<p>After rising freshman d bought her laptop (windows) , she was looking to get ms office for it. we discoveed that the discount w/ the college is for ms office 365 university ($80). Apparently this is a subscription model (4 yrs) vs the buy once model that I am used to.</p>
<p>what have y'all done on this subject?</p>
<p>So what happens when 4 yrs are up? I have looked into this and it looks like it stops working (reads the files perhaps; I have read the expired office hurts other apps, too).</p>
<p>after 4 yrs are up, you have to pay more (how much more? - if you are not in the college anymore, do u get the university price? what if you do college in 5 yrs? got to pay again? </p>
<p>Discussions on this subject say that if you have more than one computer, it is a good idea to get the subscription flavor. but , as I said, we are looking to get one laptop loaded - which I assume is the standard use for most university students.</p>
<p>Office 365 is pretty cheap. For $6.99 a month you can load it on one computer and one laptop. For $9.99 you get 5 computers and 5 tablets. Both flavors give you up to 1 TB of online storage with OneDrive, which means you can access your materials/files from anywhere. This is non-educational prices for everyone. So yes, after you graduate from the university you have to pay the regular price, and while it’s not quite $20/year, it’s quite manageable.</p>
<p>Consider these things:</p>
<p>-If you buy Microsoft Office 2013 (the permanent version) it may not expire in 4 years, but it will likely be obsolete. MS has been releasing a new office every 3ish years. So you may pay $140 today and then when your daughter graduates from college she goes and buys the 2016 or 2017 or whatever version, and you’ll have ended up paying more any way.</p>
<p>-Your daughter may be in graduate school, and may get a discount there.</p>
<p>-If your daughter doesn’t go to grad school, her job may offer her a discount or even free use of MS Office, either online or the permanent version.</p>
<p>I personally have Office 365 (the $10/month version). I got it because I wanted to be able to use Microsoft Office on my iPad and also because I wanted to share it with my husband (my school gives me a free regular MS Office download, but his does not.) I am very satisfied with it - I am able to get a lot of work done, and I don’t have to schlep my laptop with me as often. I have actually turned my laptop into a desktop with a monitor and keyboard, so the less I have to disconnect it, the better. In addition, being able to access my files through the cloud and not having to use flash drives is so easy - even if I don’t have my iPad or am in, say, a computer lab somewhere - I can work on my work from that lab’s computer through Word Online or through the Word app on the computer, save my work, and finish up at home. This may be useful for your daughter if she needs to use a computer application for a class that she doesn’t have on her own computer, like a statistical app. (Of course, she can use any cloud storage app, like Google Drive or Dropbox. However, it’s very convenient to be able to use OneDrive. I personally have both OneDrive and Google Drive.)</p>
<p>10 / month = 120 / yr = 480 for undergrad and then you do not have it after you graduate. That does not sound like a good deal - unless you work for MS.</p>
<p>WOW . only ONE response to this question when every freshman across the country needs to make this decision ? what is everyone choosing to buy? I am not necessarily saying what is the best or correct one, but what is everyone choosing (and why for extra credit).</p>
<p>Check with your school. My daughter’s school has a site license and will install for free or give you a copy for $10. I am assuming she is free to use as long as she is enrolled.</p>
<p>I was recently faced with this same dilemma. I ended up just buying Office 2013. I don’t like the idea of paying yearly for access to MS Office. I’ve been using MS Office for about 15 years now, and I don’t like the fact that they’re switching over to this type of system. I’d prefer to simply buy the software and have it permanently. </p>
<p>It’s true that Office gets updated every few years, but that doesn’t make an old version ‘obsolete’ by any means. You can still create word documents and spreadsheets and power points with an old version of Office. </p>
<p>There is a good third option: buy a copy of MS Office University. License is good for 4 years at a very nice price point…plus, extra incentive to graduate in 4 years!</p>
<p>coldinminny - this is the option that is on the table now for my daugher’s school discount - Office365 university version, 4 yrs , $80. I like the price; I do not like that we do not have the product after 4 yrs. My son paid the same price 3 yrs ago for office , and he’ll have it forever , even after he graduates. I am not sure what is the add’l functionality with 365 . something to do with the web. I assume that you can use it w/o the web.</p>
<p>It has a service that allows you to upload files to the web so you can access them from any computer that has Office 365 by just signing into it. It serves as a backup copy for your files too. </p>
<p>I have absolutely no desire for this feature. I guess it would be good for some people, but I have no use for it. I always save important stuff onto my laptop and a flash drive anyway. </p>