What MBP should I get for law school?

[DoorMouse]

I use the 13" MBP for law at uni- the portability and battery power is what really makes it great. I used to have a 15" powerbook, but it was too heavy and was more difficult to fit into bags and on desks in the lecture theatre etc.

I do think that more screen space for when back in my room would be useful, but I'm planning on getting an external monitor soon, and I think the 13" is still better for portability.

I don't know about running bootcamp etc though, as our law exams are still pen and paper!

 

[Pigmyracer]

Not to hijack this thread, but I too am looking at this 13 vs. 15 issue and have my own concerns with what is being said here. First of all, I don't think the, "well you can just use an external monitor" is terribly applicable to students. I am a scientist, not a lawyer, but I spend most of my time in classrooms and libraries. No external displays there for my use. I think its pretty important that you be comfortable with your laptop's display for the vast majority of your applications. Obviously, you do a lot of word process (as do I and almost everybody else) and you can do that on any screen size. But I like to watch movies. The 13'' is way too small to watch movies but I don't want to limit myself to the point that I can only watch movies in my room, while plugged into a monitor. To make a long story short, the 15'' seems like a great compromise. Its 1 pound heavier than the 13'' and, since I almost always use a bag, its slightly larger size will make relatively little difference to me. Also, don't forget about the C2D in the 13'' MBP. I realize that the OP is primarily using this for word processing, web browsing and other simple tasks. However, I've tried web browsing with my old centrino laptop and it was not pretty. The fact is that even simple computer applications grow more demanding over time. I think the extra few hundred bucks will make for a longer-lasting computer with less buyer's remorse.

All of that said, I (and I suspect the OP) would love for somebody to disagree and tell me I'm an idiot.

 

[alust2013]

Not to hijack this thread, but I too am looking at this 13 vs. 15 issue and have my own concerns with what is being said here. First of all, I don't think the, "well you can just use an external monitor" is terribly applicable to students. I am a scientist, not a lawyer, but I spend most of my time in classrooms and libraries. No external displays there for my use. I think its pretty important that you be comfortable with your laptop's display for the vast majority of your applications. Obviously, you do a lot of word process (as do I and almost everybody else) and you can do that on any screen size. But I like to watch movies. The 13'' is way too small to watch movies but I don't want to limit myself to the point that I can only watch movies in my room, while plugged into a monitor. To make a long story short, the 15'' seems like a great compromise. Its 1 pound heavier than the 13'' and, since I almost always use a bag, its slightly larger size will make relatively little difference to me. Also, don't forget about the C2D in the 13'' MBP. I realize that the OP is primarily using this for word processing, web browsing and other simple tasks. However, I've tried web browsing with my old centrino laptop and it was not pretty. The fact is that even simple computer applications grow more demanding over time. I think the extra few hundred bucks will make for a longer-lasting computer with less buyer's remorse.

All of that said, I (and I suspect the OP) would love for somebody to disagree and tell me I'm an idiot.

That's definitely not an issue of you being an idiot. It's simply a matter of personal preference. I initially wanted a 15" as well, but this setup simply works better for my needs and preferences. Either way is a great option.

 

[Frosties]

For reading documents long periods of time at various places the anti-glare screen would be a plus but the 13" is more portable and thus of more use. It's a hard choice with plus and minus of equal value.

 

[nbarillo]

I currently go to law school and I would def say go for the 13". That is what I am using right now and I would say that you want something that is portable that will carry with you every day. In addition I would say that the most popular size at my school is the 13" or some small version of a pc.

Also, Exam4 runs perfectly fine on the mac os. Also when thinking of reading documents on the computer screen remember that you will probably instead want to print out the documents anyway or will be reading from a casebook so I would go with whatever computer you are more comfortable with using for things such as word processing and internet use.