<p>My son was accepted EA into Notre Dame and intends to go there. My question for those who have been on the campus, or have kids or siblings already there...</p>
<p>First off--laptop or desktop? Seems laptops have those little bitty keyboards and can be easily lost or stolen (plus pricier); desktops are much cheaper, bigger keyboards, no one is going to rip them off, but you are chained to your dorm room, pretty much... </p>
<p>Also--student tickets. I read somewhere that season football tix are roughly $160 for students (they were only $35 when I was there--either inflation has kicked in with the new stadium, or I'm just a plain old fossil...). Also, for the life of me, I can't figure out the deal with basketball tickets.</p>
<p>My son was sports editor of his high school paper, and is wayyyyy into the intercollegiate and pro sports scene. I thought it would be a cool gift to get him season tix to both football and men's hoops, but don't know how much they are, nor when or how to order them... Also, I saw some Observer stories about some kind of controversy over men's hoops tix...</p>
<p>Can anyone enlighten me on these two things--laptop or desktop; and what the deal is with football and men's hoops season tix?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot! Congrats to all of you who've been accepted--that's quite an accomplishment!</p>
<p>I am no parent, but I have been researching ND and what to take to college next year. As far as student tickets, I have no clue. But about computers...</p>
<p>Can I have a computer in my room? What kind of computer should I get?
Yes, you can have a computer in your room. All residence hall rooms are wired to the ResNet computer system on campus. As for the type of computer to purchase, we strongly suggest you consider purchasing a laptop computer, as it does not take up as much space as a regular desktop or tower system (especially those with larger monitors). In the past, students have discovered that the size of their rooms, and particularly the desks, are not as conducive to studying and computer use (click here for details). Laptop computers can be purchased from the Solutions Center, an operation of the Office of Information Technologies.</p>
<p>That is straight off of a ND FAQ website.... if that helps. Plus, if you do decide to go the laptop route, you can get small chain-type things that fasten around a desk leg, etc. if you are worried about the security aspect. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>If I recall correctly from our tour of ND in 7/03, we were told that students can save projects on a central ND server. Therefore they can access a project from any campus computer. So a laptop may not be as important since your files are always available even if you are not using "my" computer (for example, the desktop in your room). Or could get a desktop and a jump drive(also known as a flash drive). You can put a jump drive on a key chain. I just bought one for $60 that holds one gigabyte of data--more than enough for any conceivable text file. That is large enough to hold all the papers one would write in a whole college career.
Congrats to your son. Good job on the clever way you gave him the news.</p>
<p>My daughter has a laptop and loves it. She's very glad she made that choice. The campus is wireless and she can take her laptop anywhere on campus and have internet service. She took a multimedia First Year Composition class the first semester which required the students to bring a laptop to class. This was especially useful during finals when she studied in the library and at Como. She loves the wireless feature. She has a great picture of her friends studying in Como, with their 4 laptops in a circle. Secondly, the desks are not very big. A desktop computer would take up most of the space on the desk. My d said most kids have laptops and quite a few purchased them from the Office of Technology. Last but not least, she was able to bring her computer home for fall break and Thanksgiving break to work on papers. She completed a theology paper on the long plane ride home during Thanksgiving break.</p>
<p>If anyone is thinking of getting a laptop or a desktop, check the OIT site on the ND site. They have some great deals for students. A student can also purchase the MS office suite of products (powerpoint, excel, etc.) for only $45. It can cost up to $250 or more if you buy it direct from a computer manufacturer. The OIT is great to work with. They are very helpful. If you get your computer there, you have support for the entire time you are at ND which has already benefited my d. </p>
<p>The OIT will send you a pamphlet around May, describing the tech specs for computers. The specifications are definitely high end so be prepared. </p>
<p>We bought a lock for her laptop. She has never used it. She feels very secure there. Still kind of bothers me but she isn't concerned about theft from the dorm room. She keeps it with her when she's on campus. You can buy a lock from OIT. </p>
<p>For football tickets, it cost d $160 CASH (real important - no checks, debit cards or credit cards - cold hard cash) for season tickets. You can't purchase them now. They have a lottery the first week of school. Kids are assigned times to pick up tickets. All students have an opportunity to get the tickets. The lottery determines where you sit in the stadium. The classes sit together. Seniors have the best seats, of course! But the spirit is always greatest in the freshman section, by far - with sophomores a close second. So perhaps you can give him a "voucher" as a present for when it's his time to purchase the tickets next year.</p>
<p>As for the basketball tickets - there was indeed some controversy. There were only a limited amount of student tickets available. It has been reported the reason for this was a lack of student attendance in previous years so fewer student tickets were available. The basketball team was rumored to be good this year, and there was a great deal of student interest in buying season tickets. My d got in line at 5:00 am to purchase her bball tickets. Kids were in line as early as 1:00. She got her tickets without any problems. I believe it was $100 but I can't swear to that amount. I'll ask her when she gets home tonight. Same deal - cash only. For both football and basketball season tickets, they receive the entire book of tickets. If you want to give someone your ticket, it's a complicated procedure for football but I won't go into that now.</p>
<p>Should I buy a PC or a Macintosh?
