iPad or MacBook for A-levels?

Hey everyone :smile:

I should hopefully be getting one soon but I’m just wondering if anyone who’s doing A-Levels or are in uni could give some advice on which they prefer or which they find better? To give some context, I do Biology, chemistry and maths and hopefully want to do medicine at uni!
I like the iPad for the portability of it, it’s not heavy and is easy to carry around- I like that i can attach a keyboard too and use the Apple Pencil to make notes and not have to have alllll my stationary out- but then it made me think if I want a keyboard then I may as well get a MacBook? It’s probably better for accessing different things and may have more storage

Either way, I’m getting it for mainly studying but may obviously use it for watching movies etc as any teen does haha.
But please let me know what you think!
Thank you :smile:

Reply 1

Ensoetre

14

I’m in year 13 and took Chem, Bio and maths and an iPad worked just fine and I also used it for Netflix. Don’t think a MacBook is necessary tbh

Reply 2

University of Portsmouth Student Rep

Official Rep

16

Original post by kmnpleaselol

Hey everyone :smile:

I should hopefully be getting one soon but I’m just wondering if anyone who’s doing A-Levels or are in uni could give some advice on which they prefer or which they find better? To give some context, I do Biology, chemistry and maths and hopefully want to do medicine at uni!
I like the iPad for the portability of it, it’s not heavy and is easy to carry around- I like that i can attach a keyboard too and use the Apple Pencil to make notes and not have to have alllll my stationary out- but then it made me think if I want a keyboard then I may as well get a MacBook? It’s probably better for accessing different things and may have more storage

Either way, I’m getting it for mainly studying but may obviously use it for watching movies etc as any teen does haha.
But please let me know what you think!
Thank you :smile:

Hey @kmnpleaselol!

I got a MacBook during my A-Levels and found it perfect, however, I took History, Sociology, English Lit and Government and Politics which required many many essays. A MacBook would be more of an investment (I've had mine since 2015 and it's basically as good as the day I got it, an iPad might not hold up this well?) and would allow you to do more, however for your studies it does sound like an iPad and Apple pencil could be a good fit? It gives you more freedom to draw, annotate etc, and like you said, it's definitely more portable.

Personally though, if you can afford a Mac, I would suggest getting one! :smile:

Courtney - Official Student Rep :smile:

Reply 3

liv_barnett

8

Original post by kmnpleaselol

Hey everyone :smile:

I should hopefully be getting one soon but I’m just wondering if anyone who’s doing A-Levels or are in uni could give some advice on which they prefer or which they find better? To give some context, I do Biology, chemistry and maths and hopefully want to do medicine at uni!
I like the iPad for the portability of it, it’s not heavy and is easy to carry around- I like that i can attach a keyboard too and use the Apple Pencil to make notes and not have to have alllll my stationary out- but then it made me think if I want a keyboard then I may as well get a MacBook? It’s probably better for accessing different things and may have more storage

Either way, I’m getting it for mainly studying but may obviously use it for watching movies etc as any teen does haha.
But please let me know what you think!
Thank you :smile:

I have had both and I would definitely say get a MacBook. Yes the iPad is lighter but omg your files will be a mess. You have to convert everything when you want to upload or send something and sometimes the format gets all messed up. The keyboards on the new Macs are awesome too. I have a 2019 MacBook Air and its so nice to write essay on. You can also have multiple pages on your screen at once which is useful for reading and referencing. Also if you want to sit in bed and write an essay you can with a MacBook, I found that my iPad keyboard wouldn't hold the iPad up. Also you can download snapchat on an iPad, which is bad, because omg it is such a distraction haha

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 4

satsun

17

I’d say the new if you’re looking anything up from the iPad Pro 2018 - I’d say get the iPad. You can now connect hard drives, USBC drives and get keyboards that feel so genuine.

