| I've done it both ways. Bought D's Mac through her school and after that experience, bought S's directly from the Mac store. Apple offers "education" discounts for college students and at least at both my kids' schools, there was no financial advantage to buying it from the school. I believe there's more opportunity for discounts with Windows based machines.
There was a delay getting her computer in after she ordered it and when she finally got it, had lots of problems.
Turned out her inital Mac was a lemon (yes, it can happen) and because the tech support people at her school weren't terribly knowledgeable about Macs, it took awhile for them to replace it. If I had bought it at a store, it would have been replaced immediately.
It ultimately all worked out--she and S both have Powerbooks and LOVE them. I made sure that with S we bought it early in the summer before he had to leave for school and that any issues with the computer could be learned BEFORE he left.
I think the advice shared here about support issues are important... |