The OIT does not recommend one platform over another. The OIT provides assistance for both PCs and Macs and their software. When making your decision, a good rule of thumb is "go with what you know." A student faces many new challenges when starting college, so it's probably a good idea not to add the effort of learning the ins and outs of a new system.</p>
<p>Other Considerations:
Market Share - It's true that PCs far outnumber Macs, and at Notre Dame the ratio is about 4 PCs to 1 Mac. Exchanging documents and files between a PC and a Mac is not a problem as many of the Office Suites allow for cross platform compatibility. Products like Virtual PC allow you to run PC programs on your Mac if you have the system resources (hard disk space & memory) they require.</p>
<p>The Technology - Both platforms are reliable, although we recommend that the perspective PC buyer always ask with which manufacturers the University has relationships. For a new student without easy access to the South Bend area, finding quality, service centers off-campus who are knowledgeable of Notre Dame's computing environment is very difficult. The Mac is generally viewed as being easier to set up and configure and, is touted to be a more friendly platform for loading new software and hardware components, as well as being less prone to viruses and worms.</p>
<p>Variety of Choices - PCs are made by many companies and are available everywhere. At Notre Dame, we recommend the commercial-grade models from Apple, Dell, Gateway, & IBM. For more help in identifying a computer to fit your needs, contact a Solutions Center consultant toll-free at 877-561-7477 or via email at: <a href="mailto:solution@nd.edu">solution@nd.edu</a>.</p>
<p>I haven't had experience with Macs but my nephew has one and loves it. He is an architect though and went the Mac route because of the graphic capabilities. (He went to Tulane, not ND so I can't tell how Macs work at ND. From the info above, it doesn't sound like a Mac is a problem).</p>
<p>ND does require high end specs so I would recommend you take them up on the offer and call the OIT office and discuss the options with one of their staff. They are quite knowledgeable and should be able to help you make an decision for such an investment.</p>
<p>Notre Dame just recently signed a new deal with IBM. They have pretty great prices. Best prices I've ever seen for IBM.</p>
<p>Apple Macs are abundant on campus. There's no reason any student would have any problem using a Mac.</p>
<p>But, you might want to wait a little longer before you buy. Every summer Apple has a Back-to-School sale. The prices are a little better and include a free iPod, after rebate.</p>
<p>If your child applied with the intent to major in Science, check with the College first. Sometimes the College of Science has some special deals for their students.</p>
<p>great just want we need on this campus...more self absorbed people running around between classes with their headphones to their ipod jammed in their ears....</p>
<p>In all honesty I imagine OIT will continue to send out information about minimum computer specifications to students and information about specials that you can get if you order through the school. Are these always the cheapest option? No. But they can be. Depends how well you do your hw. When I started up here I know the fact that you had to be using OS 9.2 (later changed to OS 10) for the network to support your mac and you still are told to run XP pro...</p>
<p>It is possible to use a mac on campus. There are some macs in every computer cluster. Just be aware there are some programs that you might use that are specific to just one operating system. But either system is accepted....</p>
<p>never heard of COS doing specials for their students...hmm, guess their starting to be a little more friendly and helpful to the incoming freshman.</p>