<p>It’s definitely more than one needs, but I was looking for additional longevity. I was willing to spend a little more money on the condition that the computer, with good treatment, would last me at least through my first year of college. I don’t see plastic faring as well as aluminum in that scenario.</p>
<p>That said, however, mine is not the most affluent of families, so I suppose it might make more sense for most other boarding school families to buy a slightly less expensive laptop with the intention of replacing it sooner than they would were they to buy a more expensive, more durable one.</p>
<p>This is all theoretical though, I suppose, as I have yet to test the aluminum and plastic MacBooks and MacBook Pros side by side, but you probably get the idea. Plus I like the additional graphical capabilities. I highly doubt I’ll be using the 512MB graphics card during school for games, but during breaks, you never know.</p>