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Do college students need a MacBook Pro?

M

Mr. MacBook

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 28, 2007
337
0
Mind you, im not in college, but i cant see the reason of having a MacBook Pro in college. I've visited colleges, but the only macs i see in their cafes are MacBooks.

If your a college student, don't you need something thin, light, small-screened and powerful? I cant understand how someone would lug around a 15-inch MacBook Pro instead of a light little MacBook.
 
Mr. MacBook said:
Mind you, im not in college, but i cant see the reason of having a MacBook Pro in college. I've visited colleges, but the only macs i see in their cafes are MacBooks.

If your a college student, don't you need something thin, light, small-screened and powerful? I cant understand how someone would lug around a 15-inch MacBook Pro instead of a light little MacBook.
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I understand that the average American is overweight and out of shape but seriously?? Lug?? They only weigh 5.6 - 6.8 pounds. Isn't what the average meal from McDonalds weighs these days?
 
Trent0341 said:
I understand that the average American is overweight and out of shape but seriously?? Lug?? They only weigh 5.6 - 6.8 pounds. Isn't what the average meal from McDonalds weighs these days?
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Not like that.

But it's still kind of heavy and annoying to be carrying around class to class. And the size isn't too small.
 
Mr. MacBook said:
Mind you, im not in college, but i cant see the reason of having a MacBook Pro in college. I've visited colleges, but the only macs i see in their cafes are MacBooks.

If your a college student, don't you need something thin, light, small-screened and powerful? I cant understand how someone would lug around a 15-inch MacBook Pro instead of a light little MacBook.
Click to expand...

I am new to Macs but I would suspect that it would depend on the person's needs for the computer. The Macbooks have terrible graphic adapters with the onboard integrated shared memory GMA950. The Macbook pros have discrete 3D graphics chips with dedicated video memory, so if a person needs graphics performance then the macbook would not be an option for them.
 
I love the posts that are like:

"I want to type essays and go on MSN - do I need a MacBook Pro?"

I think that in terms of computing power, a MBP is overkill for a lot of students. Yes, some will need it, but an english major probably won't. Some people just like bigger screens, though.
 
Atomic-Ed said:
I am new to Macs but I would suspect that it would depend on the person's needs for the computer. The Macbooks have terrible graphic adapters with the onboard integrated shared memory GMA950. The Macbook pros have discrete 3D graphics chips with dedicated video memory, so if a person needs graphics performance then the macbook would not be an option for them.
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Exactly.

Not to mention the fact that if you're studying media like video and graphic design, you'd benefit from having the MBP over the MB.

Does anyone really need an iPod over that cheap Sansa? No. But it's better :)
 
Mr. MacBook said:
Mind you, im not in college, but i cant see the reason of having a MacBook Pro in college. I've visited colleges, but the only macs i see in their cafes are MacBooks.

If your a college student, don't you need something thin, light, small-screened and powerful? I cant understand how someone would lug around a 15-inch MacBook Pro instead of a light little MacBook.
Click to expand...

The MBP is only .2 pounds lighter than a MacBook, and it's actually .08" thinner. So it isn't that much more of a pain..... certainly wider, but plenty of college students have 15.4" laptops, so the smaller MacBook is not exactly the "norm".

But no, most college students don't NEED a MBP. But some students might need it depending on what they use it for...... either for the GPU, or the ExpressCard slot, FW800, etc.

But yes, most students only need the MacBook.
 
Trent0341 said:
I understand that the average American is overweight and out of shape but seriously?? Lug?? They only weigh 5.6 - 6.8 pounds. Isn't what the average meal from McDonalds weighs these days?
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Add on the textbooks you have and the amount of walking you will have to do around campus...
 
college students need a pencil and notebook.

college students want a macbook/pro

me? I wanted one, therefore I got one. :)
 
The University I went to supplied IBM Thinkpads for each student that weighed around 6.5 pounds!

A 5.4 macbook pro sounds a lot better.
 
e12a said:
college students need a pencil and notebook.

college students want a macbook/pro

me? I wanted one, therefore I got one. :)
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That's a nasty generalization.

1. I'm a graphics student, and I absolutely do need a computer as a lot of our prepress work is done away from the labs.

2. I have some classes that if you're not typing the notes, then you're gunna miss 'em. These days, the teachers don't pause anymore for everyone to get everything written, they assume that everyone has a laptop and can keep a faster pace.

3. My school requires every incoming freshman to have a laptop, and in many classes, you have to bring your laptop in just as often as you have to bring in your required books (to reach material online and whatnot). Most entering my major opt for a mac simply cause it's the industry standard.

