Through most of my undergrad years, I took notes and did most other handwriting with a Parker Vector fountain pen. It's a cheapie -- runs about eight bucks plus cartridges, and taught me the hard way not to carry a fountain pen in the pocket of my jeans -- but all in all it was a decent pen for the money, so yesterday I picked up a new one for the spring semester.

The bookstore also had Pilot Varsity pens, which are also fountain pens, but they're disposable. Setting aside the innate revulsion I have to the idea of a disposable fountain pen, I picked one up for $2.80. It's solid plastic apart from the nib, i.e., any attempt to refill it would ruin the pen, and it's lighter in weight than the Parker despite being visibly thicker and a bit longer. Not great for someone who likes pens to have a bit of heft to them -- but oh my, how easily the nib slides across the page. Line weight is a little bit heavier than the Parker fine point, which may be awkward for people with narrow, scratchy handwriting (like myself), but if you're a pen enthusiast with big loopy handwriting, this one might be worth checking out.