Def check with your school, I recall being able to get a downloadable copy for like $40, but I think that price depends upon the size (number of volume licenses) of your college. For a student's use this is a no-brainer, other folks will hate you if you try to use open office for a group project, particularly with document covering multiple versions and tracked changes. It simply does not work well, and you can never trust that the versions are completely accuracy. The headache inducing compatibility issues are not worth it.