<p>… they can also inherit all their apple products when their parents upgrade :). </p>
<p>I hear you about shipping… definitely a hassle and expensive! And when you think about it, having a desktop is unnecessary unless you need it for a specific reason. It was easy for us to load it up because our kids travel by car… not sure I’d do it if they had to fly.</p>
<p>@alooknac- My favorite computer is a HP Pavillion. It’s the one my kids won’t get even though I own an apple, too. I love it.</p>
<p>Thanks @Choatie and @Photog Moms for your experience and insight! Makes so much sense to me. So much easier to schlep a laptop across country than a desktop, particularly when the latter comes with little upside and a lot of cost :-)</p>
<p>Laptops come with a lot of upside. </p>
<p>For one thing, most schools that we looked into (and I’ve heard of others from friends who looked at other than the 14 we researched and visited) require that students have a laptop. Some offer assistance with purchasing one for FA students (but if that were the case, you’d know it already).</p>
<p>GG’s school sees lots of laptop use in the classroom as well as during study hours. Many students are much faster note-takers if they are allowed to type, and I know of one teacher who regularly asks students to refer to previous weeks’ notes, which can be easily accessed without dragging around a notebook for each class. </p>
<p>GG says it would be nice to have a MBAir rather than the 13" MBP she totes around; it’s just that much less weight and she never uses the optical drive. That said, since there’s nothing wrong with her current laptop, she’s not getting one any time soon, unless one of us wins the lottery ;-).</p>
<p>Also, Small Dog Electronics recently had some great deals on certified refurbs (much less than Apple). And LA Computer Co. is probably the best place to buy AppleCare — reliably up to $50-100 less than thru Apple or SDE.</p>
<p>For my D, a desktop would mean a major lifestyle change…and by that I mean sitting at a desk to do her homework. While I can see the need for a super high power desktop for kids who do a lot of graphics or video work, a laptop is probably the best all-around choice for kids doing more run of the mill stuff.</p>
<p>My D has the MacBook Air and she has an external DVD drive for watching movies. But with Netflix and iTunes there’s not much need for the DVD drive anyway.</p>
<p>I’m surprised by her reports of how many boys have game systems in their rooms. They must have pretty good self-control if they can have video games and not flunk out of school!</p>
<p>I am surprised that a lot of schools allow gaming systems in their rooms. I guess I would have thought that they would only be allowed in common areas… more to learn for me I guess!</p>
<p>At some schools, gaming consoles are not allowed in individual rooms. Pretty sure that SAS is such a school.</p>
<p>FWIW, if I had a kid who wanted to bring a console to boarding school, that kid would not be going to boarding school.</p>
<p>LOL. SevenDad, you and I think way too much alike. And, I just checked – my daughter’s school does NOT allow consoles except in common areas and the use of them is restricted to posted TV hours (and I suspect there would be arguments if the gamers hogged the TV)… Sounds like that sort of thing would be (naturally) restricted to snowy afternoons in winter!</p>
<p>I have to agree with others, in our family having a gaming console at boarding school would be a non-starter.</p>
<p>Ummmm…kids can do lots of gaming on the internet…I see lots of it D’s school. The lines are becoming blurred.</p>
<p>I like the Macbook aesthetics, but I’m a windows person, so I decided against the Macbook and bought a Dell XPS 15z. I’d recommend it if you are also a windows person, but hate the ugly cheap plastic look some of the previous Dell laptops had.</p>
<p>The consoles I know of are kept in the dorm parent’s apartment or common room and are available some nights and weekends. I wouldn’t suggest a new student bring one, nor would I ever suggest a new student buy one when they arrive- like so many kids do. </p>
<p>Internet or XBOX gaming doesn’t bother me as long as rules are followed and my kids remain solid students, good citizens and dedicated athletes. I could care less if they want to shoot Zombies once in a while with their friends. Walk in to any BS common room at any time during a weekend and chances are you’ll find faculty members shooting Zombies with the kids. There’s no need to panic or judge.</p>
<p>Several years ago when I was a dorm parent, about a third of the boys had game setups with large TVs in their rooms. Didn’t seem like a great idea… For most of the kids, it semed to be a real problem to just play for a brief time… once they started, they would be doing it for hours at a time. Made the in-room study hall sometimes very difficult to supervise!</p>
<p>Within the first week or two many new students pool their money, buy a console and take turns keeping it in their rooms. Sometimes parents give their kids way too much money and the first chance they get they head over to Walmart or Target and purchase one. If you can imagine your child doing something like this, it’s probably a good idea to talk with them now. </p>
<p>Just a heads up from a Mom with BS boys and many BS nephews- I hear it all!!</p>
<p>Some of the reactionary responses here are akin to saying, “I wouldn’t let my kid bring a record player to boarding school” a generation ago. Gaming IS this generation’s media, and thinking you can inhibit their access to it at BS or elsewhere is seriously myopic. Like it or not, it’s a form of media literacy, like music, TV, or (gasp) books.</p>
<p>I do want to point out that I do not care about the gaming aspect of the laptops. The use of a laptop would be solely for school work seeing as I have my own setup at home and I am a day student.</p>
<p>Adding to the discussion, gaming systems are a distraction to student life and to the campus. I have experience with these systems, and they become addicting in a way. Soon enough, if you don’t catch yourself, you start giving your time to the console rather than to your social life/grades.</p>
<p>@PelicanDad: I respectfully disagree. I’ve seen gaming seriously mess with a kid’s life as well as his relationship with his parents and ability to interact with people in a non-gaming context. [NOT A BS STUDENT, BTW]</p>
<p>I also disagree that it’s just another form of media (with the implication that it’s innocuous). I don’t know of any parents who have had to have interventions for kids who read too many books.</p>
<p>Do millions of kids play video games without it leading to seriously negative behavior/attitudes? Of course. But my proximity to this one particular case has raised a serious red flag for me.</p>
<p>NO form of media is innocuous, but if you fail to recognize that this is the lingua franca of this generation, you will be on the outside looking in. Critical thinking skills need to applied regardless of the medium. As for the danger of books: look no further than Ted Kaczynski.</p>
<p>@PelicanDad: As part of my livelihood, I have to be tuned into “what the kids are into these days”…that doesn’t mean I have to think it’s great.</p>
<p>And I would venture that some forms of media are more potentially problematic than others…</p>
<p>@SevenDad- I think your POV is narrow and a little bit unrealistic. There’s a downside to everything- including crossing a busy street. While BS can insulate kids, it doesn’t shield them entirely from the real world. If a parent feels gaming could be a potential problem, they need to talk to their kids- especially kids going away to school for the first time and third formers. There’s a period after that sentence- just in case you didn’t notice. 
It doesn’t go beyond that.</p>
<p>There are kids who game in dark basements alone and kids who look at it as a fun thing to do with friends. During the summer my youngest will sometimes play online with his friends from school (kids who live in different parts of the world)- it’s another fun way to keep in touch. He has his headset on and I can hear him laughing and talking while playing the game. Sorry, but I don’t see a lot of downside there. I see more potential problems on FB- especially with girls.</p>
<p>@7Dad: this may or may not be our kids’ future, but I rather engage in the sustained conversation about it that is
already underway than reject it out of hand because it wasn’t a part of my own development…</p>
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