December 16, 2025
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Surface for students: Study hacks and organization tools for academic success
College life can be fast-paced and full of responsibilities. From back-to-back lectures to research projects and study groups, staying productive and organized is key. That’s where technology plays a major role—and choosing Microsoft Surface for students delivers the right tools to help you succeed.
Take notes, join virtual classes, organize your week, and more with a Surface Copilot+ PC from Microsoft. Surface Copilot+ PCs offer AI-powered features, performance, and portability to support you throughout your academic journey.
Why Microsoft Surface is ideal for students
Lightweight, fast, and versatile, Surface Copilot+ PCs are designed so that students can work smarter, stay focused, and study more efficiently—all day long:
- Lightweight and portable: Easy to carry across campus.
- Long battery life1: Supports full day use without constant charging.
- Touchscreen and stylus support: Ideal for notetaking, sketching, and annotating.
- Built-in AI: Latest AI tools streamline tasks like summarizing notes, organizing schedules, and managing emails.
Surface Copilot+ PCs help you stay productive wherever you are: lecture hall, study group, library, or coffee shop down the road.
Meet Surface Copilot+ PCs: Surface Laptop and Surface Pro
Surface Copilot+ PCs help you get more done with speed, style, and smart features powered by AI. And you have a choice:
- Surface Laptop stands out as one of the best Microsoft laptops for students, especially those focused on writing, research, and multitasking. It offers a premium keyboard, a large precision touchpad, and a vibrant touchscreen—all in a thin, lightweight design that fits easily into your bag.
- Surface Pro for students combines the power of a laptop with the flexibility of a tablet. Use it as a tablet for reading and drawing or attach a keyboard for research and writing. Add a detachable Surface Pro keyboard2 and Surface Slim Pen2 for digital notetaking, sketching, and marking up documents in class or on the go.
Study hacks with Surface for students
Here are a few study hacks with Surface to help you make the most of your class time and study sessions:
- Quick access to AI helps you save time and stay organized. For example, Surface Laptop keyboard and Surface Pro detachable keyboards include a dedicated Copilot key3 for instant access to your AI companion. Maybe you’re prepping for class or collaborating on a group project. Ask Copilot, your AI companion, to help you summarize long email chains, generate quick study notes, and translate content in 40+ languages.
- Split-screen multitasking in Windows 11 lets you take notes in OneNote, for example, while watching a recorded lecture or reading research.
- Handwritten notes with Surface Slim Pen are great for capturing diagrams, math problems, or quick ideas.
- Voice dictation in Word or OneNote helps you quickly turn spoken thoughts into written notes, or to transcribe lecture content for easier review.
These tools are built-in, so you’re ready from day one.
AI art created via Copilot
Organization tools for students
Keeping everything organized is half the battle in college. Surface devices come equipped with powerful organization tools for students to help manage academic life:
- OneNote for students acts like a digital notebook so you can organize by class or topic, tag important ideas, and sync across all your devices.
- Digital planners for school in OneNote or Microsoft To Do help you manage your schedule, track assignments, and stay on top of deadlines.
- Surface is optimized for Microsoft 3654, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote—all tools helpful for school success. These tools, along with built-in AI from Copilot, help you collaborate, present, and get work done right away.
Tips for maximizing Surface in school
A few quick setup tips for students can help you get even more out of your Surface:
- Set up Focus Assist to reduce distractions while studying.
- Sign in to OneDrive with your Microsoft account and turn on folder backup so your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures are automatically saved to the cloud.
- Use built-in accessibility features like Live Captions5 and Immersive Reader to support different learning preferences and stay engaged in class. AI-powered Live Captions, for example, generates subtitles in real time and can translate live or pre-recorded speech from 40+ languages into English to support hearing-impaired students and help you stay focused during online lectures or when reviewing recorded sessions.
The best Microsoft Surface for college
Whether you choose the traditional design of Surface Laptop or the flexibility of Surface Pro, you get a powerful, AI-ready device built to help you thrive in school. From organizing your week to writing your thesis, Surface helps you stay on task and ahead of deadlines.
Surface Laptop and Surface Pro are designed to help you do just that—smarter, faster, and more securely. Explore Surface and find your AI-powered study companion today.
- DISCLAIMER: Features and functionality subject to change. Articles are written specifically for the United States market; features, functionality, and availability may vary by region. 
- [1] Battery life varies significantly based on usage, network and feature configuration, signal strength, settings, and other factors. See aka.ms/SurfaceBatteryPerformance for details.
- [2] Sold separately.
- [3] Feature availability varies by market, see aka.ms/WindowsAIFeatures When Copilot for Windows is not available or enabled on the device, pressing the Copilot key will launch Windows Search.
- [4] Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription required; AI features only available to subscription owner and cannot be shared; usage limits apply. Learn more.
- [5] Currently supports translation for video and audio subtitles into English from 40+ languages. See http://aka.ms/copilotpluspcs.
Mentioned in this article
Compare Surface Copilot+ PCs
Attach a Surface Pro keyboard
Handwrite and sketch with a Surface Slim Pen
Use Microsoft 365 tools for success
Try Copilot
Benefits of Windows 11
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