Fountain Pen For School - Is it a Good Idea? (Gel Pens)

I would say the answer is a definite yes, but you must follow some basic principles. Firstly, don't use an ink that is considered wet. Pick an ink that will dry quickly for you. The paper is also important, some papers have an almost glossy feel to them, with very poor absorption. You should also avoid any broad nibs on the pens you use, as writing from a fine nib will dry more quickly. Fountain pens are a lot less trouble than rollerballs and ballpoints. Gel pens can be pretty good, but suffer from the ink smearing.

Ink drying is a combination of the ink and the type of paper. Most inks these days dry very fast, this is all the more important for left handed writers. If you use a few piston fillers in your fountain pen, make sure it carries a good amount of ink and you top it up regularly. Preferably you should use a cartridge pen, as you can keep a few spare cartridges of different types in your college bag. I wouldn't recommend you keep spare cartridges in your pockets as they could break or leak, and that's a mess!

Fountain pens write using their own weight on paper, you do not need to apply additional pressure as you do with other types of pen. This generally leads to minimal hand cramping, which can be a real problem when writing pages of notes with a ballpoint. You should be able to write an awful lot quicker with a fountain pen, which is of course a real benefit when taking notes down.

The last thing to bear in mind is cost. For college, you don't really want to be note taking with a $200 pen. It could get lost, stolen, or someone could borrow it from you and you never see it again! A $20 pen will write perfectly for your needs, and when you graduate you can then ask for that gold-plated fountain pen as your gift!