Foo - How Do Kids Take Notes in College These Days?

I graduated from college when the year still started with 19 instead of 20. We brought notebooks in our backpack to take notes and had highlighters to mark up books, then later spent hours trying to figure out what the heck we scribbled in our notebooks.

I am going back to college to quickly grab a certificate which requires a prior degree, so I will be in class with people who are generally not too much younger than I am, but still not my age.

My question is this: Are kids these days using laptops to take notes in class? I hear "MS OneNote" being tossed around a lot. Or, is technology frowned upon because of people screwing around online while in class, etc? I am afraid the answer is going to be "it depends".

I know I will find out on the first day of class, but it's a long month away and I am antsy. I feel weird enough as it is having a degree and a professional career, yet going back to school for something unrelated to anything I am doing now. And my handwriting is so bad that I can't read anything I write by hand yet I can type 118wpm, so using my laptop in class would be highly beneficial.

My wife is a professor, so naturally I asked her. She has only had two students bring a laptop to class, but to put things into perspective she teaches a certain course to a certain demographic, so asking her this question doesn't really make any sense.

My co-worker is in grad school, and he said that no one takes notes, period. They just all screw around on their smartphones and don't pay attention like a bunch of 14 year olds. But he is in grad school just for initials after his name, not for any real education (and the teachers know this--it's a money-grab class for the school).

Oh, and research. How do people research stuff for papers these days? I graduated college before The Google, so we had to do research in a library, read books, search horrible databases, and Internet sources were a huge no-no, period. But what about these days? I would be embarrassed to cite Wikipedia as a source, but surely Internet sources are the mainstream now? Do libraries still exist?

Thanks for wasting your time in answering my questions!

As a side note, do you think a professor would let me set up my trainer in the corner so I can get some miles in during class? :D

umm...haven't you been watching the news? No one can afford to go to school now days, so they are all doing a sit in protest on some street named Wall.

Dunno. I didn't take notes to speak of back then...


And I didn't even have a smart phone to play with. Or even a cell phone for that matter...

Their notes say:

I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...
I'll never be able to pay off my student loans...

Dunno. I didn't take notes to speak of back then...


And I didn't even have a smart phone to play with. Or even a cell phone for that matter...


Yeah...I was too busy checking out the blonde chic in the corner to be taking notes.

I dont take any notes. All of my professors use powerpoint presentations to guide the lecture. They then upload their slides to the internet where I can review them later if needed.

As far as using the internet for research, NEVER cite wikipedia. However you may notice that any quality articles on wikipedia have their own works cited. It's a great place to get research started and definitely take a look at the sources used for the article.

When I taught (in big lectures in biology and a couple of years ago), about 1/4 of the kids in the lecture hall had computers with them and did a lot of web surfing on them, but some also used them for taking notes. We were required to put our overhead slides online before class so the ones taking notes actually downloaded them and were using some part of powerpoint (I think) to modify the notes. Others had printed them out and were writing on them by hand (something I did for certain classes as an undergrad) or just writing notes in a notebook, something I also did a lot of. Also, lots just goofed off with friends, read the paper, did the crossword/sudoku, played on their smartphones or whatever too. Or took naps. The kids, they run the gamut.

I either didn't take notes or just wrote them in a notebook.

I graduated from college when the year still started with 19 instead of 20. We brought notebooks in our backpack to take notes and had highlighters to mark up books, then later spent hours trying to figure out what the heck we scribbled in our notebooks.

Check it out: lack of notebooks since 1985:

http://www.tnote.com/

Actually back then you would buy a binder to put those notes into.

A friend of mine in undergrad took notes for one of those notetaking services. Not sure I'd want his notes as he wasn't that great of a student (well, he wasn't bad, but I got better grades in the classes we shared, but he still graduated in 3 years and directly went to a job at Microsoft). In his service, he was actually taking the class as he sold his notes to the service, so that might be different. Some professors I knew verbally claimed copyright of their lectures at the start of the first class and said they gave us permission to take notes, but not to share them with others or make money off of them.

i use a composition notebook for each subject. that way my pages can't get out of order or lost. write in pen. i don't care who gives you crap about it, after a semester of rubbing around the pencil in the first 20-30 pages will be unreadable.

