What is the best iPad for education?

For education, I would have to say the Retina iPad because of its bigger screen. If you don't really care about screen size, I'd get the Mini. Also, the LTE model may be overkill if you live on campus and have access to Wi-Fi.

I have actually heard that the Surface RT or Pro are excellent with education. Taking notes, or running full desktop software like Word, and Excel are good for some classes. But now may not be the best time for Surface.

However, a iPad 2, 3, 4, will be excellent for education. Go with something newer, because Apple may no longer be supporting a 2. They already don't support 1.

If you want portability, and lightness, go with the iPad mini. But if you want a bigger (and sharper) screen, go with the regular iPad. However you choose, both the iPad and iPad mini is much more mobile than your Macbook Pro 2010. And of course, if you're tight on budget, choose the iPad mini.

Next, depends on your budget, you have different storage sizes, and now Apple has released a 128GB model for the regular iPad, and other storage sizes that you can check for yourself in the Apple Online Store.

Lastly, is whether or not you want Wifi only, or Wifi + Cellular.

So it all boil down to your needs. But in my opinion, the regular iPad is more suited if you're a student, larger screen for text and presentations so you don't strain your eyes.

Hope this helps!

As a student who uses my Ipad all the time I personally prefer the larger screen on the IPAD. My daughter has a mini which is lighter, but it ultimately depends on what you are going to do on it. I use mine primarily to access video lectures on the go, and at home/office as a notebook. I use notability app which allows you to take notes and import pdf slides to take notes. I love this so I don't have to carry around a lot of books. Also electronic books are great. Ultimately would you rather have light weight or larger screen is what you should consider.

For use in education where you re going to be working with lots of words, I recommend you get an iPad with Retina display. Although many people are saying that iPad mini will get a Retina display later this year, nobody can confirm it. However, I don't think you will need the horsepower of the A6X chip since you are using it for education only. You are better off buying the third-generation iPad for a cheaper price as it works very well for almost all applications.

the iPad Mini should suit you

If its for college, get the iPad 4. Its got the new lightning charger cable. Its got an amazing retina display, and its so fast.

Good Luck