Hello, friends! Kicking off September with a little back-to-school mini series that I'm excited to share with all of you. If you're new around here, I am currently a 3rd year PhD student and use my iPad religiously - As in pretty much every single day for upwards of 10 hours a day. I would say I use my iPad even more than I use my actual laptop - my iPad goes everywhere with me!
My iPad Set-up
P.S. If you’re curious about the apps I use on my iPad, I wrote another post about the iPad apps I use for grad school: What’s on my iPad?
I use the ipad with an apple pencil and y'all - it is a life changer. I highly recommend getting the apple pencil with the ipad if you're someone draws, writes, or takes a lot of notes on books/documents for either your job or just in your personal life. Although all the extra cases and screen protectors aren't necessary, for me, they are 110% worth it because they make writing on the ipad a closer experience to writing on paper.
You definitely do not have to go as over the top as I have with the biggest size ipad as well as a more storage space but since I was such an avid user of my previous ipad and apple pencil, I decided to go big in the hopes that this ipad & pencil combination will last me for many more years - hopefully well into my academic career post graduate school as well. I previously used a similar setup just with the smaller 9.7 inch 6th generation iPad and the 1st generation apple pencil but after hours and hours of use each day, I decided that a bigger setup was ideal for my use case.
If you're a graduate student or an instructor at a university also remember that apple has an education discount of 10% off most products so if you're considering buying a newer model, definitely buy off of their education store to save some money!
Why you should consider an iPad for grad school:
Mobility & Accessibility: you can bring it literally anywhere. Remember the days when you used to drag around 3+ textbooks to school and back? Well, those days are gone. Depending on what you're studying, you might be reading books or you might be reading tons of journal articles (me!) - either way, if you're in grad school you're doing a TON of reading and being able to grab one device that has all of my notes, books, and articles in it is pretty darn magical.
Sustainability & Reducing Clutter. This goes hand in hand with the first point but reducing the number of articles you need to print out or physical books you need to buy is saving the environment and saving yourself from a whole lot of clutter (marie kondo would be proud). Nowadays, if I get a piece of paper in class, I'll try to take a scan photo of it and put it on my ipad because I know it'll end up getting lost in the clutter otherwise.
Syncing. There are some definite benefits to going digital with your notes and one of those benefits is that your notes syncs between all of your devices (usually haha). Every app I use to take notes, make to do lists, or write assignments also has a phone and computer app that allows me to pick up right where I left off each time.
Multiple uses. I've found that there are SO many different uses for my ipad even outside of day to day work life. I use it regularly to watch TV while I'm running around the house, I use it to doodle and color to destress, and I've even started editing videos on my ipad since converting to online lecturing. I'm always discovering more and more uses for it which makes it pretty worth the money for me.
Saves money in the long-term. As a BIG ex-stationary and planner addict (ummmm if in doubt please see blog evidence: here, here, here, and here - oops) the number of office things I no longer buy is literally astounding. I've pretty much eliminated the need for any printer paper, printer ink, folders, pens, notebooks, planner, staplers - etc. On top of that, any textbook or personal book I want to buy immediately gets purchased in kindle format which is always available at a lower price point than its physical counterparts.
How I use my iPad for Grad School.
As a planner. This is the primary way in which I use my ipad and it has truly changed the way I work. Prior to getting my ipad, I was a bit planner obsessed. TBH I still am. BUT having an ipad has allowed me to have all my planner fun on a digital device that doesn't clutter up my 2 bedroom apartment :) I know I probably could have converted to planning my life digitally a long time ago, but there's something about actually writing on a physical page that is a lot more satisfying. For me, having the apple pencil and 12.9 inch ipad is the closest to mimicking a real paper planner I've experienced and is finally close enough for me to nix paper planners.
Reading journal articles & textbooks. In grad school, you read A LOT. Think hundreds, if not thousands, of pages per week. I remember when I used to download articles for seminars and breathe a sigh of relief when the page count was under 200! nuts, I know. On top of the obvious environmental benefits, being able to take notes in a digital format means you can write all over the document, highlight things that are important, type your notes, erase mistakes, and even record audio of lectures and discussions. I use an app called Notability that allows you to do everything I mentioned above. It's a paid app but it is WELL worth it.
Teaching. I started teaching this semester and have just newly started recording lectures by using the screencapture feature on my ipad. Because I use screencapture on my ipad rather than my computer, it's super easy for me to use my apple pencil to highlight important parts of my lecture slides and add additional notes while lecturing.
As a second screen. This is a feature I had NO idea was even on the ipad when I bought it, but you can actually use your ipad as a second screen for your macbook through apple airplay. This has been such a life saver when I'm working outside of the home in a coffee shop (pre-pandemic) or even outside when the weather's nice!
As a notebook for pretty much everything! I used to scrapbook, journal, and jot notes for work and school in a bajillion (very scientific calculation) notebooks or post-it stacks haha - but now I've been able to eliminate most of that with my ipad and pencil. I definitely still have moments where I love to journal on paper, but it's so comforting to have all of my random notes collected in the same place so I'm not digging around my office before heading out the door!
Phew! That was a long one haha. Who knew I had so many thoughts about my ipad?! Obviously an ipad is an expensive purchase and it may not be for everyone, but in my own grad school experience, it has simplified and streamlined my work and personal life immensely. Anyway, I hope this was helpful to all of you! Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions about my grad school ipad setup!
If you liked this post, you might also like: What’s on my iPad, Grad Student Edition!
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