How I Use An iPad As A Computer Science Student
what I've learned from a week
Today marks my first full week as a computer science student.
Like every other CS student out there, I'm a procrastinator (my biggest achievement is finishing 4 weeks of calc homework in 2 hours).
Now I'm in a rush to finish the post. Sorry if it sucks.
Taking Notes
CS is extremely confusing (wtf is recursion?)
When I'm in lectures, I like to use GoodNotes. The variety of templates + audio recording + flashcards + community make it a pretty powerful app for students.
At the moment, the content I'm learning is pretty easy to understand. All I'm doing at the moment is jotting down important notes and concepts.
Side note: did you hear about GoodNotes 6???
Here's my take if you care—unless you're new to GoodNotes, I would stick with GoodNotes 5 for the moment.
Solving Problems
CS is huge on problem-solving. In fact, my course has a dedicated lecture series called "Algorithmic Problem Solving."
For these lectures, I find Concepts to be a pretty powerful app (note: I am sponsored by them, but I have genuinely been using the app).
For those who don't know, Concepts is an "unlimited" note-taking app. That means it has an unlimited canvas.
For formal lectures, I find the structure of GoodNotes to be beneficial. But for lectures where creativity and brainstorming is encouraged (like my algorithm lectures), Concepts' unlimited canvas becomes insanely useful.
Concepts is one of the few apps I highly recommend for every iPad user out there. And I genuinely believe this (again, check my post history if you wanna verify this claim).
Concepts has been kind enough to offer a free 30-day trial. And no, you don't have to enter your credit card information.
To-Do List
College is wild.
Suddenly I have so much more freedom. At the same time, I have so much more responsibility.
Keeping track of what I need to do is essential. And that's where Todoist comes in.
I've used Todoist for a while now. At the moment, it's my to-do list app of choice. It's simple, easy-to-use, awesome, and has a great free plan.
Unless Todoist does something crazy with their pricing plan, I'd recommend them for anyone looking for a good task tracker/todo list app.
Planning Activities
I'm going to college in an area with a ton of stuff to do. For reference, there's a beach, a paragliding port, a Michelin restaurant, a major mall, etc (you get my point).
Given that this probably the only period of "free" time I'll have (my current program doesn't count towards your GPA), I want to make the most of the next few weeks.
To plan my activities, I'm using ChatGPT + Apple Notes.
ChatGPT because it's super smart.
Apple Notes because that makes it easy to share plans.
Planning Academic Stuff
While it's fun to have fun, I also have to watch out for my upcoming course enrollment appointments.
To plan my academic stuff, I've actually been using a variety of apps: Google Sheets, GoodNotes, and Notion.
Any of these apps should work for your needs. I mainly use Google Sheets just because I like using spreadsheet apps (Excel is way too slow on my iPad).
Habits
The freshman 15 terrifies me.
From what I've heard (and occasionally seen), college can kick people out of their flow. They turn into mere shadows of their former selves (sorry, that line sounded way too good to be edited out).
To track my habits, I'm using Streaks.
It helps gamify the process and makes keeping track of your habits easy.
It's one of the few paid apps I've ever bought, but I'd say it's worth it.
Final Thoughts
"It always seems impossible until it's done"—Nelson Mandela
Thanks for reading!
Adi