What to consider when buying laptop for college?

[JustMe]

Dd is going into her senior year at high school and needs a laptop for various reasons. I would like to get her something that would be useful for next year (at least!) as well. Anything to keep in mind as far as features, brands, etc? She is suggesting a surface pro, as they seem reasonable in price. Thanks!

[SnuggleBuggles]

We bought ds1 an HP laptop that was in our budget. It seems that the parents on the parent facebook page for his college discuss mac vs pc a lot and it varies by what program they are in. We happen to also have a spare mac on hand so we will send him off with the one that is the best fit for his specific program. In that way, it's hard to recommend one to buy since you don't know the school or program. But, until I saw those discussions I figured his laptop would work regardless. I still think it will but it could be that a mac would be better. Another consideration is size. His is heavy and bulky. It might have been better to factor that in since they do carry them around.
Don't get something pared down like a Chromebook. That will be way too limited.

[Percycat]

Do you have a Microcenter store in your area? We got good recommendations there when shopping for my son. My son, husband, and mother all bought compters from Microcenter. My daughter and I both got our computers from Costco --- and we have taken advantage of the Costco warranties on our computers.

[essnce629]

My son is a rising senior and chose the Samsung Notebook Spin with touchscreen when we bought his computer for school. This is the newest 2020 model:
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung_Noteb...dp/B0871CSH5H/

[gymnbomb]

Most of my students use smaller laptops -- probably in the 11-13 or 14 inch range -- because they are much lighter and easier to carry around, and also fit better on the tiny "desks" they have in many lecture halls. I would look for something with good battery life since it can be hard to find outlets in classrooms or common areas on campus, and an actual laptop vs. a chromebook. Built in camera, microphone, and speakers (I think this is fairly standard?). If she is going into a program that requires a lot of specialized software that would definitely be a consideration.

[NCGrandma]

Does she have any ideas about where she wants to apply to college? What field(s)? Some universities offer special computer purchase plans for students —even if you can’t yet take advantage of those, you can see what they consider an appropriate computer.

Wherever you buy, be sure to look at available warranties, repair service etc.


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[Jeanne]

Somewhat depends on the major. We are waiting for her new HP to show up. Both she and I are not Mac fans. She wanted a laptop tablet convertible with touchscreen, full keyboard, long battery life and stylus. We went with the Pavilion 14 t with backlit keyboard and i5 processor. She doesn't need i7 computing power. Did upgrade the GB to speed it up. The build doesn't resemble the starting price. Microsoft Office is free thru her Uni so didn't have to pay for that. Check the college websites she's interested in to see what support they offer as well.

[pinkmomagain]

Macs for sure around here. They've worked out well for my two who have graduated or almost graduated from college. My oldest is still using hers (about 7 years) and my middle definitely needed a Mac being an art student. She's heading into her Sr year of college.

[JustMe]

Thanks, everyone!

[trales]

Unless she is going into a highly specific and technical program, like graphic arts or IT, or programming, brand does not matter. All of the Learning Managements systems are compatible with both Mac and PC. I am a total mac lover (my home computer is a mac), but they are a pain in the ass for higher ed. The plagiarism software does not do pages, it only does .docx or .pdf. So if you get a mac, you have to get office installed, though office 365 comes with most college email addresses. But in order to upload to the digital platform we use, they have to download it first, they can't go cloud to cloud. It is so frustrating for everyone! In my experience in our large college system here, it is windows and office based- both the university and community college system. Macs are used for only a few programs.

Macs are favored by the affluent students for sure. You see those on the kids from wealthier areas, I can imagine this board is a mac heavy crowd. Most students I see have the surface pro or something similar.

Don't get a chromebook, since you cannot download programs onto it, many of the higher software companies are still working on the apps to make their programs work and it is clunky and does not always upload to Canvas (our learning management system).

Most kids are used to google classroom and google docs, and those just are not used in higher ed. Word, powerpoint and excel are standard. Any camera and microphone that comes on a new laptop will be good enough. You can spend hours stressing over this, but just get her a good, mid range, lap top and be done with it. Something she does not mind carrying around and a protection plan for when she drops it.

You would be surprised how many kids try to do college on their phone or a small tablet. It sucks. Many kids still use our computer lab b/c they don't have their own computer or they need to use specialized software that is loaded on the school computers b/c of cost and licensing issues. Even our gaming students spend most of their time in our gaming computer lab working on our computers with the 60 inch screens. I know this b/c they are next door to my lab, and after a weekend project period, the small wafts in and I have to instruct them to go home and shower, or use the ones in the gym.

The deals in college bookstores are really no better than deals you can find online. At least in our system.