Generally I miss pupil life–lengthy hours of lectures, countless pages of studying, the occasional all-nighter fueled by caffeine and adrenaline… and naturally, tons of note-taking.
Fortunately, on this trendy age, note-taking has gotten an entire lot simpler. Relating to capturing these essential bits of knowledge that may make or break your examination, having the suitable note-taking app could possibly be the distinction between an “A” and a “did I even go to this class?”
On this curated checklist of the most effective note-taking apps for college kids, we’re going to interrupt down the professionals and cons of some extra in style note-taking apps. That means, you’ll be capable to discover one which matches your distinctive studying fashion.
Let’s dive in and take these elusive grades by storm!
Editor’s Choose: Evernote
Evernote is the self-proclaimed “finest notetaking app”, and is definitely able to dwelling as much as its repute. It is a note-taking app that I have been utilizing for years, each as a pupil and as an grownup.
With over a decade to enhance its consumer interface and optimize its expertise, Evernote has highly effective options that may enchantment to college students of any stage.
Worth: $7.99 a month, or $69.99 a 12 months (premium private plan).
Execs
Unparalleled group
Every pocket book you create can home any variety of notes inside it, additional capable of be organized by way of tags and hyperlinks between notes. You possibly can even nest notes or notebooks inside each other, organizing associated materials into stacks for simple entry.
Hyperlinks, PDFs, photos, audio
Evernote helps nearly any format–very best for college kids that wish to embody numerous media and internet hyperlinks of their notes. It may even assist and create audio recordings, though solely to a reasonably small dimension (even with the Premium plan.)
Reminders and calendar syncing
Integration into your calendar and the flexibility to create reminders make Evernote an incredible organizational device typically. It may additionally sync with Google Drive, Slack, Outlook, MS Groups, Zapier, and Gmail.
High quality of life options
Uninterested in filling up your telephone’s picture album with photos and screenshots out of your textbooks? Evernote allows you to scan paperwork and add them straight into your notes, or take snippets from on-line articles with the Internet Clipper device for simple saving.
Cons
Premium subscription
Whereas Evernote is definitely a strong device, being locked behind a recurring subscription is a little bit of a turn-off. The free model gives a pleasant style of what Evernote has to supply, however since it is so restricted, you’ll have to purchase or bail ultimately.
Process-managing AND Notetaking
The overwhelming quantity of options Evernote has may be fairly complicated. Even for longtime customers, the ensuing clunky interface can typically be extra of a distraction when all you wish to do is write.
Greatest For A Finances: OneNote
One other highly effective device courtesy of the Microsoft Workplace Suite, OneNote is a strong note-taking choice. With a bunch of instruments accessible totally free, OneNote is a superb Evernote different for budget-conscious college students.
This was truly the primary device I began with in faculty to take notes, earlier than switching to Evernote.
Worth: Free with some characteristic limitations. Customers have the choice to pay for extra options, akin to native exhausting drive storage, video and audio recording, and model historical past. Premium options also can include a Microsoft 365 subscription, beginning at $70 a 12 months.
Execs
Organized, clear interface
Though providing comparable ranges of depth and group as Evernote, we discovered the stunning color-marked tabs and listings to be extra intuitive and easy, each on PC and cellular gadgets.
Straightforward media integration
OneNote primarily depends on particular person “packing containers” for textual content and media. This makes it straightforward to resize, transfer, and even overlap photos, spreadsheets, and handwritten drawings with textual content notes.
Cloud sync throughout any system
Begin working from one system and decide up on one other by logging in to your Microsoft account. Because it’s accessible from an internet browser as properly, all gadgets can use OneNote.
OneDrive sharing
Collaborate simply with shared notebooks and areas.
Free
All you want is a Microsoft account.
Cons
Overwhelming
With so many choices, it could possibly take a while to be taught the nuances of OneNote.
Slower syncing
Some customers report that OneDrive can have hassle syncing between gadgets at occasions, mostly with the cellular/pill and browser variations.
No sorting choices
Whereas there’s a search characteristic, the lack to type notes by final created or modified means it’s important to rely totally by yourself organizational prowess.
Greatest Primary Word-Taking App: Apple Notes
Notes began as a easy, sticky-note-style note-taking app on the iPhone and has since advanced right into a crisp, cross-platform expertise. In the event you’re an iPhone or iPad consumer, it’s possible you’ll not need to look a lot additional than this.
Worth: Free
Execs
Simplicity
At its core, Apple Notes is streamlined and easy. The flexibility to easily create new notes as wanted, after which manage them later, makes it nice for college kids that don’t wish to be slowed down by all of the bells and whistles.
Organized, and never overwhelming
The flexibility to make folders and subfolders is a characteristic that, surprisingly, quite a lot of equally minimalist note-taking apps are lacking. Apple Notes’ tiered group system is simple to make use of and handle, whereas not being so overt as to interrupt your circulate when creating new notes.
Fast and straightforward syncing
Seize an concept in your telephone, then log in to your laptop computer to flesh it out later. Having the ability to see your whole notes throughout a number of gadgets is nearly anticipated of most apps nowadays, however Apple’s iCloud-based syncing is very clean. Home windows PCs can entry Notes as properly by logging into an iCloud account on an internet browser.
Safe
Passwords or confidential notes you may take are secured by Apple’s end-to-end encryption.
Cons
Media attachment is hard
Making an attempt to add photos right into a Notes web page may be troublesome on cellular, and almost not possible on PC. Easy formattings like tables and bullet factors current no drawback, however for those who like to connect photos and media to your notes, it’s possible you’ll wish to discover different choices.
