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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Waseda chapter.

A few months ago, an extremely convincing and aesthetic advertisement of an iPad Pro on YouTube convinced me that I was not going to be able to do anything unless I had an iPad Pro. When asked to justify my reason for wanting an iPad, all I could say was, “An iPad will change my life.” 

Fast forward a few months and it’s the first day of university. I felt like I was on top of the world. I possessed the magical and most extravagant technological device of all time – the iPad. But at that moment, I still did not realize the true potential of the iPad.

The device that makes the iPad Pro the most efficient device for students is the Apple Pencil. The Apple pencil looks and feels exactly like a normal pencil. However, with one click you are able to change colors and the type of pen. One moment you could be using the pencil, and in the next, you could be highlighting the text you just wrote, without any smudges all – with the same pencil. The Apple Pencil was first released in 2015 and has been nothing but an extremely useful and time-efficient tool. Combine the Apple pencil with an iPad and you have a pencil, eraser, ruler, glue, scissor, and notebook, in just two devices! 

After a few months of experience with the iPad Pro and an Apple pencil, I can tell you seven reasons why you should consider buying an iPad if you are a student. 

  1. You can handwrite or type your notes based on your preference. Want to write? Use the apple pencil. Want to type? Use the magic keyboard.  

  2. You can import documents or presentations and make notes on the presentation itself. Personally, this is my favourite feature. I am able to personalize the original presentation that my professors give me to make my learning more effective. Way back in the day, when I used paper, I would make notes on a blank sheet of paper and have to write everything. Now, I can focus on understanding the contents of the class, because the base ideas are already in the presentation. 

  3. You can take a picture, perhaps, the board that a lecturer makes notes on and immediately add it to your notes for later reference.

  4. You can also record a lecture to get back to it at any time. Applications like Noteshelf allow you to record a lecture and attach the audio on a document. You are then able to go back to that document and match your notes with the audio.  

  5. You remain completely organized. No matter how many pages of folders you create, nothing is lost. You may have trouble finding the note in your folder, however, you know it’s there. In addition, the days of buying pens and paper are no more. You have it all on an iPad anyway. That’s one thing off your shopping list!

  6. You can multitask. The iPad Pro has the feature of opening two applications at the same time. Trust me when I say that this is a feature that you don’t think you need, but actually, you do. 

  7. The iPad is extremely easy to carry around. There’s not much you have to think about when leaving the house to go to class. Just grab your iPad and you’re ready. 

The iPad Pro has, indeed, changed my life. However, as with anything, there are always two sides to the story. On one hand, my academic organization was at its top game, but on the other hand, there arose new challenges. I had to think about yet another device losing its battery. I could not afford to lose charge on my iPad halfway through class. However, the biggest challenge, I would say, would be the strain on my eyes. Before, I would only spend a few hours on my laptop when I needed to type something and the rest of the time I would handwrite my homework, notes, etc. Using an iPad doubled my screen time. My eyes became strained and I had to allocate time to relax and exercise my eyes frequently. It took a while to get used to the only iPad method of learning after relying on paper for so long.

Ultimately, the decision lies in your hands. However, if you do want an iPad, I hope this article helped you create a convincing argument as to why you should get it rather than just saying, “An iPad will change my life,” (although it might really). 

Harshita (more commonly known as Harshi - in fact, so commonly, that she is unresponsive towards anyone calling her Harshita) is an FSE student at Waseda. Her hobbies include singing and sleeping. Harshi hopes to use this platform to explore different forms of writing and what she is capable of.
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