Weve purchased directly from Apple via the education store website- often refurbished computers which have been warranteed identically to brand new ones, but at often hundreds of dollars off.
Also bought from smalldog- ditto.
I don't think freshman need top of the line computers- often if they have a decent one in high school that can take them one or two more years until they have a better idea of what they need, and technology changes fast enough that if they wait till junior year to buy a new computer, it should be able to take them several years out of college
ALWAYS- get an extended warranty with laptop
That said- I have found it faster to ship back to manufacturer when needed, than wait for a slot at local repair shop. Shipping to Apple and back took 3 days total, while the repair shop wouldn't allow me to make an appt. I had to just drop it off, and wait my turn.
One reason why I now prefer laptops-
But I haven't had to have anything fixed professionally for years- I can do the keyboard which is the only thing that has worn out.
Since they have had OS X it is amazingly stable.