What laptop to purchase for College?

This question comes up over and over again and this time around we got a very insightful post from a member of our list-serve (Joseph Ugoretz) who is relied upon to make this decision for the many kids who receive a free laptop as part of their scholarship to attend the Macaulay Honors College.  He is their Associate Dean of Teaching, Learning, and Technology

My question : So for those of us without the benefit of a scholarship to pay for a college laptop, why did you say you "would never recommend a PC for any college student.".... 


The answer : 


There are several reasons I make that recommendation (and it's a decision I have to make each year for our incoming freshmen).  Generally, there are three groups of reasons I'm applying.

1. Software.  For the basics that every college student will have to use (word processing and internet access), there really isn't much of a difference.  A PC or Mac can run Firefox or Chrome or Safari.  Nobody should use IE.  Either can run Microsoft Office.  For presentations, most students know and use PowerPoint, which runs on both.  But for students who really care about presentations and need to do them frequently and well, Keynote is far superior to PowerPoint, and it only runs on the Mac.  And it's only $20.

Beyond that (still in Software) the iLife suite provides opportunities for creative and intellectual projects which you just can't get with any PC software.  iMovie and GarageBand alone are worth the price difference between the Mac and PC...but they will both come with any new Mac.  For free.  If your child is going to a school where technology is more than just an add-on, if it's truly integrated into the curriculum and students are making use of and learning from digital tools and multimedia, a Mac is the way to go.  Apple's software means students can focus on the intellectual work, rather than the technical work, and produce projects that can be shared and published and be compatible all around.

2. Hardware and service. With AppleCare (or even without, for the first year), you just plain don't have to worry about hardware issues.  Apple Stores are almost everywhere there is a college, and even if there isn't one nearby, Apple warranty service on a mail-in basis is just phenomenal.  Fast, polite, knowledgeable.  Hard drive failures, power cord issues, motherboard issues...all of these happen to Macs and PCs alike, but the way that Apple takes care of them is in a totally different league.  A quick, free, effective repair or replacement is the order of the day.

3. Overall reliability.  The Mac OS is rock-solid.  Fewer crashes (they do still happen), not as much lost work, quicker responses, no fiddling with drivers.  Most important (especially for college students--and the main reason why I said I would never recommend a PC for a college student)--NO viruses or malware.  While it's possible and has been done to create a virus to attach Macs, it's just not a problem that ever really happens in real life.  College students WILL visit websites they shouldn't.  They WILL click suspicious links in emails.  They WILL open attachments even when they're not sure where they're coming from.  On a PC, all of that (especially the first) will mean that very quickly, and very harmfully, the machine will be infected.  Even if nothing really bad (identity theft, and so on) happens, the machine will be slowed down by "gunk" (adware, "browser buddies" and so on).  This does not happen to Macs.

Even if everything else was equal, this would turn the tide for me.  The amount of time I've spent cleaning up and fixing infected PCs, the amount of lost student work I've seen because of infected PCs, and the way that none of that is ever a problem, all convinces me that college students should be using Macs.

(Add to that the fact that all Macs now can--very easily--run Windows, too, and it's a really easy decision.  On a Mac you can have a PC, just by rebooting.  On a PC, you can never have a Mac).

The price difference is really not that great, when you compare equal configurations.  And then add in the reliability and the fact that you will be paying for the PC repair or replacement (or losing time and work while the college helpdesk tries to help).

But...this is all true as of right now.  Things may change at any time, and next year may be a completely different story (I'm very interested in the Google ChromeBook which will go on sale in a week or so).

But coming from the perspective of someone who works with teaching, learning and technology for hundreds of college students, and from someone who will be sending his own kid to college in a couple of years (and she will probably not be getting the scholarship, either), I say spend the extra for a Mac.  It's completely worth it, and will actually save you money in the long run.


I should add that after all of this .. my daughter refuses a MAC!

The Cody Center for Autism & Dev. Disabilities Pre-College Summer Preparation Program

Pre-College Summer Preparation Program

 

The Summer Pre-College Program, which operates on both the Ammerman Campus (Selden) of SCCC as well as the Grant Campus (Brentwood), provides high school students with an opportunity to audit a college class during a three week period over the summer, and receive daily training in development of academic and social skills necessary to be successful in the college environment. Students will also take the SCCC placement test, and receive a written report of their performance during the program along with recommendations for strengthening academic skills during the senior year of high school. Both parent/guardian and student must complete applications and mail them in for consideration for the program.  There is no charge for this program.  

Download Parent Summer Program Application and Student Summer Program Application here.