Home windows internet browser typically crashes
Whereas iCloud syncing is dependable, there are all the time hiccups. We’ve discovered that typically the online browser model will crash unexpectedly–one thing that may actually throw a wrench in your rhythm for those who’re in the midst of taking notes. Whereas we’ve by no means misplaced any work, it’s nonetheless one thing to remember for those who’re a Home windows laptop computer consumer.
Greatest Digital Hand-Written Word-Taking: GoodNotes 5
For the digital journalist, this app does the job and does it properly.
With the flexibility to seamlessly add PDFs and add handwritten annotations, in addition to highly effective presentation options, GoodNotes is a strong selection and a private favourite of mine.
Worth: Free as much as 3 notebooks. $15 one-time fee for full, lifetime entry.
Execs
Annotate PDFs
Whereas many apps allow you to add PDFs, GoodNote does a unbelievable job of constructing the method clean and straightforward. As quickly because it’s uploaded into your be aware, you may instantly begin including handwritten notes, sketches, and annotations.
Laser pointer for displays
A unbelievable choice for sophistication displays, the handy laser pointer allows you to draw consideration to key areas with a swipe of your finger or Apple Pencil.
Choice for audio recording
Whereas not as highly effective or versatile as Famous’s audio recordings, it’s nonetheless good to have the choice to concurrently document and take notes.
Search handwritten notes
Discovering a be aware I’ve swiftly scribbled and didn’t correctly tag may be annoying. Fortunately, GoodNote’s highly effective search characteristic encompasses each PDFs and your private handwritten notes.
Collaborate and sync simply
With DropBox and Google integration, in addition to the flexibility to ask others to your notes and create feedback, collaborative learners aren’t unnoticed.
Numerous backgrounds
Particularly for lecture notes, it’s all the time good to have the ability to select what “paper” I’m writing on. Generally it’s the small issues in life.
One-time fee for premium
Not like most subscription-based apps, GoodNotes provides you lifetime entry to its premium options with a single fee.
Cons
Typed notes are clunky
Textual content packing containers may be finicky to create and place. In the event you rely totally on typing, it might be a bit more durable to acclimate to GoodNotes.
No video or audio embedding
Whereas PDFs are simply supported, video and audio aren’t as simply embedded. Hyperlinks nonetheless work, so this will not be a dealbreaker.
Unable to hyperlink between notes
The comfort of linking from one be aware to a different is, sadly, not accessible on GoodNotes. Nonetheless, given the exercise of the event staff, I wouldn’t be shocked in the event that they add this quickly.
Greatest Audio Word-Taking: Famous
Generally it’s exhausting to take heed to a lecture AND take notes on the identical time. It’s straightforward to lose observe of the place you’re at, and by the point you end writing your final be aware, you’re already in an entire new part.
On the identical time, you wish to write down every part as a result of, properly, it’s all necessary!
Famous solves this by seamlessly integrating audio recordings alongside note-taking.
Worth: Subscription-based fee at $4.49 per thirty days, or $29.99 a 12 months.
Execs
Timestamped recordings
The flexibility so as to add timestamps to your notes creates a singular “transcript” vibe with out the stress to sort out every part that’s stated. It additionally makes playback and evaluation extremely straightforward and handy.
Seamless syncing
Begin recording out of your Apple Watch, handwrite some notes along with your Apple Pencil, and evaluation all of it out of your iPhone on the bus experience house.
Highly effective premium options
This is without doubt one of the few apps with premium options that I really feel are well worth the value. Clever Playback mechanically trims lifeless house within the recording, Dictation turns voice into textual content, and Time Stroke allows you to edit handwritten notes and drawings all the way down to the person swipe, amongst many others.
Cons
Apple gadgets solely
That is actually the largest draw back. Since Famous is barely accessible on Mac and iDevices, this will not be a viable choice for those who use a laptop computer or Android system for note-taking.
Greatest For Fast Word-Taking: Google Preserve
Extra of a fan of sticky notes than thick notebooks? Google Preserve could be extra your fashion.
We’ve all heard of Google Docs, the web reply to Microsoft Phrase. However it’s possible you’ll not have heard of Google Preserve–the lesser-known little sibling. In the event you choose to take numerous fast scratch notes, it might simply be the proper app for you.
Worth: Free
Execs
Most simplicity
Much more so than Apple Notes, Google Preserve is designed with ultra-simple note-taking in thoughts, with labels being the one submitting system.
Visible group
Designed to emulate the texture of sticky notes within the digital house, Google Preserve notes have a tangible really feel to them, and are organized in an intuitive grid or checklist view. Coloration coding choices and the flexibility to simply add pictures additional reinforces the visible focus.
Reminders, lists, & collaboration
Nice for maintaining observe of fast notes, checklists, and creating digital alerts for your self and others.
Google integration
With the useful choice to repeat straight to Google Docs, you may take any of your scratch notes and shortly increase on them.
Cons
Very primary
Exterior of typing out your notes and importing photos, what you may enter into Preserve is restricted. In the event you’re on the lookout for a extra customizable expertise, you may wish to look elsewhere.
Drawing isn’t all the time accessible
Though we used a touch-screen laptop computer for our testing, Preserve didn’t allow us to make use of its drawing characteristic.
Google has a nasty behavior of killing merchandise
There may be additionally a threat that Google kills off the Google Preserve app sooner or later. They’ve a behavior of eliminating merchandise that are not mainstream like their foremost Google Suite of instruments.
Which Word-Taking App Is Greatest?
Actually, the selection boils all the way down to your particular person wants and your private note-taking fashion.
Do you favor an app the place you may notate and manage your total life, or do you simply want one thing fast and straightforward to refresh your reminiscence? Do you favor cleanly typed-out notes, or are you extra of a visible and audio learner, preferring media as your medium for memorization?
Quite than power your self to make use of a device that doesn’t fit your fashion, it’s finest to search out an app that may complement it.
