<p>Love to hear from students who currently are in BFA programs for musical theater as to what kind of laptop computers (and software) they find most helpful to have. I remember various students and parents posting here that Macs are the way to go, and I don't doubt that. But can you guys get more specific? </p>
<p>My D is going to NYU's CAP21 next year and we were told at the accepted students' event in April that students can get whatever kind of computer/laptop they want.</p>
<p>I assume my D will want to record music/voice lessons, etc., so that is a consideration. </p>
<p>Pro will have more memory space and some other technical stuff. But unless you are going to be making movies or recording complicated tracks, it is a tad unnecessary. The regular MacBooks are convenient, reliable, and can do a lot. Plus the i-Sight camera make video chatting with family and friends so easy. </p>
<p>If you visit the apple store, college students get a discount. Bring a student ID or if you arent a student yet an acceptance letter has worked in the past and you get a pretty nice discount.</p>
<p>I agree that MacBook is sufficient...Pro if student is film student or musical arranger/composer. A prof at my D's school swears by Finale and is trying to get the school to buythe software for the kids in the MT Dept so that is my software suggestion, as it allows the student to put in music and then transpose it to their key!!!- MacBook comes with great software so we didn't buy any extra. Maybe check with the school and see if they have software available for the student to download. In addition to the education discount, which for Mac is ~ $100, we have tax-free week-end in our state so if yours does it usually applies to computers, software, and peripherals.. Ours was the first full week-end in August (a lot of states are then) so we got the case for the computer and other things for the computer then too and paid no sales tax..Another thing your D will need is a good portable dvr- digital voice recorder- to take to her lessons. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>ps. it was hard but we held off getting the computer until that week-end too and really saved a good deal of $. It came in around 4 days, plenty of time to get used to it before school started.</p>
<p>Whatever computer you decide to get, make sure you have some type of audio editing software. I downloaded an <em>illegal</em> version of a program called Cool Edit Pro 2.0 and it works well. Of course, I would suggest buying it, but if you're poor like me, you can find it around :)</p>
<p>Whether you get a MacBook or MacBook Pro, get 2 gigs of ram. You will be running a lot of programs at a time and having abundant memory is more important in reality than processor speed for how MT students will use the machine. The biggest advantage to the Pro version is that the standard screen size is larger and I believe it comes with more prepackaged software.</p>
<p>Regardless of what computer you get, an Ipod coupled with an attachable accessory microphone gives you the ability to record voice lessons and accompaniments. You can then download to your computer through ITunes, attach external speakers and voila, instant rehearsal/practice music and the ability to review your voice lessons.</p>
<p>My son has a MacBook and loves it, but he has had lots of problems with it. He does have the service agreement but they tend to try to say that what ever is wrong with it is his problem, not the machine's. He eventually got everything taken care of. I highly recomend getting an insurance policy on any laptop (in addition to the service policy). There are a couple of companies that insure the contents of a dorm room which includes electronics, clothes, etc. and they are very reasonable, around a hundred dollars a year with a low deductable. Lots of piece of mind.</p>
<p>I would recommend waiting until closer to fall to get the computer, unless there is a compelling present need -- no need to have the warranty ticking away if it's going to be sitting unused for much of the summer.</p>
<p>I personally prefer Sibelius to Finale - but I think one or the other would be extremely helpful to any music student. But, I would hold off purchasing -- at least one of the college music texts includes a starter version of Finale with the text. The full versions of each are pretty pricey. Some college bookstores offer amazing discounts on student software -- Full MSOffice for $10, for example - a several hundred $ savings. Also, there is an online software site called Academic Superstore - you have to be able to verify your status as a student or educator, but they offer deep discounts on some software, including music software.</p>
<p>I agree that having a mike attachment for your iPod, or another form of digital recorder is a great idea... check to see if the digital recorder allows you to transfer to computer -- if not, find one that does. That way, you can burn accompaniment CD's, etc.</p>
