The Student Room Group

Do I really need an iPad for sixth form?

Hello everyone, I am in year 12 and taking bio , math and chem the problem is I never used an iPad or an expensive laptop for GCSEs only the laptop that was provided by my school but now in sixth form lots of year 13s seem to have iPads although until now we do most of our work on papers and booklets so my question is do I really need an iPad / expensive laptop in order to get As ? Or should I wait till year12 is over to decide if I really need it or not? Please help
I didn’t get A’s at sixth form but I can’t see why having an iPad is strictly necessary. A computer and some pen and paper should be fine. There’s 2-in-1 computers.

I do love my iPad however (because ring binders suck and that overrides the fact that prefer writing on pen and paper) but I could live without it if I had to I guess 🤷🏾*♀️.
Original post by Heists
Hello everyone, I am in year 12 and taking bio , math and chem the problem is I never used an iPad or an expensive laptop for GCSEs only the laptop that was provided by my school but now in sixth form lots of year 13s seem to have iPads although until now we do most of our work on papers and booklets so my question is do I really need an iPad / expensive laptop in order to get As ? Or should I wait till year12 is over to decide if I really need it or not? Please help

yeah it's pretty much what the user above says. tbh, it's a pretty obvs answer; you're either willing to spend some money on a device that will most likely make your life way easier (organising will be much less hassle which is a big plus), or you can tank it and continue onwards with pen and paper (and any laptops/ computers provided by the school). it's definitely not necessary but it is quite helpful to have an ipad (although explore options if you're tight on cash; u don't necessarily have to be discouraged by the price tag of apples latest products). one last tip, if u do get an apple ipad, don't get the official apple pen, too expensive and overqualified for what ure using the ipad for.
Reply 3
Original post by Heists
Hello everyone, I am in year 12 and taking bio , math and chem the problem is I never used an iPad or an expensive laptop for GCSEs only the laptop that was provided by my school but now in sixth form lots of year 13s seem to have iPads although until now we do most of our work on papers and booklets so my question is do I really need an iPad / expensive laptop in order to get As ? Or should I wait till year12 is over to decide if I really need it or not? Please help

You don’t need an iPad to get grade As. I got through most of Year 12 without a computer, however it might be useful for organising. I feel like would probably be the most useful for maths in your case
Original post by Heists
Hello everyone, I am in year 12 and taking bio , math and chem the problem is I never used an iPad or an expensive laptop for GCSEs only the laptop that was provided by my school but now in sixth form lots of year 13s seem to have iPads although until now we do most of our work on papers and booklets so my question is do I really need an iPad / expensive laptop in order to get As ? Or should I wait till year12 is over to decide if I really need it or not? Please help


No not really. I’m doing quite well without an iPad in year 13.
But as mentioned by others if you feel like tit will help with organisation then maybe you could. I just use a Chromebook.
Original post by Heists
Hello everyone, I am in year 12 and taking bio , math and chem the problem is I never used an iPad or an expensive laptop for GCSEs only the laptop that was provided by my school but now in sixth form lots of year 13s seem to have iPads although until now we do most of our work on papers and booklets so my question is do I really need an iPad / expensive laptop in order to get As ? Or should I wait till year12 is over to decide if I really need it or not? Please help

I have an iPad and also just started year 12- so far mostly been used for if in class we need to research something (like in biology) or get a worksheet up for maths. I am finding it very helpful for studying and homework for stuff like Seneca but that can be done on any device pretty much 🙂 Also helpful for flashcards which i hate making on my phone as i make too many typos compared to an iPad with a keyboard!
Reply 6
iPads are definitely a good idea but if you're tight on budget then you could maybe look into a Chromebook instead (limitation is it can only use web apps) or a refurbished windows laptop if you're looking for something more versatile.
You may not need a device but I find my windows laptop (needed windows for Computer Science)to be incredibly helpful

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