<p>Are these programs worth it? My daughters school has a program through HP, but the prices seem quite high.</p>
<p>Find out if the school HPs come with software (like Microsoft Office) and/or extra support. That may account for some of the price difference. </p>
<p>If you have not already done so, also post your question on the specific college thread.</p>
<p>You should also find out of your D’s school offers discounts on various software programs. Both my undergrad and grad school have offered Windows, Office, Mathematica, MatLab, and other such essentials for $10 for the CD or free for download.</p>
<p>It comes with Microsoft office 2010 and Norton
4 years of free software support and accidental damage
Loaner , if neccesary</p>
<p>Just go to HP’s website and configure the exact same model along with the 4 year accidental damage coverage (but isn’t usually a ‘loaner’ but some colleges will allow a student to borrow a laptop from the library for periods of time) and see what the price is. Be sure to include any student discounts they might have. Also pay attention to the warranty coverage and whether it includes next day on site coverage as opposed to sending the laptop somewhere with a multi-week long turnaround time. I wouldn’t pay anything extra for ‘software support’ since she’ll probably never use it. The MS Office 2010 is offered free by some colleges or for a low cost at most colleges so don’t add in the full retail price for that.</p>
<p>Once you do that then go check prices on similarly configured Lenovo and Dell laptops and see how they compare.</p>
<p>I’ve found the college’s ‘specials’ to sometimes be a good deal and sometimes not so it’s best to check. You’ll also have more choices if you expand to looking at laptops other than what the college offers.</p>