Ultimately, do what ever makes the facts stick in your brain best. It doesn't matter what the others are doing. You'll probably want to download the profs power points and take whatever notes you want in a spiral notebook, since it's comfortable for you and keeps things in chronological order.

errrmmm I dunno about now adays.. but when I went to college myself and a handful of others took notes on laptops (some classes did not allow this), some others digital/tape recorders and most people still did it by hand... again don't know about modern day, but internet references were okay in my college days.. as long as the reference sited was considered reputable by the professor..

Some use notebooks, some use smart pens that record the lecture to an MP3 file and they write on special paper that has bar graph coding throughout, and will key right to that section of the MP3 file by touching a sector of your notes. Some use laptops or netbooks.

Some profs bar laptops from class, too.

I don't think I could take notes via a keyboard because it would be a pain to key in math & science symbols, not to mention something like a circuit drawing. Some kind of tablet with a pen thingie that could be use as a regular notepad could possibly do.

Back in my days I remember many professors didn't allow any recorders. Maybe that has changed.

I guess my main concern would be running out of battery power in the middle of the school day and having to stay chained to a power outlet for an hour, that would be a PIA.

As a...ahem, "mature student", I earned an A.A.S. this past spring. I noted there were only two types of students:

1) Those who took notes with pen and paper

2) Those who spent the entire class texting on their cell phones.

As a...ahem, "mature student", I earned an A.A.S. this past spring. I noted there were only two types of students:

1) Those who took notes with pen and paper

2) Those who spent the entire class texting on their cell phones.

I graduated in 2009 with a BS, at an advanced age.
I took notes with a mechanical pencil (even in english class) on college ruled paper in a loose-leaf binder.

Nowadays in meetings I use a laptop and type notes into a text editor with scant capitalization or punctuation

This thread is pretty sad. Not only will students today never pay off the debt they incur by going to school, but they don't even treat it as an opportunity to learn. It's more like, hey, if I sit in classes for this number of hours, I'll get a piece of paper that I can write about on my resume and I'll get a job!

highly dependent on the class. For math/science/engineering where you have a lot of formulas, I'd use pen/paper. I just started grad school and probably >90% have a laptop (no math/formulas, just lectures/text). For this, I'm 10x faster at typing than writing, which means more time to listen and think, revise what you wrote, format it for readability (bold/underline important topics, easy to study key points), etc. Undergrad was 10 years ago... everything was on paper. Some professors handed out printed slides.

If you can get slides ahead of time, put notes on there. If possible, I would actually copy them into an outline in Word so I could easily indent the topics, move things around, and generally fill it in as the professor speaks.

Recording lectures (sound/video) in my school is explicitly barred and they've made a big deal about it. You might want to ask permission before you do that.

I was not impressed with MS OneNote, play around with it before you start school. I'd prefer if it was just an organizer for word documents and spreadsheets. I use MS Word and created some document templates with my own styles, macros, and hotkeys to simplify things and entering data. If you don't already have Office, check with your school to see if they have a home/student version at a discounted price (likely $5 if they do).

Every lecture my daughters attend is available online afterwards. Notes are for people my age. Actually, I sucked at taking notes. I was far better off actually listening to lectures and writing my notes afterwards.

Thanks for the responses, guys! I should have included that while the program I am attending is the only accredited one in the state, the school itself is in the dark ages in terms of technology, and if the teachers even do email I would be shocked, let alone putting lectures online, etc. My wife teaches a course online and half the staff is excited that she can do it, while the other half of the staff thinks she is the devil taking over the educational world. :D

In grad school I used a small voice recorder, and paper for math and illustrations. The recorder was HUGE for playing back exactly what was said in the lecture.

http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Digital-Recorder-142640-Silver/dp/B003XEC0I0/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1323792586&sr=8-10

Thanks for the responses, guys! I should have included that while the program I am attending is the only accredited one in the state, the school itself is in the dark ages in terms of technology.

Well, then perhaps you should paint your notes on a piece of slate with ochre paint, or go high tech with sheets of papyrus, or use clay tablets and a cuniform stylus. ;)

http://www.britishmuseum.org/images/ps273624_v_150.jpg

Sounds like a (serious) student needs to adjust the recall of a lecture depending on the type of class. Some students don't have great recall skills. Some professors lecture too deep and leave students in the dust.