<p>kimoki, UArts gives the freshman MT students a MacBook Pro with 2 gigs of ram, loaded with more software than will ever be used and an external hard drive for backups. In addition to the normal warranty, the computers come with a 4 year insurance/service/replacement policy backed by UArts and its IT department. My daughter has had no problems what so ever - but I did. Once I got my hands on her MacBook I was hooked and switched from a Windows PC to a Mac configured with dual operating systems (Mac OS and Windows).</p>
<p>Great news!! That's one less thing I have to worry about. I just purchased a new desk top and laptop this past year so I'll probably wait to switch but I'm sure it will happen to me too.</p>
<p>My D's laptop recently died and her 18th birthday was upon us so there was no waiting. I called the college she is going to attend and they said the Mac discount would be between 10-15%. Her Dad called a local dealer who was able to give a Mac student discount of 25%! I'd call your future school as well as your local dealer. I always thought the best deals came on campus but in our case I think we got a better deal unless they have even better deals at orientation that the school didn't tell us about. We know someone that works for Apple though and the employee discount is 25% so I think that might be the bottom price.</p>
<p>MOAP-
I am doing exactly the same thing. I thought I got a better deal from the Apple store until I found out that the deal at the college included the 3 year service agreement. When I repriced it with the same agreement at the apple store, the college deal won out by a good deal. Make sure you ask exactly what is included, both software and agreements. Her college does not offer the extra memory I wanted her to have, so I will buy the computer at her orientation in June, get the software put on at the college store, then take it to the Apple store to get the memory upgrade. This was the best deal I could get. D has never used an Apple before, so I wanted her to have it over the summer to get used to it.
Good luck on your purchase!</p>
<p>My D absolutely loves Macs. In her case she had to have the Pro because of non-MT software she will be running. I absolutely knew that there was no way the dealer could compete on software so we bought the absolute minimum necessary for her to do her homework, etc till college starts. We ordered the Apple office software - I think it's called iwork for $74 instead of the Microsoft one that was twice the price.</p>
<p>This is a great thread as my D and I are in discussions regarding what type of computer she should have at school. At this point I'm leaning toward a desktop in her room. I work in an IT department and every day I see laptops come in from the field broken. People drop them, step on them, spill beverages, plug them in to the wrong outlet and zap them, run them over with their car(someone actually backed over their's, forgot to put it in the trunk at the airport) lose them, have them stolen.....
Portable computers are nice but I wouldn't expect it to last 4 years because if they are lucky enough not to have a physical mishap there is hardware failure and more than likely software failure due to viruses, spyware or software installation/uninstallation issues.
Like others mentioned I'll check with the school but one would think that they would have some type of recording equipment. All that is needed is a Digital Camcorder with a nice Mic and you can record voice lessons. You could bring an MP3 player or a boom box to play music. I'd really like to understand why someone would need a laptop for this kind of stuff?</p>
<p>MTDad....I have one child about to graduate college and another who is a junior in college. Both have laptops. By the way, they have Macs and our family has been on Macs since our very first computers 11 years ago. I have not seen any kids at my kids' colleges using desktop computers. Of course there must be some who do but I have been in many dorms and such and every kid has had a laptop. There are some things you may not be considering. Some students may take their laptop to a class or to the library or some other location where they do homework. My D even works sometimes in a Starbucks. When my kids travel, such as to come home or in one case, my D was on a sports team that went away every weekend in season, they can take their laptop with them. I imagine your child may come home for breaks and while you have a computer at home, her stuff won't be on it. She can check mail but nothing else of hers can be accessed over the breaks. You also can purchase insurance for the laptops. You also can get a lock for a laptop to lock it to the desk. It also takes up less space in their small space at school. Remember your D will have a roommate and perhaps she won't want to do her studies in her room but to go some place else. Perhaps she'll have a break between classes and wants to do some work on her laptop but it is too far to walk back to where she lives. She may sit in a campus cafe and accomplish something on her break. All things to consider. I'm sharing this as I have been there done that.</p>