<p>Whether a laptop would even work well for notes depends somewhat on the classes. If the classes are engineering/science/math, a laptop doesn’t work so well since one needs to put a lot of diagrams/equations, etc. on the notes and a regular paper notebook works best. If you talk to a few college students they’ll likely tell you that a lot of the people who bring their laptops to class are using them to Facebook, play games, IM, etc. - not necessarily taking notes. They can be a distraction if not used right.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine trying to take notes on an iPad although I haven’t tried one with an external keyboard but by then it’s approaching the form factor of a laptop anyway.</p>
<p>I recommend a laptop rather than a desktop even if they don’t take it to class for notes. With a laptop they’re not chained to their desk - they can use it sitting on their bed, over in someone else’s room, down the hall in a study/day room, in the library, etc. They can also easily bring it home on breaks.</p>
<p>For screen size - around 13" ± 2" is ideal IMO. Anything more than 15.4" is noticeably heavy. Anything smaller than 11" is noticeably small for the screen. An 11"-14" is a nice compromise between size and weight. I doubt that there’ll be any need for an external monitor - the laptop display should be fine.</p>