<p>My daughter will be going into accounting as a freshman in the fall. I'd like to get her a laptop as a graduation present, but haven't found any recommendations. Mac or PC? Any accounting majors out there that have a preference?</p>
<p>A cheap PC will suffice. If she just needs it to take notes just get her something like a Dell Inspiron N5030</p>
<p>I’m coming from a student prospective. A lot of my older friends who’ve already want to college said that they love their Macs and my adviser has bought all of his kids Macs and they haven’t had any real problems with them yet. I haven’t actually owned one but I’ve heard their sturdier even though they’re more expensive.</p>
<p>I have an HP right now that I use for my high school and its falling apart! I can’t wait until the end of senior year when I can replace it! This might be a special case for me though.</p>
<p>If cost isn’t a concern, I’d get a Mac. If you want a cheaper computer, I would go with a PC.</p>
<p>An added note: Programs for the Mac are cheaper even though the computer itself is more expensive. For Windows you have to buy Microsoft Office in its entirety which is around $150. For Mac you can go to the App store and buy Pages (Word), Numbers (Excel), and Keynote (Powerpoint) individually and they only cost about $20 each! And they work with the Microsoft equivalent if her professor has that instead.</p>
<p>Although I do not have anyone in accounting at A&M, I’ll give you the perspective from an “old” accountant. You will almost always find that PCs are used in the business world - including accounting. The folks that use Macs are usually graphic artists such as in advertising or communication. A Mac is far superior to a PC in the graphics department. </p>
<p>With that said, I have a kid in Communication Design in another college. She was told at some point she had to have a Mac in order for her to be able to do her graphic design work. A student who is doing accounting is going to be more likely working with spreadsheets and other such applications and will not have to have the graphics power to crunch numbers. I was an accountant for years and to my knowledge that would not have changed.</p>
<p>Also, my daughter told me once she used her Mac, she’d never go back to using a PC but again she works with it for graphics. That said, if you get your daughter a Mac, the chances are high that she’d be using a PC when she gets in the business world and it might be a bummer to have to “step back”. Also, most schools’ computer labs contain banks of PCs with very few, if any, Macs - as they are only needed by a select few.</p>
<p>Finally, the price is substantially different. We actually bought a refurbished Mac from Apple for our daughter to save some money. It would seem getting an inexpensive PC at this time would be your best option. Obviously, there are a lot of expenses that go into getting a kid set up in college for the first time - we know as our second starts in the fall. I just don’t think that you need to be spending too much in this area.</p>
<p>My D is also going to be a freshman majoring in accounting next fall. The last visit we took we asked the students leading the visit in the business college what they use and they said PC’s. Also asked the Dean at a meet and greet and he said most business students use PC’s.</p>
<p>Hope that is helpful good luck to your D!</p>
<p>If you choose to go with PC, consider Lenovo as one of your choices. It’s cheap and good value. I prefer Lenovo over HP.</p>
<p>Agree with affodil as far as PCs goes. My school suggested a Lenovo but we didn’t get one because it’s more expensive since we had to get the tablet version. I noticed that the people who went with Lenovo have a lot less problems and have longer battery life even though they’re a little less attractive :P. As the years go on a lot people have problems with the screen and their battery not working at all but that can be expected.</p>
<p>AllyJay - </p>
<p>A&M has a software office that sells licenses to students for a greatly discounted price. I made a PC/Windows from scratch and needed Office. I got it at A&M for 20 bucks or so. IN addition to this, those with any version of Windows, can upgrade theirs to Vista or Windows 7 for about 15 bucks. Its really more efficient and cost effective to go with a windows computer in the long run, because it is more widely used; consider it like the TI-84. There are alternatives, but its the most widely used and most learned about. Many students use Apple computers and products because of the user-friendliness and style… but if you can’t afford to overspend, I highly suggest Windows desktops or laptops.</p>
<p>It sounds like a PC is what she needs, but still not all PCs are created equal, I always follow the rule you get what you pay for. I don’t know how your D treats her things but all of my friends that are girls are pretty rough on their technology, If you want this laptop to last all 4+ years don’t just choose the cheapest option from walmart. I really suggest a business class model that is built to handle the abuse, a lenovo thinkpad is a good option, so is an HP elite book. I think that A&M also has computer “packages” that are put together because of their reliability, serviceability, and specific needs of a college student. They normally have a pretty decent discount and the ability to have it serviced on campus. Just know that if you skimp out now, expect to be replacing it in 2 years or so.</p>