There's one thing that might be done, the professor's (or teaching assistant's) office hours. But before you go for that appointment, make sure you somewhat know the lecture material.

I know of a retired teacher who wanted to supplement her retirement teacher's income by applying for a teaching job at one of those universities that's listed on the NYSE. She went for the teacher orientation and once she found out about the teaching style, she did not inquire any further.

As a...ahem, "mature student", I earned an A.A.S. this past spring. I noted there were only two types of students:

1) Those who took notes with pen and paper

2) Those who spent the entire class texting on their cell phones.

I was a "mature student" too, but went back to school in the mid 90's. They couldn't believe me when I told them how we used to do things, especially about paying people to type termpapers and how computers used to take punchcards.

At 56, I am just finishing my AS degree. I took notes on lined paper, I don't own a smart phone, and I was usually the oldest student in all my classes. I totally agree with "miss kenton"! It was absolutely amazing how many high school grads. could not write a complete sentence, never mind get through a 5 page essay.

This thread is pretty sad. Not only will students today never pay off the debt they incur by going to school, but they don't even treat it as an opportunity to learn. It's more like, hey, if I sit in classes for this number of hours, I'll get a piece of paper that I can write about on my resume and I'll get a job!

Do you think it's a bad idea for people to go to college today because of the incurred debt?

I just scribble notes and draw pictures on a block of wood.

I was in college just a couple years ago. The vast majority of my classmates still took notes using pencil and paper.

Do you think it's a bad idea for people to go to college today because of the incurred debt?

It depends on what their expectations are for going to college. By people, I am saying those who already have a bachelors degree and want to get an MBA for job reasons. Practically every university has some kind of "Executive MBA" program.

Do you think it's a bad idea for people to go to college today because of the incurred debt?I said absolutely nothing of the sort.

As a...ahem, "mature student", I earned an A.A.S. this past spring. I noted there were only two types of students:

1) Those who took notes with pen and paper

2) Those who spent the entire class texting on their cell phones.

This is for sure true, aside from the few who can take notes on a laptop or iPhone and still know whats up. I take notes the old school way. I feel if I physically write it i remember better and remember writing it in order to go back to it.

Oh but i use pen because i cannot read my handwriting in pencil.

We brought notebooks in our backpack to take notes and had highlighters to mark up books, then later spent hours trying to figure out what the heck we scribbled in our notebooks.

My question is this: Are kids these days using laptops to take notes in class? I hear "MS OneNote" being tossed around a lot. Or, is technology frowned upon because of people screwing around online while in class, etc? I am afraid the answer is going to be "it depends". And my handwriting is so bad that I can't read anything I write by hand yet I can type 118wpm, so using my laptop in class would be highly beneficial.

Oh, and research. How do people research stuff for papers these days? I graduated college before The Google, so we had to do research in a library, read books, search horrible databases, and Internet sources were a huge no-no, period. But what about these days? I would be embarrassed to cite Wikipedia as a source, but surely Internet sources are the mainstream now? Do libraries still exist?


Yes, you can use a laptop, but the power source can sometimes be an issue. Not all classrooms are set up for laptops. And professor don't care if you spend your tme on BF, or playing solitaire, or if you pay attention and take copious notes ... you're paying for the course, you're paying them to stand up there and teach, if you want to waste your money by not paying attention, that's your business. They just prefer that you're quiet about it so that you're not distracting the people around you.

Otherwise, I found most professors posted their Powerpoints on the class web page a couple days before the class, so I'd print it off in the 6 slides per page format to save paper, and would then scribble my notes in between, if there was anything to add. Quite often the professor just read the Powerpoints and didn't add anything at all. So I might just highlight anything I found interesting.

And speaking of the class web page, that was something I found quite useful (provided the professor actually used it). The Uni should have a place on their website where you log in and get access to all your class web pages. The professors should post class notes, further instructions on class assignments, documents and articles to read, possibly also the results of exams and assignments, announcements of class cancelations, etc. etc. etc.

Regarding research ... of course there are libraries! But even better, you should be given access to heaps of professional, peer-reviewed articles online. You'll have to sign up for that either in person in the library or online. I usually took half a dozen books out of the library for my research papers, and then reviewed these online articles for any additional info.


