<p>She's in Arts & Sciences and the Honors Program, and she's wondering if she should get a Dell or Apple laptop. Any advice for an incoming freshman?</p>
<p>Hi ILfather! This link may or may not be helpful to you:</p>
<p><a href=“Central Purchasing | UK Purchasing”>Central Purchasing | UK Purchasing;
<p>When making your decision, think about compatibility with your home situation. Many students only live on campus one year. Also, some students may have specific reasons to purchase one or the other, so contacting someone in the departmental major might be useful. For example, someone planning to be pre-med might want to think about what might be useful for any practicum work in that setting. Engineering might have more tools/software for one system vs. another. I know that this is not really an answer, but more something to think about.</p>
<p>The reality is that if you walk into a library at most universities and look at the computers that kids are using - the vast majority are apples. Most colleges will support both types. In arts and sciences - she should be good either way. </p>
<p>The reality is that colleges use whatever they can get for the least money. Apple and the PC assembly companies often give colleges great deals as advertising. ‘See, the college uses it so it must be good!’ Often they sign deals to ensure that the college uses primarily their brand. (Much like only finding Coke or Pepsi in campus vending)</p>
<p>Don’t read anything into the brands on campus. Figure out what works best in your world.</p>
<p>In general, pound-for-pound you will get more power/features for your money with a PC. Apple has some cool features that suit some people better. Apple is less likely to have virus issues due to the smaller installed base. Hackers who write viruses want a bigger impact so they attack PCs more often.</p>
<p>Our entering freshman got a PC, but the college uses Apple apps, so he got an iPhone as well.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great replies, @Napermom, @ahsmuoh, and @Torveaux. After much deliberation, my daughter has decided to get a MacBook Pro (like her older sister did). The software she would like to run was the deciding factor – she prefers the multimedia software options on the Apple platform. She was leaning toward a touch-screen tablet with detachable keyboard on the PC side. I believe the software preferences are a bigger factor than the touch-screen/detachable keyboard, and she agreed. She has an iPhone and will be getting an iPad, so I think her choice will work well for her. Thanks!</p>