Attachment	Size
SummerProgramParentQuestionnaire2011.doc	85.5 KB
SummerProgramStudentApplication2011.doc	191.5 KB

A collaborative program with The  Cody Center, Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) andEastern Suffolk BOCES (ESBOCES)

MoCADA Apprenticeship Program

MoCADA Apprenticeship Program (MAP)

MAP is a two-week art intensive summer program designed to enhance 15 students’creative skills by immersing them in a college-level fine arts environment. In partnership with the Art Department at Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus, MAP offers support on all levels, including portfolio building, networking and studio instruction. MAP is a new initiative that seeks to ensure that young artists of African descent have the support, skills, relationships, and experiences necessary for pursuing a bachelors degree in the fine arts, and ultimately joining the long legacy of Brooklyn-based artists of African descent.

Cultivating the next generation of visual artists of African descent

MAP is a new initiative, spearheaded by Ruby Amanze, as a way to address the lack of racial and class diversity in college-level arts programs. MoCADA is proud to provide young visual art students of African descent with a six-week program that will prepare them for a bright future in the arts. Through building relationships with teaching artists, MAP offers support on all levels, including portfolio building, networking, and studio instruction. Furthering MoCADA’s mission, MAP seeks to deepen participating students’ understanding of contemporary African Diasporan art through lectures and site visits to artists’ studios, galleries, and museums.

Studio workshops will take place in the art studios at:

Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus
1 University Plaza, Corner of Dekalb and Flatbush Avenues in Downtown Brooklyn.

AM Session 9AM-12PM   |   PM Session 1PM-4PM
Artists must register for both sessions.

DEADLINE: JUNE 17TH, 2011

Transportation and lunch will be provided. Limited space available. For consideration students will need to submit a letter of recommendation and a personal statement of interest. Digital work samples are accepted for review, but are not mandatory for admission. For more information or to register a student contact:

Ruby Amanze at 718.230.0492 x 115< or ra@mocada.org
Fatima Kafele at 718.488.4014 or community@brooklyn.liu.edu

Funding made possible by:
DEDALUS FOUNDATION and JPMORGAN CHASE

SAT Mindspeed -- Increase your Speed. Improve Your Score

SAT MindSpeed™ Increase Your Speed. Improve Your Score.

May 20, 2011 SAT MindSpeed™ is a one-day/six-hour class created to increase students’ reading speed and comprehension of the Critical Reading section while providing valuable insight, focus and confidence in overall test-taking abilities. SAT MindSpeed™ students improve their Critical Reading Section score by an average of 13 percent. It benefits all students:  from those who have completed a formal prep program to those to those just starting their study process. “I always ran out of time on the SAT. I read slowly and didn’t have enough time to put as much thought into the questions as I wanted to, but by reading faster I can get the passage out of the way and have more time to answer the questions.”                                                                                Mary, MindSpeed student (Spence)  “MindSpeed™ will help me immensely when I take the real SAT. Now I breeze through passages and I see a clear improvement on my Critical Reading scores.”                                                                    Nate, MindSpeed student  (Bronx Science) SAT MindSpeed™ will be offered once more before summer vacation: Sunday, May 22nd from 10 AM to 4 PM Both classes will be held at Hunter College – 695 Park Ave. All interested parties can contact TPNY directly to learn more about the program as well as speak to parents whose children have benefitted from TPNY's tutoring and programs.  testprepny.com |  646-290-7440 | director@testprepny.com For registration, students can go to:  http://testprepny.com/pages/sat_speedread.htm * * * * * parentsofnyteens readers get a $25 discount for this class: just put in code TPNY25 * * * * * Coming soon: LSAT MindSpeed™ and GMAT MindSpeed™ SAT MindSpeed™ is a collaboration between Test Prep New York (TPNY), a premier Manhattan test prep company, and Iris Reading, the largest speed-reading organization in the US.

Colleges that Change Lives Info Session

New York CTCL Events

In New York, we will offer the same program on two different nights, May 24 and May 25 (see below). In both cases, the program begins promptly at 7:00 p.m. with a 30-minute information session, and a college fair begins immediately afterwards, lasting approximately 1.5 hours. Please plan to attend only one night's session. For more details on the program's format, click here or to print a PDF of the tour announcement, click here.

Tuesday, Wednesday, May 24 and 25, 2011, 7:00 p.m. (Please plan to attend one day only).
= Print Your Own Invitation	New York Penn Hotel, NYC  Skytop Ballroom 401 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10001 (pre-registration is not required)

Participating Colleges:

Agnes Scott College	Goucher College	New College of Florida
Allegheny College	Guilford College	Ohio Wesleyan University
Antioch College	Hampshire College	Reed College
Austin College	Hendrix College	Rhodes College
Beloit College	Hiram College	Southwestern University
Birmingham-Southern College	Hope College	St. John’s College
Centre College	Juniata College	St. Olaf College
Clark University	Kalamazoo College	Ursinus College
Cornell College	Knox College	Wabash College
Denison University	Lawrence University	Wheaton College
Earlham College	Lynchburg College	Whitman College
Eckerd College	Marlboro College	Wooster, College of
Emory & Henry College	McDaniel College
Evergreen State College	Millsaps College