A couple other tips ...

1) You're the customer ... you're paying for a service. If you don't think the professor is teaching you enough or aren't happy with the quality of instruction, you can complain and demand better. Make sure you get your money's worth.

2) Go light ... carry one of those folder clipboards with the days notes you've printed off and a few pieces of paper. When you return home, then file your notes into the appropriate binders. There's no point carrying around huge binders all the time. And you'll determine fairly early on if you need to bring the textbook or not.

A couple other tips ...

1) You're the customer ... you're paying for a service. If you don't think the professor is teaching you enough or aren't happy with the quality of instruction, you can complain and demand better. Make sure you get your money's worth.

I recall there was a law suit brought by a parent of a student at an Ivy League University. The argument was that the professors were not teaching some of the classes. Teaching assistants (grad students) were teaching.

Yes, you can use a laptop, but the power source can sometimes be an issue. Not all classrooms are set up for laptops. And professor don't care if you spend your tme on BF, or playing solitaire, or if you pay attention and take copious notes ... you're paying for the course, you're paying them to stand up there and teach, if you want to waste your money by not paying attention, that's your business. They just prefer that you're quiet about it so that you're not distracting the people around you.
That might be true for some professors, but when I'm teaching a class, I can usually tell. And if you come to me at the end of class with a grade that's close to the edge and might be bumped up, if you're one of the kids who spent every class surfing the web, I'm not likely to give you the extra half a percent or whatever that would push you up to the next grade bracket. More likely than the kid talking to his neighbors and taking phone calls (I try not to grade anyone's papers more harshly, but sometimes a prejudice might slip in as much as I try to be fair), but not very likely. Now if you pay attention, participate, come see me in office hours, then yeah at the end of the semester, you'll probably get that boost.


Otherwise, I found most professors posted their Powerpoints on the class web page a couple days before the class, so I'd print it off in the 6 slides per page format to save paper, and would then scribble my notes in between, if there was anything to add. Quite often the professor just read the Powerpoints and didn't add anything at all. So I might just highlight anything I found interesting.
A couple of days? Maybe if they've taught the class for several years and don't plan on changing anything. I shoot for 24 hours.


1) You're the customer ... you're paying for a service. If you don't think the professor is teaching you enough or aren't happy with the quality of instruction, you can complain and demand better. Make sure you get your money's worth.
Oh man, how I hate these kids. Usually fresh out of high school, often did well there and can't understand why they're no longer doing well and expect me to spoon feed them the material the way they're used to. At college, you're expected to be able to read and synthesize stuff on your own. My tests are no longer just memorizing facts and circling things, you need to understand both what I've told you and what I've assigned you to read and put it together. If you don't understand something, please ask as I welcome that sort of discussion, but the people coming with complaining that they've spent a lot of money and because of that they deserve good grades or expecting to be told exactly what is on the test drive me nuts. Kids are so freaking entitled these days. Don't understand that they need to work. College isn't about learning facts, it's about learning to learn and new ways of thinking.


2) Go light ... carry one of those folder clipboards with the days notes you've printed off and a few pieces of paper. When you return home, then file your notes into the appropriate binders. There's no point carrying around huge binders all the time. And you'll determine fairly early on if you need to bring the textbook or not.
Very good advice. Just make sure to bring that extra paper for when new information comes up that doesn't fit on the slides, or for asking questions.


I recall there was a law suit brought by a parent of a student at an Ivy League University. The argument was that the professors were not teaching some of the classes. Teaching assistants (grad students) were teaching.

TA's and instructors teach lower level classes at pretty much every US university. It's a fact of life. It's also how we learn to teach so that, one day we can become professors. Heck, at least in the sciences, professors are not hired for their ability to teach. Sometimes, it's not even a consideration. All the university cares about is their ability to bring in grant money through their research to the university. Many times, students are better off with TA's that actually care about teaching. Other times, professors are good teachers, but that's not necessarily a true thing.

no one really types notes on a laptop, but i can see its advantages.

slightly off topic but related:

i will be using my kindle next semester with ebooks purchased off of amazon. classes are getting out of hand in assigning me 4-5 books per class. i can get the ebook for a third of the price and have it all stored on one device.

perhaps this is something you should look into also.

cheers and goodluck, my father just went back to school this past semester and he is 50+, he over thought alot of the nuances, but just roll with it and keep and open mind about the experience.

