Taking a Mac to college, finding the right Mac for school
If you are a student, right now is when you are looking to buy a computer for college in the Fall. Choosing the right machine for the job can be difficult at best, but it is even harder if what you need is a Mac. They all sound so good – how do you know which is the one you need?
Whether you go to school or are home schooled, Apple does offer several education discounts that may help. To get these discounts you have to meet a few basic criteria, which you can see on the Apple education page. If you are a student enrolling in school in the all, these are the criteria for obtaining the discount: student enrolling in a college, teacher or faculty of a college, parent of a student enrolling a college, homeschool students.
The Apple Education discount is not bad, but if you are a student operating on a shoestring budget, the prices may still be too steep for you even with the student discount program. If this applies to you I’d recommend purchasing a refurbished computer. This gives you the Apple product, the Apple quality, the Apple warranty, but at a used computer price – often cheaper even than the education discount.
One company that is well known for its personal service and quality Apple refurbished products is Small Dog Electronics out of Vermont. They are totally willing to help you over the phone if you need to navigate computer choices to meet specific standards, like those for graphic design or video. This makes shopping for you Mac much simpler, as they are ready to answer any questions you may have.
Don’t underestimate the power of your old, decrepit machines, either. Apple has programs that allow you to recycle your old machine for a it of credit. I recommend looking into this sooner, rather than later, as there is the issue of turn around time so close to the school year, however; every little bit helps when you need books, tuition, room, board and a computer. It can be a budget buster.
If you don’t have an old machine to exchange or recycle, can’t afford a refurbished Mac and aren’t able to swing the price of the education discount, your options get a bit narrower. However, if you know a bit about computers, eBay can help you. Check on eBay for the older Pismo model PowerBooks – they are ancient, but cost effective, and very customizable for someone who knows what they are doing. If you don’t know what you are doing, avoid this option – it will only frustrate you to try and learn on the fly.
Assuming you have sorted out your budget and can afford the Mac you seek after discounts, or by buying refurbished or used, how do you know what to get? For the student, I’d say it depends on how you want to use the Mac. I recommend a laptop if you can afford it – being portable in college is key for everything from note taking to dorm space and study groups.
If you are in graphic design or film you will want to go with the MacBook Pro laptops. They have the better graphics card right now. Macs have always had an issue with the graphic card not being upgradable, so you need to invest in the best option in the Mac lineup right out of the box. Avoid the MacBook Air – it doesn’t have the storage you will need to handle graphics heavy files. Avoid the basic MacBook – it has a sub par graphics set up.
If you are not in graphic design and don’t plan to do a lot of intensive graphics work or game playing, you can get away with the basic MacBook. It is especially good for those that are in writing intensive curriculum. Light and portable with plenty of word processor capability, it is a work horse. I’ve had one for a while now and it has been enough for me for quite some time. A few years down the road it is only recently that I’ve started to outgrow it and begun thinking of upgrading a MacBook Pro.
In addition to the computer you will want to look into software. Unless your school requires a specific software title, like Adobe products, and offers a substantial discount, there is no need to go with proprietary software. Save your budget! Go with Open Source solution like Open Office, NeoOffice, and more. These are free solutions that work well with most products like Microsoft Office. You can also use iWork, though some schools discourage it. Some other free options can be found here. With a little creativity and thinking out of the box, as well as readily available discounts and refurbished or used models, there is no reason you can’t find enough for your Mac in your budget for school.
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