<p>Will a macbook air 11 inch suffice for science-premed major? Please Answer!</p>
<p>There is no pre-med major. The type of computer you have will not influence your academic performance.</p>
<p>im sure the macbook air can handle mastering physics</p>
<p>Please be aware that some schools may have a minimum requirement, e.g., they may require a Macbook Pro in order for your computer to be connected to the campus network. This requirement may be independent of whether your computer has enough power or not.</p>
<p>I know it is borderline “elitism” to have this kind of requirement. If you or your family can not afford it, there is some chance it is not a “good fit” for you to go there. LOL.</p>
<p>^^^ I have never seen that on the undergrad level but I have heard that about some medical schools, where they require you to buy an ipad. I can’t remember which school did this but I think it was Brown or Stanford. If a school is going to require that a student use a certain type of computer then the school needs to pay for it or take it into account when calculating FA/expected cost of attendance.</p>
<p>^^ I did refer to some medical schools. However, in the “old” days when Windows XP still dominated the world, some UG schools insisted the students got XP professional, instead of its home edition – for security reason.</p>
<p>Some medical schools seem to include an unbelievably high amount, $3000, in its first-year cost of attendance for computer purchase. It is the student who will carry the loan so the school does not care.</p>
<p>BTW, DS will get a “free” iPad when the school starts. It will be his first exposure to Apple’s iOS as he has never had an iPhone or iPod touch. His iPod is an extremely old model (likely the first or second generation of iPod mini, which he got likely in high school? Somehow it is still working.)</p>
<p>How different is iOS from Mac OS? I heard Lion will include some features from iOS but I do not know the detail.</p>
<p>iOS cannot run animations that use Adobe flash. That’s the biggest issue.</p>
<p>@ caveat. You will mostly be using your computer for internet connectivity (to do homework sets, email, access Blackboard, etc), word processing and perhaps to run 1 or 2 software programs which you will need to download from your school’s server. </p>
<p>The little Air should suffice IF it meets your school’s minimum hard/software and connectivity standards. You’ll need to check your particular school’s IT site for those standards.</p>
<p>The Air has 3 shortcoming: </p>
<p>1) no ethernet port. If your dorm isn’t wireless, you won’t be able to connect to the internet</p>
<p>2) no CD/DVD reader/burner. If you use your laptop to watch movies–you’re out of luck unless you buy an external USB DVD reader. (SuperDrive is $79 when you buy an Air.)</p>
<p>3) memory. Not enough for gaming and impossible to add extra later. </p>
<p>Spent considerable time last week looking at the little Air after I dropped my MacBook Pro and munged up my hard drive and dented my aluminum case. (Fortunately I had 1 month left on my extended Apple Care policy and Apple graciously fixed it for free even though accidental damage isn’t covered. Over $1100 in repair costs–enough to buy a little Air. It’s a sweet little machine and very light. Great machine to travel with.)</p>
<p>I would highly recommend the Pro version of Mac for undergrad. It has more memory – which will serve you longer and work better – and a larger screen. Not only is the larger screen better on the eyes, it will make your multi-tasking a little easier, particularly since more and more classroom ‘stuff’ needs to be downloaded from Blackboard or school servers. (Not to mention all the social media apps that y’all leave open 24/7.)</p>
<p>Yes, I get that it is a pound or so heavier, but worth it IMO.</p>
<p>I have a Macbook Air 15 inch and a Toshiba Satellite C655. I got these both during HS. Let me tell you, I don’t even know where my mac is its soooo beneath my Toshiba. It is terribly slow compared to my Toshiba. My Toshiba, which costed nearly 50% less, has twice the amount of RAM as a Macbook, twice the size hard drive as the BIGGEST Macbook Air, and runs almost a full GHz faster. Macbooks are over prices, and you could EASILY find a better computer for cheaper. Macbook Pro does get better, but not really. The top MacBook Pro cost $2499, has 2.3GHz processor, 4gb RAM, and 750 GB HD. Here goes a Dell XPS with same specs but 250 GB more memory for $1000 less…and it has 3D!! lol</p>