TA's and instructors teach lower level classes at pretty much every US university. It's a fact of life. It's also how we learn to teach so that, one day we can become professors. Heck, at least in the sciences, professors are not hired for their ability to teach. Sometimes, it's not even a consideration. All the university cares about is their ability to bring in grant money through their research to the university. Many times, students are better off with TA's that actually care about teaching. Other times, professors are good teachers, but that's not necessarily a true thing.

The small liberal arts colleges advertise the fact that professors will do all the teaching. Even here at the Claremont Colleges you'll find the professors doing the teaching even at Harvey Mudd. I don't know how or even if grant money is a big thing at the Claremont Colleges.

A couple of days? Maybe if they've taught the class for several years and don't plan on changing anything. I shoot for 24 hours.


One of my best professors was famous for coming in to lecture with handouts that were still warm. And sometimes changing the notes while he taught.

I have to say one of my favorite professors from undergrad came into class with a single yellowed sheet of notebook paper that had the course name on the top using a three letter code for out department that hadn't been used in 5-10 years at least. He'd then set the piece of paper down on a table in front of him and just talk to us (occasionally drawing diagrams on the board, but usually just talking to us in a conversational tone of voice) for 50 minutes about whatever his sheet (to which he never - or almost never - referred). Usually, it was stories about things he'd experienced and stuff (at least that was what stuck with me the most) but I learned a heck of a lot about bacterial pathogenesis in that class. Great dude, awesome class. But yeah, I've taught classes where I put the notes on the web shortly before walking across campus to the class. Don't like doing that, but it was mostly for lab classes where if they wanted they could review what they'd done afterward but mainly had all the directions in their notebooks, I was just giving them the why's.

one professor I just had didn't bring any notes, class was 2 hours with no break, twice a week. He knew the material front to back and was able to ask questions about the reading we had, have students answer and then steer the discussion where he wanted it to go based on their input. A few diagrams here and there, but not much. Totally different lecture style than what I was used to, but it worked. He remembered the things we discussed in prior classes and which student brought them up better than I did :)

i will be using my kindle next semester with ebooks purchased off of amazon. classes are getting out of hand in assigning me 4-5 books per class. i can get the ebook for a third of the price and have it all stored on one device.
When I was in school a year ago, only one of my classes' books were available electronically. Sucked. These were all engineering books.

And here's how some are passing the tests.

Digital Ways Kids Cheat (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/digital-ways-kids-cheat-155638383.html)

Unfortunately in my experience, the answer is "it depends."

Some professors were staunchly against us using laptops, others didn't care.

However, I did notice was that the overwhelming majority used pen/paper. I also noticed that when laptops were allowed, I rarely saw anybody actually taking notes (those who had a computer).

It also depends on whether or not the teacher makes content available online. Where I went to school, the teachers had the option to create home pages for each of their classes on the school's website. Some of them made the notes available every day after class, and some teachers didn't even utilize the technology at all -- including e-mail.

Unless the notes are made available online, I personally find it easier to take down/remember information by physically writing it down -- and I'm computer savvy! But it still comes down to personal preference. I'm sure some people out there do just fine typing notes.

I remember a quirky professor of mine who taught a "Monkeys, Apes and Man" course. He never showed up with any notes/books of his own, yet he never failed to fill every inch of that damn chalk board up numerous times per class. Needless to say, I know more about monkeys, apes and men than I'd ever hoped I would. :cry:

A couple other tips ...

1) You're the customer ... you're paying for a service. If you don't think the professor is teaching you enough or aren't happy with the quality of instruction, you can complain and demand better. Make sure you get your money's worth.



I recall there was a law suit brought by a parent of a student at an Ivy League University. The argument was that the professors were not teaching some of the classes. Teaching assistants (grad students) were teaching.


A couple of days? Maybe if they've taught the class for several years and don't plan on changing anything. I shoot for 24 hours.

