Laptop for college student

[mrsboz]

Does anyone have recommendations on what laptop I should buy for my son to take to college? Thanks.

 

[HM]

Often the college itself may have laptops available for sale. If you know where he is going, check their website.

My children decided against the school ones. My DD just bought a Macbook Air for her freshman year. She'd had a lot of problems with her previous laptop and viruses and such and thought a Mac would be better. And she likes the light weight of it, though the screen size took some getting used to after a larger one. My DS had us buy a laptop that had better features for gaming and had a large screen. He says it's kind of heavy to carry around, but he likes that he can do all the things he wants on it. I'm sorry I don't remember the type since it's been a few years.

 

[redsonja76]

We plan on buying our dd a MacBook, not the air, but the regular one. DH and I are total Mac converts, we love them!

 

[wiigirl]

We plan on buying our dd a MacBook, not the air, but the regular one. DH and I are total Mac converts, we love them!

I agree with the Macbook. One thing to consider is you want the laptop to last most if not all his time in college. Macbooks last...if you are going for a Microsoft laptop I would suggest springing for the i7 processor.

 

[mrsboz]

The college does not sell them.

Thank you for your responses. I am completely computer-buyer illiterate. I have no idea to even begin. Where would I buy a mac and how much do they run?

 

[Southernmiss]

We went to best buy and bought ds a hp laptop last year. It was not the cheapest but not the most expensive either. We got the extended warrenty thank God as he spilled pickle juice on it a week later. Because we bought the extended warranty he got a new one free and bought the extended warranty on the new one himself.

 

[a1tinkfans]

macbook pro with retinal display is what we bought last year, freshman year. Set me back about $2500. He loves itand we anticipate it will last thru all of college years..... BUT, they did not even allow it in some freshman classes, lol....no idea why.....
He lives by the thing tho....is on it and getting its money worth without a doubt

Apple stores sell them (stand alones or in malls) pretty much price locked situation. They/Apple very much stand behind any and every issue....as we have had to bring it back for "1" missing Pixel, literally 1 Drove my ds batty...me, I thought it was no biggie except that at the price thought it should be perfect..
They replaced it, no questions asked (after checking it out)
Good Luck deciding and Best of Luck to your college bound Student!

 

[luckyman_apd]

I highly recommend a Mac....While you can get a cheaper PC model (meaning less upfront money) a new mac will last LONG past any PC model....in my experience. I own a mac myself, this is my second one in 8 years (currently 2 years old and replaced because the 1st was stolen....could have easily lasted me 1 more year). While my work has gone through 4 windows machines in that time period, and will probably update again next year.

I use a mac air, and if cd/dvd player is a necessity, you could go with a macbook, but I got a usb drive for $30 on amazon. If you go with an air, get the newest model.....the battery life well worth it over an older model (mine last 2 hours average....up to 3) and I drool over the newer ones.

Storage (meaning HD space) is not the highest priority in an upgrade. You can always find a usb drive for less than they charge through apple. But UPGRADE the memory to the highest amount available for the machine you buy. This alone will help keep the machine usable for the longest time period before replacement is necessary. Good luck.

Edit......Don't forget to look at the apple website and click for education discounts. It's usually around $100. Easier to get the discount online than instore, but you have to wait for it to ship when ordering online.

 

[PlutoPony]

Absolutely check with the school and see if they have requirements on what you need/how much memory and computing power. At my son's university the minimum system requirements are Windows 7 or 8/ Mac OSX 10.8, the processor needs to be Intel Core i-5 or higher, memory of 8GB or more RAM, and 250GB or more hard drive. Then different schools within the university may require more computing power than that - I know engineering and architecture do. You don't have to buy the computer from the school, but we found their pricing to be competitive and the warranty situation was better. YMMV though

BTW, Macs are often not recommended for some majors so double check that before deciding to go that route. Some majors have specific software the students have to be able to run and sometimes it just doesn't work well on Macs.... we found very few schools recommended Macs for engineering majors for instance. My son had a Mac all through high school and has moved back to PC land for college, he's so disappointed not to be able to stay with the Mac.

 

[clh2]

At my DD's school, about half need Mac's and half need a regular PC. Business majors ( dd is one) needs a PC.

So, I would have your student do the research on what is needed!

 

[clh2]

At my DD's school, about half need Mac's and half need a regular PC. Business majors ( dd is one) needs a PC.

So, I would have your student do the research on what is needed!

 

[tvguy]

They may not sell them, but I bet they have recommendations.