<p>[Dell</a> - XPS Laptop / Intel® Core™ i7 Processor / 17.3" Display / 8GB Memory / 1TB Hard Drive - Silver - X17L-2777ELS](<a href=“http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+XPS+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i7+Processor+/+17.3"+Display+/+8GB+Memory+/+1TB+Hard+Drive+-+Silver/2817264.p?id=1218353392693&skuId=2817264]Dell”>http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+XPS+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i7+Processor+/+17.3"+Display+/+8GB+Memory+/+1TB+Hard+Drive+-+Silver/2817264.p?id=1218353392693&skuId=2817264)</p>
<p>Not wanting to get into a mac-pc discussion, but you should realize dwalker that Windows requires more memory than mac just to run its OS efficiently. Add in the open programs which never ‘close’ until shut down, and even more memory is required. Yes, a PC is less expensive than a mac – always has been. But the OP was not asking about pc.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses thus far;however, I was more concerned about its ability to run all of the softwares necessary in a science-premed major. Do I even need a drive?</p>
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<p>What you need depends on you, your college, your major and your courses. Note, that not all colleges are wireless. Not all colleges are wireless everywhere on campus. Not all dorms are completely wireless. Can you get by without a Ethernet port for four years? Possible, but highly unlikely.</p>
<p>If you are running heavy stat packages such as SPSS in your coursework/research, an Air will be extremely slow (not enough memory). OTOH if you are just doing the basics on Excel and Word, you’ll be fine. If you download a lot of music/videos, you’ll run out of disk space.</p>
<p>Check your college’s recommendations. They’ll may have better deals, which includes software and a warranty (don’t forget to include this cost), and be able to fix onsite.</p>
<p>^^^Agree with BB. And I’m a heavy-duty Mac user. The lack of an ethernet port is real issue to be concerned about. The Air really isn’t designed to be your primary workhorse computer. It’s more a lightweight travel option.</p>
<p>BBY, the OP was asking for suggestions for a computer that would be good to use in college. He named an Apple, and I decided to tell the OP about my experience with multiple computers in college, and which served me better. I’m not going to get into the apple vs pc debate, but since when was utilizing more memory considered worse (32 bit windows doesnt utilize as much however)?
Either way, you dont need a lot of power being a science major. I would guess if you were into programming or architecture you would, but you dont need much as a premed. You will need a disk drive to install things, but if you really dont care then get a Air? I have a feeling you will be doing that anyway. I would get a Pro if I were you, because when it comes to watching videos on youtube or hulu, the Air will frustrate you while the Pro will do the opposite. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC App</p>
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<p>Perhaps my reading skills aren’t close to your level, but no where in Post #1 (or #11) did the OP inquire about anything other than mac air.</p>
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<p>I never used the word “utilizing”…I clearly pointed out that Windows requires more memory to run efficiently. The idea is that discussing specs across manufacturers is kinda like discussing apples and oranges. (Yes, PC has more memory bcos PC NEEDS more memory to perform at the same/similar level as a mac. Of course the good news is that PC memory is a whole lot cheaper to add.)</p>
<p>Specs notwithstanding, the lack of an Ethernet cord on the Air is a big mistake, IMO.</p>
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<p>That is defiantly asking for advice lol. If the Air is not sufficient, then what is? And I answered with my experience with the Air. Also, utilizing and using memory is the same thing. Im just saying the Air is way to slow, so I would recommend the Pro, but thats $1000 more expensive then the Dell I posted, so you should get that instead of the Pro if you want to save money. And answer only stating "maybe the air is, maybe not"is not really informative, so I decided to answer with more detail.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC App</p>
<p>OP—</p>
<p>13" MacBook Pro and the 11" MacAir (with 128G memory) are the same price. </p>
<p>MacBook Pro has twice the processing speed, twice the RAM and 2.5 times the memory.</p>