To the OP: As a graphics student, I don't really benefit from the computing difference between a MB and a MBP (since the CS suites don't utilize the graphics card anyways), but I've found that the smaller screen is hard to work on for a long period of time. At home I have an external monitor, but as you move up to the 400-level courses, you spend a LOT of time in lab, and the 15" screen is much nicer on your eyes.
 
students need games. games need a good graphics card. the macbook pro has a good graphics card. from this we can conclude that all students need a macbook pro to get the most out of their education.
 
I am a computer science student, and I like to game. I also like portability, so a MBP would be great for me.
 
0

00hkelly said:
students need games. games need a good graphics card. the macbook pro has a good graphics card. from this we can conclude that all students need a macbook pro to get the most out of their education.
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amen brother. the extra 600 dollar for a macbook pro is worth it.
 
I got a macbook pro in january and it has been the best thing for my studies. I take history, politics and psychology and since january my grades have significantly improved. The organisation that it has provided me with, alongside not having to carry around lots of folders and sheets. i use Circus Ponies notebook application, and it is literally the best thing for school ever. My only regret is that i didnt get my mbp at the start of my course as i would be even better if i had.
 
CrzyCanuck72 said:
I love the posts that are like:

"I want to type essays and go on MSN - do I need a MacBook Pro?"

I think that in terms of computing power, a MBP is overkill for a lot of students. Yes, some will need it, but an english major probably won't. Some people just like bigger screens, though.
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<- English major. ^^;;;

Sure, the power of a MBP is overkill for term papers. But at the same time, it's the only way to get a 15 inches of screen space with a Mac, so it'll be very useful for research papers and what not.

Personally, I picked it up so I could do some gaming on the side - and I'm not talking about Solitaire. Need? Perhaps not. Not any more than a PS3. But I've got one of those too, so you see where my wants lie. ;)
 
Any student using Final Cut Studio should be using a MacBook Pro. I don't say that because students need the power for editing, but I say that because students need the power for Motion. Yes, Motion. These days, if you can't edit, author DVDs, AND do motion graphics (After Effects or Motion), then you're just behind the curve.
 
Being a freshman in college(Almost Soph!) in most lectures people HAVE MacBooks, but very rarely will you see people with MacBook Pro's. The people I know who have MBP's usually just keep it in their rooms and barely ever bring it with them to class.

I don't think it's that heavy or annoying to bring to class, especially if you have a 'laptop backpack' with the laptop slip built into your backpack. It might be a little heavy, but it's certainly not TOO heavy for class. Albeit MacBooks are definitely easier to bring around, but MBP's aren't SOOO annoying that you can't carry it around, but if you really want to then it's not really a problem.

But to that person who said there are a lot of college students that don't even need a MBP, due to their dailiy activities and I completely agree with that guy. I'm personally getting a MBP because I want to do a lot of editing on it, as well as other things. I am also a comp. engineer major, so I want to make sure I get full use of everything.
 
As previously stated most univ. students don't NEED a mbp. But there are several reasons to get 'em.

Example:

-Screen size, I for one can't stand anything smaller than a 15.4".
-Gaming
-Style (Now look, i've heard this several times, from several different girls...guys+white macbooks don't mix. It's funny looking, especially when you see the 220pound, 6ft muscle guy using a white macbook.)
-The word Pro. Pro, Advanced, Extreme and whatnot are all words that simply make us feel special. girl:"You have a Macbook?" guy:"No...i have a Macbook PRO" girl:"oh la la, have me! now!"

Now unless you're naturally frail or have some sickness or something a macbook pro is simply not heavy. I'm an interdiscplinary science student, my textbooks weigh well over 50pounds. On any given day 20 of those pounds are in my backpack. I wouldn't be wrong to assume that other students (commerce, engineering, med, pharm...) carry the same kind of weight. So a 5.4 pound laptop is nothing, sheesh i know 12yr old girls who carry more weight than that.
 
amoda said:
As previously stated most univ. students don't NEED a mbp. But there are several reasons to get 'em.

Example:

-Screen size, I for one can't stand anything smaller than a 15.4".
-Gaming
-Style (Now look, i've heard this several times, from several different girls...guys+white macbooks don't mix. It's funny looking, especially when you see the 220pound, 6ft muscle guy using a white macbook.)
-The word Pro. Pro, Advanced, Extreme and whatnot are all words that simply make us feel special. girl:"You have a Macbook?" guy:"No...i have a Macbook PRO" girl:"oh la la, have me! now!"

Now unless you're naturally frail or have some sickness or something a macbook pro is simply not heavy. I'm an interdiscplinary science student, my textbooks weigh well over 50pounds. On any given day 20 of those pounds are in my backpack. I wouldn't be wrong to assume that other students (commerce, engineering, med, pharm...) carry the same kind of weight. So a 5.4 pound laptop is nothing, sheesh i know 12yr old girls who carry more weight than that.
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That's so ghetto you would even think about what other "females" think because you have a Macbook over the pro...seriously..wtf..
 
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