Computer/Notebook/Tablet for college student?

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I really like the MacBook Air... I may be so old and out of touch that they are no longer cool, but I still love mine

 

[NHdisneylover]

you shouldn't need to - most colleges issue laptops at enrollment

Not a single college DD considered, even briefly, did this. Must be local to your area.

 

[rszdtrvl]

He has his college tour tomorrow, I will have him ask then. We are all used to the Windows programs and desktops - no Mac's have ever been in the house.

He was assigned a Surface tablet in high school junior and senior year, but didn't like it. He prefers my ancient netbook over both of those.

Sports Management does not get into a lot of graphic stuff. I was more on the lines of wondering if he would need specific office software and that kind of nature to be on the computer if we were to purchase one. But yeah, I think I will just have him ask someone at the college tomorrow. And if nothing else, just wait until after he has started classes to see if he truly needs one.

He is just working towards a General AA in college right now, with an emphasis on sports (mainly basketball), with a transfer to a 4-year college after 2 years.

 

[tvguy]

^^ Sorry, but every college in my area does, the college I wne t to did, as well as an Iphone and tablet - so OP I would double check with the schol

I think we are on the same track, see what the school recommends OR provides.

Every college I have first hand knowledge of has a computer lab for students (of the 6 my kids attended), but colleges that provide one to each student are very very very rare.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

^^ Sorry, but every college in my area does, the college I wne t to did, as well as an Iphone and tablet - so OP I would double check with the schol

I do know that if you are going into a specific majors like engineering,etc., they will have computer requirements.

My dd's had no specific computer requirements. Oldest dd got her computer through the school and had the repair perks.

Younger dd researched the computer she wanted and that was her HS grad gift. She received a Lenovo directly from the site because they have the "solid state drive". There is no "computer bookstore" at this college.

I would not expect a community college to force a student to buy a laptop but I do think he should get one.

Good Luck to him!

 

[sam_gordon]

^^ Sorry, but every college in my area does, the college I wne t to did, as well as an Iphone and tablet - so OP I would double check with the schol

DD and I have toured five collages in our area... three private, two public, all small to medium sized. None of them issue a PC. They all had "help desks" and discounts for computers, but that was it.

I would not say most collages don't issue them based on this small sample size though.

 

[SC Minnie]

DD's college does not issue computers. We just bought her a new one over the summer because hers died. DD chose to stay with a PC.

 

[Colleen27]

As others have said, what is adequate will depend on the program.

I just got myself a new laptop for back to school, and honestly I went cheap with it. I don't need to run anything more demanding than Office or InDesign, and the vast majority of what I use it for is word processing and internet research. And while I did like the MacBook I looked at I just couldn't justify the extra cost over what the Lenovo Yoga I ended up getting cost. I have to say, I love the convenience of the convertible design too. It is really nice to be able to put it into tablet mode when I'm doing something where drawing or marking up with a stylus is easier than working with a keyboard and mouse/touchpad.

The main thing I'd keep in mind, outside of major-specific software demands, is portability. I was using DD's 15" Lenovo last year and that thing was a bit annoying to lug around... Not a good fit in my backpack and as heavy as some of my textbooks. Now that she's played around with my 11" a bit she's wanting a smaller one too because she's taking hers to school every day for an online class!

ETA: The school I attend does have computer labs but I wouldn't want to count on them. I'm sure there's plenty of availability in the evenings and on weekends, but as a commuter school the labs are crazy busy and it can be hard to find an open machine during the day. That's why I started carrying my daughter's computer in the first place, because I had an hour and a half between two classes and got sick of not being able to get anything done for lack of a free computer in the lab or library at that time of day.