Buying a Mac for Princeton

AppleAtPton · 06-29-2009, 10:47 PM

I am Class of 2010 at Princeton and I am the Apple Campus Representative. It is my job to encourage as many people as possible to switch to the Mac for college. If you are considering it, I highly recommend it. And of course you can ask me any questions you may have!

Macs are hugely popular at Princeton with about half of all incoming students choosing them over PCs. See the articles below:

1) Students are Mac-in' it - The Daily Princetonian (Students are Mac-in' it - The Daily Princetonian)
2) On-campus Mac users quadruple - The Daily Princetonian (On-campus Mac users quadruple - The Daily Princetonian)

Students can buy a Mac from Princeton's SCI Mac store which sells Macs with all of the software and warranty programs you need as a Princeton student. Here's the link: Student Computer Initiative (SCI) -*Student Computer Initiative (SCI) - Student Computer Initiative (SCI)

setzer557 · 06-29-2009, 10:57 PM

Give me reasons to buy a Mac-based over a Windows-based system.

AppleAtPton · 06-29-2009, 11:20 PM

Hey setzer557,

There are many great reasons to choose a Mac over a PC.

By choosing a Mac, you can escape from MS Vista and use the very intuitive, secure and reliable Mac OS X. Macs offer many great creative programs for video, photo, webpage and music editing, which are not included with PC purchases. Moreover, you can also get all of the MS Office programs for Mac including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. By choosing an Apple computer, you're making an investment in a computer that looks awesome and performs exceptionally. It is much less susceptible to viruses, spyware and malware than PCs. Macs are rated extremely highly on ratings lists and often beat out all PC models -- just take a look at the latest Consumer Reports computer rating where Macs took the tops spots for all rated laptop sizes. Macs also offer incredibly high build quality and an amazingly compact/light design. The last point to mention is that you can run Windows Vista or Windows 7 on the Mac, so you have a choice of operating system. Windows is included with Princeton SCI Macs (Student Computer Initiative (SCI) -*Student Computer Initiative (SCI) - Student Computer Initiative (SCI)).

Bottom line, a Mac will easily last you through college, it has all of the programs you need for work/play, and it has an amazing design.

flushingxtoilet · 06-30-2009, 04:24 AM

^yesyes. i dont work for apple or anything, but i really love my macbook

i already have a black one (not any of the new models) but im deciding whether or not to buy a new macbook from P'ton SCI.... mine's still kinda new though;;

AppleAtPton · 07-01-2009, 12:32 AM

Hi flushingxtoilet,

Great username. Are you in the Class of 2013? If so, I hope you're excited about Princeton!

Anyways, the black MacBook is, of course, a really great machine. Since it was only introduced a couple years back and it was the higher-end model at the time, I very much doubt that it needs to be replaced. I'd wait until sophomore or junior year and get a spiffy, brand new one at that point. You will still be able to purchase through the SCI program as long as you are a Princeton student.

If your black MacBook is not running very fast or you would like it to run faster, I would recommend installing more RAM. Most of the black MacBooks came with 2 GB or Ram, which is a good amount but getting 4 GB would really speed up the machine! Let me know if you are interested in learning more about this. I can direct you to some great sites for getting quality RAM at low prices.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. My e-mail is d-e-s-h-l-e-m-a@princeton.edu (without the dashes).

flushingxtoilet · 07-01-2009, 05:12 AM

Hi Apple
ahah thank you! and yeah i'm 2013

And I think buying a new macbook sophomore year is a great idea

! I didn't really think of that... I'm just wondering, is it possible to buy a laptop from SCI during the middle of the year, or can students only buy it pre-matriculation? I have a feeling I'll want the white one mid-second year, but I'm not sure if I'll have enough money to buy one at the beginning of sophomore year. heh i tend to save up slowly;

Thanks for your help and advice. and i'm definitely excited for p'ton

Peytoncline · 07-03-2009, 08:39 PM

I got a MacBook Pro last week. AMAZING!

AppleAtPton · 07-07-2009, 11:13 PM

Dear flushingxtoilet,

You can buy a Mac through SCI at any time while you are an enrolled student at the University. So there is no problem with waiting until your second year!

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks!

AppleAtPton · 07-07-2009, 11:15 PM

Peytoncline,

Congrats on the new MacBook Pro!! What size is it?

Peytoncline · 07-13-2009, 05:08 PM

17-inch. I purchased it through Apple's educational discount. It is very nice.

ticktock · 07-16-2009, 10:59 AM

I'm definitely buying mac book through SCI. Question is, I'm thinking of being a mol bio major, would I need to purchase the MSE package? It did seem heavily geared to the engineers.

AppleAtPton · 08-11-2009, 12:18 PM

Ticktock,

The MSE package is actually free as part of the MSE program. It is just listed as optional because some students have no use for the programs and prefer not receiving them with the computer. Some of the programs included in the package will be useful for a mol bio major, so I would definitely get the package. When you order, just be sure to select the MSE option.

Thanks,

Doug

ticktock · 08-11-2009, 10:22 PM

@Apple:

Thanks! Yeah, I already got my macbook with the package, and I love it!