Hey guys, this might be a stupid/random question but yeah. What would you guys recommend for carrying txtbooks/binders and etc as a first year life sci student? A regular backpack or a laptop messenger bag. Both will have to fit a laptop. The reason I ask this is I have a dell xps 15 (new) and it's kind of on the bulky side (6 lbs~). Would it be better to carry your txtbooks and bring a messenger bag with your notebook/laptop, or to just put it all in a backpack?

Umm you don't carry all your book/binders to McMaster. You leave them at home, you bring paper, notepad, stationary, laptop and maybe one binder of a subject you wanna study today. Thats all!

Books stay home for you to study/read. You can read the same books in your respective library (depending on the program) all your books will be on reserve and you can borrow them for two hours and read them between classes, so no need to carry them.

You just bring any assignment you want to work on, any lab documents you need to print for a lab you have on a day, you bring a notepad and lots of paper or the powerpoint slides printed to take notes on.

You can stuff the notepad/printed notes/paper/assignments/lab material/laptop/laptop charger/stationary/sanitizer/etc etc in a backpack or a messenger bag either would work. BUT don't bring the books cuz u will die carrying them around!

Hope this helps, btw that is just me I wouldn't carry books around but maybe other members might suggest otherwise

Honestly it's really up to you and you like/feel most comfortable with

I personally prefer using a backpack and I just toss all my stuff in there but I've seen girls use totes, some people just carrying their things, my friend uses a backpack and carries her textbooks.
If it's going to be heavy then I recommend using a backpack over a messenger bag, it'll be less stress for your back and shoulders. Whatever is most comfortable to you

To be honest, I'm able to carry my books, notebooks, binders and laptop all in my bag. My bag is fairly small and my laptop is a 15.6 inch so it does take up a majority of the space. I guess it's because my bag doesn't have that much fluff and extra space that it has a big compartment. The only downside is that my back hurts when I carry a lot of things in my bag. Maybe invest in a bag that has a spot for laptops in it, I'm sure there are big ones sold since I've seen them before.

Roots has a lot of nice backpacks that are reasonably sized and have a decent laptop compartment.
Since you're in science, remember that on lab days you'll have to bring your lab coat, goggles, and lab book as well, so that's an extra added burden. You probably don't want to be lugging textbooks to school, then.

I have a few friends who rented a locker and keep their textbooks in there so they can read them while they're on campus, but personally I find it kind of pointless since I'd rather do my reading at home, so I never bring texts to school (except on test days). Still, it's an option you might want to look into if it works for you.

Backpack over messanger bag, and binder and papers over laptop for most days.

Leave your textbooks and binders at home. Bring just a clipboard with looseleaf paper to class and then transfer your notes to the binders back at home.

Will you be commuting? If so, I highly recommend renting a locker. You can keep your lab coat and goggles in there so you never forget them on a lab day, and if you do decide to bring a textbook with you to study after classes, you can store it in there and not have to carry it around all day. I usually keep one or two textbooks in there all the time, and study for those classes in the library, and my other classes at home.

All you need is a piece of paper and a pencil. In fact you don't even need that since the first day will be office hours, scheduling, blah blah blah, which you can find on the course website.
Reduces strain on your back.

Protip: Use one binder for all your courses, divide it up into sections. Split it into two if you have too much paper. Bring your laptop if you intend to take notes with it, or use it in the library.

Its not a stupid question.

Try different ways the first couple weeks and you will automatically see what works best for you

Some people come to class with absolutely nothing and just listen

Backpack for sure!!!! Messenger bags are hard on the back (imo).

dell xps 15
good choice...i got one too

i'm gonna be using a backpack too, just because i'm used to them and have been using em my whole life
i was at costco the other day and got this bad boy: http://www.ful.com/details.cfm?name=Tenn man
It was on sale for 25$ and it comes in Maroon (mac colours)! It's pretty nice and holds an XPS 15 nicely
here's a review of it if you're interested http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFD3I5i18BU

Save your back the trouble and use a clip board, paper, and pen. I used binders for most of my first semester of first year and it was a HUGE HASSLE. You can get mac clip boards at Titles for like $5; totally worth it.

Type of bag is all preference.