Oh man, how I hate these kids. Usually fresh out of high school, often did well there and can't understand why they're no longer doing well and expect me to spoon feed them the material the way they're used to. At college, you're expected to be able to read and synthesize stuff on your own. My tests are no longer just memorizing facts and circling things, you need to understand both what I've told you and what I've assigned you to read and put it together. If you don't understand something, please ask as I welcome that sort of discussion, but the people coming with complaining that they've spent a lot of money and because of that they deserve good grades or expecting to be told exactly what is on the test drive me nuts. Kids are so freaking entitled these days. Don't understand that they need to work. College isn't about learning facts, it's about learning to learn and new ways of thinking.

TA's and instructors teach lower level classes at pretty much every US university. It's a fact of life. It's also how we learn to teach so that, one day we can become professors. Heck, at least in the sciences, professors are not hired for their ability to teach. Sometimes, it's not even a consideration. All the university cares about is their ability to bring in grant money through their research to the university. Many times, students are better off with TA's that actually care about teaching. Other times, professors are good teachers, but that's not necessarily a true thing.

In my experience, the kids fresh out of high school were not the ones complaining when they did not receive the education they were paying for ... of course, they probably weren't actually paying for it. Mom and Dad were probably paying for it ... or they had a student loan.

So those students loved it when one professor cancelled class after class after class because the professor couldn't be bothered to get there or send someone in her place. She was one who posted the powerpoints about a week in advance, and if she did show up for a class, she would read the powerpoints like she had never seen them before ... stumbling along, unable to answer any questions. Her classes were in the evenings -- if the class was on, I had to stay in the university city overnight, but if the class was cancelled I could go home ... unfortunately, she never told us in advance she was cancelling the class, we'd all turn up for the class ... and she wouldn't show, or occasionally a secretary would appear with a message that the class had been cancelled. By then it would be too late for me to go home.

I was not right out of high school ... I was a 40-year-old woman who was paying for her education out of her pocket, and who expected better than that. I complained. I tried to see her to talk to her about it. She was always unavailable. The only answer I got was, "I'm sure she's doing her best". I learned the material on my own and passed the course ... but my money was wasted on that course.

In another instance, the instructor was more concerned about a course he was taking than the one he was teaching. He kept going off track and expecting us to know all about the material in the course he was taking. So much so, that when he designed the final exam, it was full of questions regarding the material in the course he was taking. All but 3 of us failed the exam, and the 3 of us who passed barely scraped through because we actually did know a little bit about the course the instructor was taking.

I complained to the instructor who told me the test was fair and that it was normal for about 80% of the class to fail the course. I complained to the next level up who investigated and deemed the exam (and the results of the exam) to be completely inappropriate ... our grades were curved.

Those are just two examples of several I've encountered. Some instructors/professors are really good. They show up for the classes, they not only read the powerpoints, but can answer questions the students might have and are willing to engage in a bit of a discussion about the topic if we want to know more. They make themselves available to the students. But there are some who really don't seem to want to be there at all, don't seem to know anything about the course, don't want to answer questions or engage in discussion ... and those are the ones I'm referring to in my first post.

The small liberal arts colleges advertise the fact that professors will do all the teaching. Even here at the Claremont Colleges you'll find the professors doing the teaching even at Harvey Mudd. I don't know how or even if grant money is a big thing at the Claremont Colleges.

SAme for the whole SCIAC. I went to Occidental and had contacts to Cal Tech. Teachers actually teach. At Tech research is big, but I get the feeling that profs are always looking fro promising research assistants.

There was a downside, profs knew how smart and by implication how lazy I was.

Sonata, what would work best for you?

They're your notes meant to jog your memory. Do what you need to do, and if a professor/teacher has an issue, talk with them directly.

Sonata, what would work best for you?

I would like to use my laptop and take notes into Word, but like everything in life, I figure there might be a million of other ideas which others are doing that I haven't thought of. :)

I would like to use my laptop and take notes into Word, but like everything in life, I figure there might be a million of other ideas which others are doing that I haven't thought of. :)

I was certified to teach through a post-baccalaureate program - about fifteen years after I earned a BS in biology. When I took notes, it was always by hand with pen and paper - trying to use the computer was too distracting (and tempting to get online if class was boring, as many education classes are). I went to an excellent undergraduate college, but was a much better student years later. You will probably be surprised at how differently you learn now. After the first few classes, I ended up taking few notes, because I could retain as much just listening and participating in class. Most of all, enjoy learning!