Best time to buy - Education discount

[pMad]

I am a middle school teacher and my son is graduating high school and heading to college.

From gifts from various family members, my son is looking at buying:
MacBook Pro
iPad Air
Pencil (2nd)

I know that Apple runs deals in the summer - discounts and giveaways.
The regular education discount is only $50.
He doesn't mind waiting.
Anyone know when those deals are usually announced?

Thanks.

 

[MacGizmo]

Apple's Back-To-School specials generally involve getting a free pair of AirPods or Beats headphones, free engraving, etc.. They rarely if ever "discount" the price of hardware. I can't remember when they start running the school offers, perhaps someone can chime-in here.

The Apple Education Discount for the MacBook Pro is about $100, the iPad Air discount is $50 and the Pencil has a $10 discount.

You aren't likely going to get better prices directly from Apple. You can check the main page of MacRumors, as they often promote/publicize discounts at other sites like Amazon, B&H, and others – and those discounts are often more than Apple's Education Discount.

You didn't ask, and it's difficult to recommend anything when we don't know what these devices are going to be used for. But you might consider skipping the MacBook Pro and just getting an iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard. This will allow for a larger screen, and a device more than capable of running typical Office apps, web surfing, emailing, and a host of other content-creation apps.

Or, if he already has an iPhone, perhaps consider skipping the iPad Air and just get a nice MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with some RAM/Storage upgrades.

 

[cthompson94]

Also don't be afraid to check Apple's refurbished store, comes with the same AC warranty and eligible for AC+ if you choose to add that, I don't think the Education Discount can be added (someone please let me know if I am wrong), but you may save more than what the Education Discount may save or get a more bang for your buck MBP.

 

[chown33]

Look for educational discounts at the college bookstore or other vendor associated with the college he's going to. One must generally prove one is an enrolled student, but that's largely timing here, it seems.

 

[cthompson94]

I did find this really good deal via Walmart for the Apple Pencil 2
Pencil

 

[pMad]

Thank you all.
This helps.
Really contemplating the iPad Pro approach

 

[KaliYoni]

my son is graduating high school and heading to college.

Really contemplating the iPad Pro approach

My advice: be sure to check the general computer recommendations of the university and the specific hardware + software requirements of the academic department or program before buying anything.

And a personal opinion...I think a laptop is better than a tablet for university use. Multiple ports, MagSafe charging, extensive file management options, a more flexible operating system, and more ways to store and transfer data are all important features for students.

 

[Apple.Fanatic]

Look for educational discounts at the college bookstore or other vendor associated with the college he's going to. One must generally prove one is an enrolled student, but that's largely timing here, it seems.

This right here. I used to work at a college bookstore in the electronic department and we would have massive discounts on previous models to clear them out (check smaller colleges as they have less foot traffic and are usually more willing to discount). These (at the time in 2008-2010, not 100% sure today) would also qualify for the back-to-school-specials. In that case, people were buying a new Mac at a 30%+ discount. That was on top of the already discounted educational pricing and you got a free iPod Touch (yeah, I'm that old!).

 

[JustAnExpat]

But you might consider skipping the MacBook Pro and just getting an iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard. This will allow for a larger screen, and a device more than capable of running typical Office apps, web surfing, emailing, and a host of other content-creation apps.

If he's going to do any type of academic writing, I have to disagree with the iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard solution. I can not figure out a workflow that allows easy academic writing with an iPad Pro.

Software needed to write academically:
- Scrivener
- Zotero
- Safari/ Google (to access .PDF files from the academic library)
- Preview (for reading the .PDF files).

The best strategy to write academically is to download PDF files from the academic library, and if there's a PDF file that has the information needed, to drag it into Zotero. Zotero will (almost always) pull the metadata into an entry. By right clicking on the entry, it can either make a citable reference, or a reference page in whatever format required (APA. MLA, etc). He can also click and drag the PDF file into Scrivener and take notes on the PDF file contents.

At the end of each day writing the essay, export the essay from Scrivener into a Google Document file, and upload it to Google Docs. That way, there's a history established that the document written is from the author and not take elsewhere.

Depending on how old the PDF file is, the PDF file may need to be OCR'd, and I don't think iPads can OCR files.

I could never figure out how to do something this on an iPad, and I can't recommend an iPad for any type of academic writing

 

[richmlow]

Thank you all.
This helps.
Really contemplating the iPad Pro approach

Hello pMad,


Generally speaking.... for the typical needs of a university student, I do NOT recommend using an iPad/keyboard combination. A laptop or desktop computer will be a much more robust and capable platform for the student's needs.

Good luck in your purchasing decisions.


richmlow

 

[bad_robot]

I found on DontPayFull some good discounts for the Apple store. They now have 20% Off on Macs and iPads for their Back to School Sale. In case you missed it, search that site and use their discounts.

 

[pMad]

Yes. Apple’s student discount came late. They were offing a pencil and AirPods at a reduced price. About 10 days before that we picked up the MacPro -$200, IPad -$150, Pencil -$25 all at Costco.