Laptop Recommendations for PA school

[rachkatmoore]

I was wondering if any past or current PA students had any recommendations regarding technology for PA school. I have heard that most of the day will be spent staring at computer and typing during the didactic year.  I was looking at getting a 2 in 1 laptop (laptop with tablet capabilities) but I honestly do not know how useful it would be. I have heard of some people using iPads or other tablets on their rotations. 

 

Basically, any advice is greatly appreciated!

[beattie228]

A lot of that is going to boil down to personal preference. I preferred importing the lectures onto a tablet via a PDF reader so that I could write directly on the Power Point slides without having to lug around printed lectures. Having a keyboard option is helpful for lecturers who sound as fast as auctioneers. Only downside to tablet only is my program required us to take our exams on a regular computer and not a tablet/ipad.

[MusicalPA]

My husband just uses a regular ole laptop. He prints the power point slides in outline form and takes notes on those in class. He prefers hand writing notes because it helps him remember better than typing it out. He puts his outlines in an 1 1/2 inch binder, once full, he transfers the sections he is done learning into 3 inch binders for future reviewing for finals. Luckily he is able to print all that out at school. It is A LOT of paper.  He also uses his tablet to read the textbooks on occasion. He takes his laptop to class, but usually keeps his tablet home. 

[Lyrical M]

I'm not yet in PA school, but I just bought the Surface Book for when I do go in a couple months, and it seems like a good hybrid with its detachable screen.  It's powerful, and with the surface pen you can use a program like onenote to rest your palm on the screen and still write on it like paper, along with typing into it when that's more convenient.

[cg02186]

90% of my class have MacBook Pros.  They are super reliable and can store anything you want.  The people in my class with other laptops/tablets all had issue at some point in time with them.  Ultimately it depends on you but I would pick the Macbook Pro again every time. 

[Badgers]

I definitely second the Surface Book. I think it actually has improved my learning and retention. And the pen + laptop-to-tablet are just too cool haha.

 

You should try and find out operating system specifications for your program. In my program, macs are fine for personal use, but PCs were required for testing and software. 

[roger777]

BTW, Don't buy Office at the retail price. The salesperson at BB may not mention it, but MS offers a student price that is free (i think) and most schools also offer it a heavily discounted rate (9.99 or something). I actually like the fact that most windows laptops don't come with it automatically. Has helped to lower the price as this was often a quarter to a third of the cost of a cheap laptop in the past.

 

I have used an HP Stream 14 throughout the program and have had good luck with it. Light and sleek with a case-like exterior. Not good for gaming or other high demand apps. Great battery life. I think was like $190 open box with Windows 10. Looks like it is 219 on amazon. I'd like to get a nice Apple sometime but have never been able to see the value-added. Most of the people in my class use Macbooks too and I think a lot of them were gifts from their parents. The guy at BB said they get the fewest warranty returns on HP. Have had bad luck in the past with Dell and Lenovo including welshing on the warranty in both cases.