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"End-of-semester crunch time, summer school, internship training sessions: There's always a new reason you need to take notes, and you want to make sure you're capturing all the important info that's being thrown at you in the most efficient way possible. From old school pen-and-paper tricks to super useful apps, there are loads of tips and tools out there to optimize the whole process\u2014and dare we say make it more entertaining? Read on to get seriously schooled.\n\nBe prepared.\n\n This might seem obvious, but before you even head to class, do a quick check to make sure you have what you need. This might mean paper, pens, pencils, and highlighters (with backups, of course), and/or your laptop with the power cord. If you prefer to take notes by hand, stay organized and focused by always using the same-sized sheets of paper, preferably bound in a book or on a pad.\n\nAbbreviate!\n\n Most of us don't have time for a lesson in shorthand, and even transcribing on a keyboard can be a challenge. So, what should you do? Create your own abbreviations, particularly for connector words so you have more time to jot down the meaty info. For instance, use \"d/n\" for \"do not\" and \"bf\" for \"before.\" Also, quickly scrawled symbols like =, can go a long way. Just make sure you understand your own shortcuts!\n\nColor, color, color.\n\n If you're a visual person, devise a color-coding system using highlighters and rainbow pens or try out colorful type on your computer. This will help you organize the info as you go! Not to mention, a dose of color will make your notes more aesthetically pleasing, thus giving you some added motivation to look at them again and again. The same goes for nice fonts on your laptop! Hey, whatever works, right?\n\nReally review.\n\n Set aside a few minutes after you finish taking your notes to go back and tweak them. While you still have fresh memories of the lecture, plug in any points you might have missed, flesh out vague notations, and add extra explanations you feel you'll need later. And really, do this right away\u2014it's easy to forget the salient details once you head to your next class. To retain what you've learned, continue to review your notes throughout the semester.\n\nSharing is caring.\n\n Give your notes to your classmates and vice versa! Pooling your resources means filling in any holes you might have missed individually, not to mention augmenting the knowledge you already have. There's a motivation factor, too: If you know you'll be sharing with your peers, you're more likely to do a better note-taking job in the first place. Consider this a positive result of peer pressure!\n\nEmbrace technology.\n\n If you're not a notebook-and-rollerball kind of girl (or even if you are!), you should consider making the most out of your laptop/phone/tablet with these great tools:\n\nMicrosoft OneNote: As part of Microsoft's Office 365 University package, OneNote allows you to organize, consolidate, and sync your notes across all your devices. Your digital OneNote notebooks are also stored on the OneDrive cloud, so you can check out your notes on the go, anytime, anywhere. Bonus for you old school note-takers: OneNote converts words handwritten with a stylus to typed text, plus you can record lectures and upload the audio to reference later. Microsoft Office 365 University costs $79.99 for a four-year subscription; if you're a Mac user, OneNote doesn't come with the package, but you can download it for free in iTunes.\n\nEvernote: Via Evernote's game-changing technology, you can capture information through typing, snapping photos and screenshots, recording audio, cutting and pasting, and even saving entire web pages. You can also share your notes with your friends and collaborate on projects on the platform. The basic Evernote program is free; you can upgrade to  Premium for $5 per month or a discounted $45 a year.\n\nGoogle Drive: This is an easy (and free) option, available with a click over to the Drive app in your Gmail account. Take notes on a Google document, spreadsheet, or presentation deck to organize your materials in one place and access them wherever. Thanks to the cloud, there's no risk of that \"my computer crashed and I lost my work\" situation, and Google Drive has a handy autosave function and the ability to revisit past drafts.\n\nOr go retro with the Cornell Method.\n\n This tried-and-true note-taking system was developed in the 1950s by Cornell education professor Walter Pauk\u2014and hey, if we're still talking about it 60 years later, it's worth trying!\n\nHere's how it works: Draw two columns in your notebook, the left one narrower than the right. The real note-taking goes into the wider right hand column\u2014think scribbled details, any pictures and tables you might want to draw, etc. As you go, pull out the main ideas and formulate questions to write in the left-hand column. Summarize with the important words (use your abbreviations!), and during lulls in class, cover the right-hand column to review the questions and see if you can answer them.\n\nWithin a day of each note-taking sesh, review and revise your notes and write a short summary at the bottom of the page. This helps make sure you understand all your notes and retain what you learned. Here's an example of how the columns should look.\n\nOK, did you get all that? We sure hope so\u2014though we promise there won't be a pop quiz later."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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