Which MacBook for college freshman?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

And for that you can use Parallels with multiple monitors. I use all three: Windows, Mac, and Linux. Mac battery lasts a lot longer, the Mx chips are a lot faster, and can sleep recover without the worrying the bag will over heat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

not sure how my kid does it but they are a cs/math major have a windows machine. They said there's an app or something you can use for math hw.

[Anonymous]

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

And 16GB RAM memory and at least 512 GB of storage/flashdisk and maybe also get a thunderbolt docking station.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This has been my daughter’s experience. At her first school, Shenandoah University, all the kids are issued a MacBook, IPad, and Apple Pencil. The IPad got the most use.

[Anonymous]

Either is fine but I’d probably do the pro with extra ram.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Check for a discount via the college bookstore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

I had an Air that lived to the ripe old age of seven!

My current machine is a Pro, three years old and starting to have issues. I’m going to ask my Ops team if I can get an Air to replace it. The Air was hands down the best, most trouble-free computer I’ve ever had.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Check for a discount via the college bookstore.

Yes, and also watch Amazon (but buy only direct from Amazon, not a 3rd party seller) and check the price guides at MacRumors.com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

A Mac laptop *with an M-series chip* is much faster than a Windows machine would be. This is directly why Microsoft is pushing “Windows on ARM” instead of the Intel x86 CPU (at CostCo these Windows ARM laptops usually say SnapDragon).

Which is easier to use depends entirely on the person. Someone familiar with Mac will find it easier to use. A long time Windows user will find that easier to use. A little kid with no computer experience finds Mac easier to use — there were actual controlled studies on this years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

not sure how my kid does it but they are a cs/math major have a windows machine. They said there's an app or something you can use for math hw.

All of the math programs - Mathematica, Matlab, and Maple - are fully supported on both Mac and Windows.

For CS, students often dual-boot their Windows machine into Linux or BSD — or use Microsoft’s “Linux subsystem for Windows”. Starting with the Fall 2025 release of MacOS, Apple will be supporting “containers” natively - no need to get another software package.