<p>I was wondering which type of laptop would be best at AU. I am leaning towards the MacBook Pro but Dell is also a possibility. Curious to know the type most students use.</p>
<p>I think it is split pretty evenly. My D did not know what to buy last year and finally went with the MacBook Pro and has not been sorry. She has had some problems with it but customer service is superb. She takes the metro to the Bethesda store and has it back the next day. When she calls for service she gets through quickly and has her problems resolved. My son, who is entering law school, tried to buy a Dell on-line last night. He was on the phone and on the on-line chat for approximately3 hours. He gave the rep his credit card info and was waiting for the confirmation e-mail, which never came. He called this morning and they cannot find the order. He is now looking at other options. Dells are less money but their customer service is lacking. Back to your question, you will find PCs and Macs on campus.</p>
<p>This question was asked in the IT session when I attended the parents’ portion of Eagle Summit this month.</p>
<p>Here’s the answer from the AU IT guys: it mostly doesn’t matter. Kogod really wants its students using Windows machines. Some specialized programs involving visual arts really want their students to have Macs. If you don’t fall into one of those categories, it really comes down to price and personal preferences. AU fully supports both platforms.</p>
<p>AU will provide support for all kinds of software and networking issues. The only thing they don’t support is hardware, and they do recommend that when you buy a computer for college, you buy an extended-service plan that covers hardware, and covers hardware for accidental damage. (I never buy extended-service plans on anything, but this makes sense to me. Dorms are very crowded. It’s easy to see how your laptop could get bumped off a table or a bed quite accidentally. It’s also college, so I can imagine that a person’s laptop could get Diet Coke–or beer or vodka–spilled on it.)</p>
<p>As for prevalence, in the past year or so, the scales have tipped, and now, for the first time, a slight majority of folks at AU are using Macs. But the numbers are quite close.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Customer service is really important to me since I know nothing about about computers and the fact that one type is not dominate at AU is helpful. I will look further into the hardware coverage. MacBook Pro it is!!!</p>