Reply 5

kmnpleaselol

OP

3

Original post by liv_barnett

I have had both and I would definitely say get a MacBook. Yes the iPad is lighter but omg your files will be a mess. You have to convert everything when you want to upload or send something and sometimes the format gets all messed up. The keyboards on the new Macs are awesome too. I have a 2019 MacBook Air and its so nice to write essay on. You can also have multiple pages on your screen at once which is useful for reading and referencing. Also if you want to sit in bed and write an essay you can with a MacBook, I found that my iPad keyboard wouldn't hold the iPad up. Also you can download snapchat on an iPad, which is bad, because omg it is such a distraction haha

Hope this helps :smile:

Thank you so much this did actually help! :smile:

Reply 6

kmnpleaselol

OP

3

Original post by satsun

I’d say the new if you’re looking anything up from the iPad Pro 2018 - I’d say get the iPad. You can now connect hard drives, USBC drives and get keyboards that feel so genuine.

Oo okay thank you

Original post by University of Portsmouth Student Rep

Hey @kmnpleaselol!

I got a MacBook during my A-Levels and found it perfect, however, I took History, Sociology, English Lit and Government and Politics which required many many essays. A MacBook would be more of an investment (I've had mine since 2015 and it's basically as good as the day I got it, an iPad might not hold up this well?) and would allow you to do more, however for your studies it does sound like an iPad and Apple pencil could be a good fit? It gives you more freedom to draw, annotate etc, and like you said, it's definitely more portable.

Personally though, if you can afford a Mac, I would suggest getting one! :smile:

Courtney - Official Student Rep :smile:

Hi! Thank you so much, this does actually help me- I think I may just stick to the MacBook - thank you :smile:

Reply 7

ZombieTheWolf

22

I suggest you get an iPad with those a-levels as it'll be very easy to draw an annotate/label reactions, structures and equations. I really think a MacBook would be a waste of money. I would get the keyboard and apple pencil with it.

I used an iPad pro and I took the exact same a-levels (except physics instead of maths) and I never once touched a computer during my entire course as I had zero need. My iPad was more than enough. Get a MacBook once you go to uni, wait for a better one to come out then instead of getting a model now that will be slightly outdated when you start Uni.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 8

lilTrain

19

im doing A levels too. as i cant afford a macbook, i got a HP with the same specs but half the price, and a small graphics tablet (eg. wacom). the tablet is really useful for annotating on PC, so you basically have a 2 in 1 right there. maybe even find a smaller, 11inch laptop to benefit from portability too

Reply 9

aregularteen

8

Original post by lilTrain

im doing A levels too. as i cant afford a macbook, i got a HP with the same specs but half the price, and a small graphics tablet (eg. wacom). the tablet is really useful for annotating on PC, so you basically have a 2 in 1 right there. maybe even find a smaller, 11inch laptop to benefit from portability too

Wow thats a good idea actually. How do u find the tablet? And could u give me a link to the one you have.

Reply 10

lilTrain

19

Original post by aregularteen

Wow thats a good idea actually. How do u find the tablet? And could u give me a link to the one you have.

I think i got it from PC world/currys. I cant find a link to the one i have as its a 2015 model and is called "wacom Intuos PT M" (has a picture of a girl with blue hair on the box) for £80. try looking on ebay/amazon. if you want to save money, look for ones that are small and dont have bluetooth. or look here https://estore.wacom.com/en-GB/tablets.html
most of them also come with a few free draw/design softwares that are usually £30 each, so thats cool too, if ur into that stuff

Reply 11

ammmmmmmmm9

6

Original post by kmnpleaselol

Hey everyone :smile:

I should hopefully be getting one soon but I’m just wondering if anyone who’s doing A-Levels or are in uni could give some advice on which they prefer or which they find better? To give some context, I do Biology, chemistry and maths and hopefully want to do medicine at uni!
I like the iPad for the portability of it, it’s not heavy and is easy to carry around- I like that i can attach a keyboard too and use the Apple Pencil to make notes and not have to have alllll my stationary out- but then it made me think if I want a keyboard then I may as well get a MacBook? It’s probably better for accessing different things and may have more storage

Either way, I’m getting it for mainly studying but may obviously use it for watching movies etc as any teen does haha.
But please let me know what you think!
Thank you :smile:

I'd say macbook for deffo

Reply 12

Export kid

15

I'm a year 13 doing maths bio and chem and i don't use any kind of laptop/tablet unless i have to. I've always been a paper lover and in my experience tech isn't really a must.

iPad or MacBook for A-levels?

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