<p>Any suggestions on purchasing a computer for an incoming freshman? When we were at orientation we checked them out at the school and they were not very helpful (maybe it was just summer help). Any thoughts before we head to our local Apple store. Thanks</p>
<p>Hi @DemmomNY.</p>
<p>FIrst, it probably is just because of being summer that you didn’t get a lot of help. I have never heard anyone complain about the computer center at Tulane, and generally they seem to have been helpful. As best I can recall, however, the price breaks were nothing remarkable, if at all. I think most people just got their PC’s at home so they had them ready to go when classes got started.</p>
<p>Sounds like you are sold on Apple (I use a Mac/iPad/iPhone also for last 3 years or so after lifelong PC guy, not that that matters) and that seems to also not matter any longer either. It used to be that business majors were pretty much told to go PC because of some special software, but I think that hasn’t been true for at least the last 4 years or so. Either people have the program that allows the Mac to run the PC operating systems and thus the software (excuse me if some of the techspeak is off, I am no expert but I trust you know what I mean) or the software itself is all available for the Mac iOS. For people that are computer geeks, you can stop laughing now at how much I butchered that. Bottom line, I haven’t heard anyone say it mattered which a person had in quite some time. My D had a PC clone her whole time, an HP I think.</p>
<p>She also never had a printer, and whether to have one or not is purely a matter of space and convenience. I think almost everyone that had one said they really didn’t need one. Besides, if it turns out that your student decides a printer would be useful, they have gotten cheap enough they can get one down there without it being a major decision. Either get it on campus or use the shuttles Tulane runs to get to WalMart, Staples, wherever to pick one up.</p>
<p>I also haven’t heard anyone say that a tablet is needed at all, and that is something that could “walk away” quite easily. The biggest problem at any college as far as being most common and annoying, and I imagine Tulane is no exception, is theft. Sad but true. So having easily taken expensive things is best avoided to the extent possible, and if your child does have small expensive things, a small safe is actually not a bad investment. Something that can be tethered to a post or whatever. Most kids don’t do this, because it is better to convince them to leave the expensive watch, earrings, etc. at home.</p>
<p>I think that covers the computer issue. Let us know if there was another question.</p>
<p>I was pondering the tablet thing too, but theft is so common and I’ve also read a few studies that taking notes by hand results in better retention of material anyway! </p>
<p>Oh yes, for sure on the retention thing. Not that we even had the choice in the Stone Age, but I would take sloppy notes in class and then copy them over very neatly later as a study/memorization method. I have heard of kids typing straight into their laptops, but I think that would be too noisy. Seems like profs would ban that. Not sure. I’ll have to ask my D if that was common or prohibited or what. Never thought about it enough to ask, but now I am curious. Any current students have input on this? I would definitely think a tablet, except for one that had a keyboard as a separate attachment (I don’t have that) would be too slow to type into.</p>
<p>I’ve seen them classes where I work. In fact every student in our business school is issued a ipad freshman year, for use for the 4 years they are in the program. They use them to take notes in class and work on projects. And probably facebook, twitter and everything else as well!</p>
<p>Interesting. I know kids are exceedingly adept at texting and all other fine motor skills associated with electronics, but it just is hard for me to imagine taking notes into a tablet.</p>
<p>Interesting coincidence of timing, here is an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education about computers in the classroom, with a link to an article in the New Yorker on which the CHE comments are based. <a href=“Casting Out Nines: Three issues with the case for banning laptops”>Casting Out Nines: Three issues with the case for banning laptops;