<p>I'm in the honors program btw.</p>
<p>I got a MacBook Pro recently, although I will be attending the business school. </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that any laptop around the $500 range and up would do, but I recommend Apple. You get what you pay for. </p>
<p>You can always run windows 7 on it as well.</p>
<p>Im going to CS and am going to wait for apples back to school event + refreshed macbook airs… I would advise you to wait for the back to school period too (coming weeks), since you’d get some free stuff (ipod touch/ipad 200 off?).</p>
<p>it doesn’t matter. there’s a huge mix of macs and pc’s between my friends. there are computer labs in the engineering building that run all of the software, so just get what you want :)</p>
<p>the only software you’ll use freshman year is Matlab. (which you can buy, download with dc++, or just go to the computer lab).</p>
<p>Don’t get a Mac unless you have money to blow. You can get an equal pc for half the price. The apple fans will try to convince you otherwise, but they’re really overpriced. Just don’t go too cheap. I’d say $600-$800 is good, just try to get a deal because if you pay the sticker price then your paying too much.</p>
<p>Like the others said, you won’t need a laptop for engineering. It will be more what you need it for personally. Don’t get more then what you need.</p>
<p>‘Don’t get more than what you need’ is good advice.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone.</p>
<p>I,ve been looking into it for my son. Rutgers has onsite repair depot for Lenovo, HP and Dell computers. Maybe Apple too. So getting one of those brands may make life easier if it breaks. Most ppl dont recc De11 laptops for various reasons, reliability, too much heat generated etc.</p>
<p>HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Apple have “student” web sites that offer slightly cheaper prices.</p>
<p>I was looking into them… the rutgers apple store specifically. Is it just me or are those actually MORE expensive than the student apple store? Worst case scenario I thought I could get the apple care plan for the air much cheaper from rutgers… but it’s advertised for $225 on their website vs $183 from apple store. I don’t get it Oo</p>
<p>That’s the other reason I don’t like macs. I don’t have any repair experience with them, but it seems like in most cases Apple would have to fix it if it has a problem, whereas PC parts are readily available and they are easy to work on.</p>
<p>As for Dell having reliability issues, I’ve never really had any. I’ve done IT work for the last 3 years where we have about 500 Dells and for the most part there are very little problems. I’m having to throw away loads of 12 year old+ Dell’s because they still work, but are so outdated. </p>
<p>I’ve only owned 2 computers and they were both Dells. One is over 6 years old and still runs like new and I’ve never done any work to it. The other is a couple months old and I have no complaints. I guess I’m one of the few Dell fans out there, but I find them to be more reliable then most.</p>
<p>It’s true. Mac’s are more expensive, sometimes double the cost of an equivalent PC. I was a PC user for the last 10 years of my life and within a week of getting my Mac, I can’t stand using Windows again.</p>
<p>I have had Dell’s, HP’s, and a few Lenovo’s prior to my Macbook Pro. They simply don’t stand up to Apple. It’s a fact that Apple makes some of the best computer hardware (and some say software). </p>
<p>If you can afford a Mac, get one. If you can’t, I recommend the HP Envy line as it is as close you can get to a Mac as possible. I cannot recommend a Dell in this day and age; their quality has been deteriorating for the past 5 years. Tech support is almost nonexistent as well. </p>
<p>As far as fixing goes, Applecare will cover it all.</p>
<p>Haha I just don’t think I’ll ever own a Mac. I’ve had an Iphones since they came out and I’ve had to get them replaced twice, and having to make an appointment for two hours after I get there when the store is empty is just ■■■■■■■■.</p>
<p>The comment about the Dell tech support is just wrong. It takes me 10 minutes to have a part shipped out for overnight delivery.</p>
<p>Why does every “what computer would I need for …” turn into a mac vs pc discussion? Stay on topic plz!</p>
<p>And can someone who has used the rutgers online store please explain to me why the items are more expensive than retail? I have to be overlooking something?</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC HD2 using Tapatalk</p>
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<p>I’ve never used it, but if it has Rutgers’ name on it, Rutgers must be making a profit off of the computers, which would make the items more expensive.</p>