Which MacBook for college freshman?

[Anonymous]

Is a MacBook Air sufficient for most college students or is a MacBook Pro better? Purchasing this as a gift for my niece who specifically wants Apple and we’re a pc family. She will be a math major. Thanks for any help!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is a MacBook Air sufficient for most college students or is a MacBook Pro better? Purchasing this as a gift for my niece who specifically wants Apple and we’re a pc family. She will be a math major. Thanks for any help!

Our humanities major kid has been very happy with a MacBook Air. My other kid who plans to major in math has attended some college math classes and says lots of the students are using iPads with Apple pencils; it sounds like that’s much easier for note-taking when you’re dealing with equations, etc.

[Anonymous]

MacBook Air is good enough. Get an Apple Silicon Mac with 16GB RAM and at least 512GB Capacity. The latest is with the M4 chip, but even older ones like M2 or M3 will work well enough (DS uses a M3 Mac for Math and CS).

[Anonymous]

See if the college IT dept or college store website has recommendations.

[Anonymous]

We got an air for our oldest and it basically lasted 3.5 years. So, got the Pro for youngest because mine has lasted 6-7+ years.

[Anonymous]

MacBook Air even an old one M1 is fine for almost all tasks; Macs are not good for Gaming. For Coding, Word, Excel, Web, Video.. it's more than enough.

The diskspace is purposely small since Apple expects you to use the cloud. 256GB will run out quick if you store: videos and pics on it. 512GB will give you breathing room but that too after 4 years will go.

[Anonymous]

A new MacBook Air with the M4 chip is more than enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got an air for our oldest and it basically lasted 3.5 years. So, got the Pro for youngest because mine has lasted 6-7+ years.

Our Airs have lasted 5 years already and are still going strong. What happened after the 3.5 years?

[Anonymous]

Its interesting. I never considered consulting DCUM for a device. I would have/did research directly through the school and specific academic department.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its interesting. I never considered consulting DCUM for a device. I would have/did research directly through the school and specific academic department.

Okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its interesting. I never considered consulting DCUM for a device. I would have/did research directly through the school and specific academic department.

It's. But is it?

[Anonymous]

Depending on major, is there any advantages to having a windows based laptop? I am not sure how much students need to use excel or Bloomberg terminal as an undergraduate but I find it profoundly easier and faster in Windows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is a MacBook Air sufficient for most college students or is a MacBook Pro better? Purchasing this as a gift for my niece who specifically wants Apple and we’re a pc family. She will be a math major. Thanks for any help!

My Math/CS kid has an M3 Macbook Air. They have zero issues with it in terms of performance. Macbook Air is fine.

[Anonymous]

DD was strongly encouraged to bring a Windows-based machine rather than a Macbook for her business/management program.

[Anonymous]

Check with the college for educational discounts on Apple. She should also make sure that Apple is the OS of choice for her program before purchasing anything.