Both my kids colleges had specific recommendations but together by their IT department based on their network, and with notes on differences students with various majors.

DS's private University recommends a Windows Desktop, AND a Netbook. Logic being you have more flexibility and spend less overall this way.

DD's public University still considers a computer optional, but they have a couple of huge computer labs on campus for the students to use. Rows and rows of computers, 10 to a row, 9 PC's and 1 Mac in each row.

DS went PC Desk top and Netbook, both Dell, and a few times checked out a MacBook Pro from the library.

DD went MacBook Pro, and used the computer lab for projects that were not Mac compatible. She decided it was not worth the cost of getting Windows on her Mac.

 

[Tistal]

not even allow it in some freshman classes, lol....no idea why.....

Because many students sit in class and goof off on twitter, facebook, instigram, or playing games instead of doing what they're supposed to be doing in class (paying attention, taking notes and just generally acting like they want to be there).

Additionally, there are studies that are proving what many profs have suspected for a long time; multitasking on the computer while in class causes students to score lower on exams (most recent study: http://www.montrealgazette.com/tech...wers+grades+Canadian+study/8788540/story.html).

To the OP, whatever you decide to get your son, get him a way to back up his work too. I can't tell you how many times I see students in the hall or library having a melt down because their computer has crashed. For just a few dollars, he can get a USB device that he can back up his work on.

 

[Sheepdog23]

I still have mac i bought in 2006 and the kids use it. I bought a new one but still find the old one ok. As for the software situation and only being available for pcs, you can run windows on your Mac. It was called parallels and it allows you to run windows on your Mac just as if it were a pc. I had trouble using software but that solved the problem. I would definitely go for the Mac. As for taking notes in class, it is definitely not easy to resist facebook so definitely a notebook and pen!

 

[megsoro]

While I'm an Apple (Mac) person to the core, when I was looking for a more mobile solution then my 5lb MacBook, I decided on the Samsung Chromebook. It will only work if his campus is completely wifi- mine is and while the 11" screen took some getting used to, the 2.1lbs sure didn't! And since I'm a google user, it made since. For $250 I just had to try it, and glad I did. I keep all my heavy files (I animate for a living/learning to in college) on my MacBook, and then all the files I use/create on the chromebook are in the cloud, so I always have them no matter where I am.

 

[blessedby3]

We have had so many computers over the years...and we finally have converted to being a Mac family. The pc's have just not lasted and we constantly battled virus'. We got our DS a Mac Pro for his graduation present ($999) and DH and I just got a Mac Air ($1050) for our personal use.
I love the Macs...so much more than the PC's we have had.
We also ordered them through a link from our sons college acct. They give a discount. With the Mac Air we also got a $100 app card to use to purchase apps. Evidently it is a back to school special because we didn't get it with our sons Mac Pro back in June when we got his.
Make sure to see if there are discounts by ordering through a link at your child's University/College.

 

[PlutoPony]

As for the software situation and only being available for pcs, you can run windows on your Mac. It was called parallels and it allows you to run windows on your Mac just as if it were a pc.

Yes you can parallel boot on a Mac BUT we hear there are often issues doing that with some software. The head of the dept. told us (parents) at orientation that you could go the Mac route but you were on your own if you had software problems. That was enough to convince us - and our son - to give up his Mac and go the PC route. College is challenging / competitive enough without potentially adding in unnecessary technology issues.

My son says that some classes do not let you use laptops (like for taking notes) unless you're in the back row.... it's too hard for other students to see over them and distracting. He was initially holding off getting a tablet but is considering it now, as those can be used in class and are much easier/lighter to carry around. We're talking a high powered tablet though, like the Surface Pro @ around $900, you need one with that much power/memory to handle the programs they are using.

 

[mcraige]

DD has a 15" Lenovo and it is too large to fit on the desk in all of her classrooms. Most of the students have laptops with much smaller screens. Also, the web application used by the university doesn't work on a Mac (all browsers) -- only on Windows. I ended up showing DD how to use her laptop to move files from the university application to her Sky Drive, and she accesses the files from there using her iPad. Its a pain, but it works.

 

[tvguy]

I will mention that one thing were are encountering in the working world with recent graduates that used Macs, they don't know much about Windows, and in the working world, PC's are the machines of choice because corporations don't care about anything other than the fact that PC's cost less.

 

[amcnj]

Laptop reliability figures seem to jump around pretty frequently, but I thought recently I read that Lenovo and Apple were better brands than others. But that might have changed in the time it took me to type this! As others have recommended make sure the school has no preferences/requirements.