School me on Macbooks please

[papabear]

Hi Everyone
Our Daughter will be graduating highschool in a few short weeks and than in the fall start classes for Criminal Justice-Law Enforcement.
She has expressed an interest in getting a Macbook and using it for her college studies.
I know nothing about these and wondered if I could get insite on them from actual users.
If you have one is it worth the upfront cost?
What model do you have and are you happy with said model?
Would you get another in the future if need be?
Wife and Daughter now share a HP laptop that is about three years old now but has been flawless so far and I use a newer Dell desktop so that explains the extent of my computer knowledge.
Thank you to anyone that can offer any insite on this potential purchase.
PS..this would be her graduation gift.

 

[Oldtink]

I can't vouch for the Macbook Pro personally but, I switch over to an iMac desk top 7 years ago and never looked back.
Painless to maintain, rock solid, no garbage software added and you can forget about windows viruses and blue screens of death.
Yes, they're worth the money.
(just my two cents)

 

[s219]

We've been using MacBooks for a long time, and they have been great. I had one with a video problem 2 years after warranty ran out, and Apple fixed it for free, which was cool. A nice side benefit to Macs is that you can get great walk-in tech support if you have a store nearby.

For college use, any of the models will be just fine, so maybe set a price budget and then see what fits. Apple does offer an educational discount, so look into that (not sure if you have to buy through her school or what).

Essentially, you have the smaller lighter "air" models in 11" and 13" screens, which put an emphasis on portability and battery life. Then the bigger more powerful "pro" models with 13" and 15" screens. Some pro models come with a "retina" display which is very sharp, but not all software can take advantage of it. There is one 13" non-retina pro model at a lower price point, which my wife has. It's been a great computer.

I have an 11" MacBook Air, and love it for portability and traveling. It's not much bigger than an iPad but is a full-on computer. The screen would be too small for all-day use, which doesn't matter to me, as I have a desktop iMac for actual work-work.

If I was shopping for a student, I'd focus on the 13" screen because it's big enough for work but not so big to carry around. Either the air or pro models would be fine. I'd probably want to get 8GB of memory for student or work use. I only have 4GB in my Air, and it's not enough when I push it hard (I have 32GB in my desktop iMac, and that is a real luxury).

Good luck to your daughter in school!

 

[downsizingnow48]

Both our daughters got macbooks when they left for college. I've been using a macbook pro for five years. Wife has one now too. No issues either hardware or software.

 

[MikePA]

If you have one is it worth the upfront cost?

'Worth' is subjective. To me, it is more than worth it.

What model do you have and are you happy with said model

I switched from Windows PCs years ago and now only use them at work, where I don't have a choice.

As my desktop, I've owned a 24" iMac, since given to my oldest daughter and replaced by a Mac mini.

For laptops, I've had a Macbook Air 11", replaced by a Macbook Air 13".

Would you get another in the future if need be?

No more Windows PCs for me. For the one program I run that doesn't have an OSX version, Quicken, I use Parallels and run a virtual Windows machine on both my mini and Macbook Air.

 

[motownbrowne]

I grew up as a PC user. My wife has used Macs forever, and when her mom gave us one for our wedding, I never looked back.

They are worth the price. They function extremely well, are incredibly easy to use, and last much longer that a PC laptop. By that I mean they don't tend to slow down and get glitchy and require frequent formatting and reinstallation of software. Also, the single body aluminum case is pretty tough.

We have a 15" Nanook macbook pro and can't say enough good things about them.

If she's in school now, you should get the education discount, which is about 10-15%. Click on the "education store" button from the apple store site.

Trust me, if you get her a macbook, she'll never stop thanking you.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Just figured out that between the two girls, myself, and my wife, we now have cumulative 25 years experience with macbook, macbook pro, and macbook air. With no issues of any kind.

 

[smstonypoint]

First, congratulations to your daughter (and you).

It would not hurt to check with the school that your daughter will be attending. I don't know the extent to which policies vary across universities, but Clemson provides a list of recommended laptops for its students:Laptop Purchasing : Clemson. Also, individual departments make recommendations for their majors: http://media.clemson.edu/ccit/crlt/media/laptop/pdf/2013preferredlaptopmatrix.pdf.

Steve

 

[Wesdor]

I've used Macs and PCs since 1979 (obviously Macs first since PCs were not around at that time). Currently I work where both PC and Mac are needed. Two of us share an office and use a Mac with Windows loaded on it.
For a college student the MacBook Air might be a better choice since it is more portable. But remember leaving a portable computer like that on a library desk might mean it vanishes - be sure she puts a password on it.
As someone else said, she should get an educational discount. Go to the apple website and look for the education part.
BTW- we have 3 children and I just calculated that altogether the 5 of us have more than 120 years of combined experience on the Mac- that is almost scary to me
I think you are making a good decision getting the Mac.

 

[papabear]

Thank you very much everyone! All this info is very helpful and appreciated.