Why I Wish I had an iPad Before Senior Year

The first couple of years of undergrad I took pride in writing very meticulous, aesthetic notes in my paper notebooks. I used very specific pens and notebooks from Amazon. The notes took absolutely forever. At the start of my senior year I was taking Organic Chemistry 2 and struggling to keep up with the Power Points during class. Even though I printed them out, the quality of the PDF was so bad I still couldn't see the reactions at all.

Then, suddenly I looked over and I saw that my friend had an iPad and was using it to "write on the Power Points". I was astounded at how absolutely AMAZING it was and how she easily she kept up with the professor. I did my research on all kinds of tablets but I still chose to use Apple because all of my technology is Apple. It's really inconvenient transferring data between devices if the technology is incompatible. Anyways, I ended up buying a used iPad Pro 13.0' 2nd generation and this is why I loved it .

—>I could now upload and write on any powerpoint for any class. My ability to keep up in my o-chem class skyrocketed. Suddenly I was attending two organic chemistry 2 lectures (one right after another) and continuously adding notes from the previous class to my powerpoint.

—>I could upload any worksheet and work through it with unlimited note space. No more running out of paper space or having to "turn the page" in a notebook. I did this through Microsoft Onenote app where I could also input any picture/visual/video link from the internet to help me learn the concepts.

—>I could color code my notes without having to constantly buy my favorite pens (sorry Amazon). Pretty much all the note taking apps come with all the rainbow colors so you have endless choices. I could also completely easily erase any mess-ups. No one had to know how many times I had to redo a problem to understand it.

—>My notes were organized SO MUCH better. I am a verrrrry organized person to start with when it comes to school. However, with the OneNote app I was able to organize my classes through folders and different topic/chapter tabs. Everything for each class was in one “digital spot”!

—> Everything was stored in iCloud and backed up automatically. That way I didn’t have to worry about losing my notes or “forgetting to bring/print” something for class. GCU based all of their classes on a student portal called Loudcloud which had all of our class material. Easy peasy download for whatever I needed. This allowed me to also share my notes with any classmate/professor with a quick click of a button.

—>It saved some trees! No more printing the entire freaking powerpoint for class! That took some weight off of my back (literally) and also I could actually see the material now instead of squinting at the paper due to a bad-quality file. Also, I didnt have to worry about having endless stacks of loose worksheets by the end of the semester. I just saved everything in the cloud. See? Tesla efficient things going on right here.

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—> My backpack was 10000000x lighter. I didn’t have to carry my computer and binders and extra paper and so on and so forth. Just my light iPad. As a commuter for the last two years of college this was important because GCU made us park in the literal boonies . Carrying a heavy backpack in 100°F + weather is just not anyone's idea of a good time.

I know that buying new technology is expensive. Thats why I bought my *gasp* used off of FB Marketplace. Yup, a pastor and his wife had no need for it anymore so I gratefully took it off their hands. Don't get me wrong it was still expensive, but the investment was well worth the money in my opinion.

Let me know your experience down below!