In high school, they tell you that college is about learning to take notes the right way. “Your professor isn’t going to wait for you to finish writing down the slide!” they remind you constantly, “you need to learn to take notes shorthand.” While this is, for the most part, true, fast-paced lectures don’t hinder students from forming their own note-taking style, no matter how crazy it looks to everyone around them. Still, there are a few consistent styles, so in any given classroom, you can find...

1. The Studyblr

These are the note-takers that make taking notes an art form. Their pens are calligraphy worthy and their headings and subtopics are color-coded. Their bullet journals are pristine and their life is together. #jealous

2. The Delinquent

The complete opposite of the studyblr note-taker. These guys don’t take notes at all and you watch them from your seat, wondering whether they’ve just given up and don’t care or whether they’re simply so intelligent that they don’t need to take notes because of their photographic memory and high IQ score. These are the people that argue with the political science professor over the intentions of the Constitution. Either they’re that smart, or they’re just asleep in the back.

3. The Mess

Their handwriting is so ridiculously bad that even they can’t read it. These are the people who “errr” and “ummm” when you ask them to lend you their notes. They’re not opposed to helping you out, but we’re pretty sure a friend’s notes can only help you when they’re legible.

4. The Mess, Part 2

The only reason these people’s notes are incomprehensible is because of their shorthand. The handwriting might be alright but there’s still no way you can figure out what they’ve written down when all their notes look like ancient Egyptian ciphers.

5. The High Schooler

They’re still asking the professor to go back a slide or keep a slide up for a little longer. This is the kid asking the professor to slow down when you’ve been on one slide for a whole 10 minutes.