<p>I don't want to bring up a whole Mac vs. PC debate, but I would like to know which is preferred by the professors at UCSD. (Software wise: are all the programs that professors want available for Macs too?) *Psychology Major</p>
<p>I just graduated as a psychology major, and I never needed any particular software or operating system. I didn’t do research in a psych lab, though, and they might have particular software–though they’ll likely have computers that you can use. Generally, you can find computers on campus that have software you might need for a class. I know many professors have Macs, so they can’t be particularly opposed to them.</p>
<p>There have been occasions where I’ve encountered software that only works on a PC, but I have a PC so I didn’t really pay that much attention to it. There are likely ways to work around it though. Odds are, you probably won’t encounter any problems if you get either a PC or a Mac.</p>
<p>Virtually anything you can run on Windows you can run on a Mac in bootcamp or virtualization software like VMWare Fusion, so you shouldn’t be concerned with picking a Mac or PC in those terms. I’m sure there’s software to go the opposite direction too so that you can run Mac software on a PC. </p>
<p>Unless you’re a hardcore gamer my suggestion would be to get a Mac. I made the switch from PC to Mac 5-6 years and I can definitively say I’m never going back. The Mac OS is much more user friendly and intuitive than Windows and the software and hardware tend to be more reliable and are generally built to a higher standard.</p>
<p>Also, any software you’re going to need is likely going to be available somewhere on a computer on campus and if it’s really really expensive psych software then you may not be able to get a student license for it and would be reserved to an on campus desktop, regardless.</p>
<p>yeah i definitely agree with bakerax, i recently graduated as a psych major too. even though some classes are over saturated with Macs (i own one…), i think any computer is useful. software these days cater to both PCs and Macs. i just know that my current mac has a way better battery life than my PC that i used to have which is useful in those 1.5 hour classes</p>