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After spending my first year of veterinary school without an iPad, I finally caved. Yes, they’re a lot of money. No, I don’t want to spend more money on accessories, but I now know how important a tablet is for taking notes whether you’re in college or vet/med school. For one, you have all your notes in one place. This means no more lugging around heavy binders. It also means that years later when you need to look back over any old notes, you don’t have to go searching very far. For me studying to be a veterinarian, that was a major reason for deciding to get an iPad.
In addition, having an iPad allows you to easily change between different apps to help with studying. While taking notes, you can open Quizlet and immediately put in new vocabulary you need to learn. If you’re studying a course like anatomy, you can paste pictures easily and draw your own with all the colors and brush strokes under the sun. You can do all this while still using a mind-hand connection while you’re taking notes rather than mindlessly typing away.
Apple Pencil
The whole reason of getting an iPad for notes is because the Apple Pencil and the iPad were a match made in… an Apple laboratory. No other stylus can compare.
Screen Protector
Of course, one of the first things you’ll need is a screen protector. Writing on an iPad for the first time can be a bit of an adjustment, so it helps to have a screen protector that feels more like paper. I use this paper-like screen protector for my iPad, and it has worked really well!
Case
There is a wide variety of cases out there both in style and in price. I would recommend getting one that has a built in space for the pencil and is able to stand.
Keyboard
Of course, Apple sells their own keyboards, but I’ve been using this one and loving it. It’s super light, fits in my backpack easily, and connects seamlessly using Bluetooth.
Apple Pencil Case
Since you’ll be taking along chargers and an expensive pencil with you, you should protect them all using a case. It will keep everything nice and organized.Â
Apple Pencil Grip
This is by no means necessary, but if you find your fingers hurting from gripping the pencil for a while, you can try out one of these.
Tablet
If you’re going to be doing a lot of reading at a desk, then a tablet stand may be a good idea. It’s better than the case support stand because you won’t have to angle your neck down to read notes.Â
