be better. Typing is not that bad on the iPad, but I can only think how tired my fingers would get after those long papers!

Now as far as size -- i'd rather have too much room then too little, so I went for the 64GB. But taking into consideration what you said about your iPhone storage, 32 would be ideal for you. Keep in mind that you most likely will not be just using it for school. You will eventually put movies on there and download some games as well! :)

PM me if you want to know anything else bud!
 
I just used my iPad today in my Information Systems Management class to view chapter PDFs, I high light what's important and annotate when I need to add a few additional notes.

Works great!
 
Class just resumed from spring break this week and I have been using my iPad in all of my classes like crazy! Makes things so easy! Books and everything right on one device. Backpack got a lot lighter! I'm getting extremely fast typing on it and I kind of enjoy the feel of typing on it too.
 
if u attend a college with lecture halls, then an ipad or macbook air will save your life, the table is the size of an 8x11 piece of paper. (at ucsd anyways)....now i found out that the ipad is good for not paying attention in class =D so is the macbook air. but depending on the class...any science class you can't really take notes since most of the time theirs diagrams involved....but if the class is all lecture then you could use the ipad.....with that said you have to get used to the ipad's keyboard or buy the keyboard adaptor...
trying typing 10-15 page papers on an ipad ^_*.
 
It definitely has it's uses, but only if you have a proper desktop/laptop in your dorm room to get some proper work done on.
 
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