<p>My D is in HS and carries such a heavy backpack. A friend was telling us that his D, in college, had figured out ways to use electronics to replace much of what she had to carry. Textbooks really don’t seem to be the issue, it is the 3 ring binder full of notes and notecards, and hand outs. Is there an electronic answer to this? What can you recommend?</p>
<p>A tablet? Something they can handwrite their notes on (or type) and just save it.</p>
<p>I think books tend to make up most of the weight, but students are not often required to bring textbooks to class. Notebooks and papers shouldn’t weigh that much, unless you’re carrying around everything at once. Perhaps she could just take the stuff necessary for class and leave the rest at her dorm/home? A laptop is an option as well, but that’s likely going to be just as heavy. And since not all classes allow laptops, she’ll have to carry other stuff as well.</p>
<p>At my former college, lockers were also available to rent for a semester. That helped since I didn’t have to carry everything I needed all day.</p>
<p>The only thing I can think of is a laptop, which she probably can’t have if she’s in HS? I kept digital copies of all my notes and handouts in college so I had a pretty light backpack… laptop is heavy but if that’s all you’re carrying it’s not that bad. For high school, I think you’re pretty much stuck with it! I swear my HS backpack was like 50lbs…</p>
<p>Electronics do not help with weight, but they will reduce productivity. College courses have fewer worksheets and less paper to carry around. A small spiral notebook is sufficient.</p>
<p>College students typically take slightly fewer courses at one time (usually four or five instead of six or seven). Also, not every day will have every course’s class session (unlike typical high school scheduling), and there may be enough time between class sessions to go back to the dorm to change the contents of one’s backpack.</p>
<p>Netbook. I got mine for around $200. Super light and about the only thing I take to classes.</p>
<p>In college, having a dorm really close to where you will be taking most of your classes helps as you can run in and grab what you need for a particular class or two. Structuring your schedule for longer than ten minute breaks helps too.</p>
<p>Can she use her locker more? I have a very bad back but survived high school by never, ever carrying things from all eight of my classes at the same time. At the very most, I’d have morning classes in the backpack for the morning and switch binders/notebooks at lunch. Usually I’d have no more than 2 classes’ worth of stuff in my backpack at the same time.</p>
<p>It can also be helpful to consolidate–I don’t know how strict her high school teachers are, but if they don’t have Strict Views on You Must Have A Notebook With Three College-Ruled Sections, it can help to have a three-section notebook, say, subdivided into two or three classes rather than having separate notebooks for each.</p>
<p>If she’s going to college next year, I have a very light (no disc drive) laptop, which is most of what I carry with me when I go to the library to write papers and things. For class, I am a very very strong believer in the value of handwritten notes, so I usually have one or two notebooks a semester (either all my classes or MWF/TTh split) which can take everything. In college, you do not really need binders any more. When a class hands me a lot of paper to keep, I usually have a couple folders dedicated to that class. That would not work very well if I started spilling beyond 2 folders, but I usually haven’t.</p>
<p>For college, though, you need less stuff. You are not, like in high school, doing assignments in class. In almost every class, you are listening to lecture or you are participating in a seminar. The former requires a notebook or laptop; the latter requires maybe the book or articles or whatever you’re discussing that week. Both limit the amount of stuff a lot. Her classes will not likely all meet every day, so at most she’ll likely have 3 classes a day–3 classes a day of stuff is manageable.</p>