New Laptop and Medical School

[bacteriophage]

Ok. So I have a 5 year old laptop. It works fine, but it is not very fast and does not have DVD/graphics or anything.

I've been getting mixed messages from medical students. Some of them say a good laptop is important for histology/anatomy slides ya ya ya. Are any of you going to spend the money to get a new computer and why. Does anyone use their laptop all the time in med school?? Is is worth the investment or should I just keep my old one?? PS I hate tablet PC's so I'm not even considering buying one.

I may be able to sell my computer now... but 4 yrs? Probably not.

Sigh... this all comes out to money and getting myself ahead... I still have sticker shock for tuition.

Sorry if there is already I thread... I searched but could not find it.

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[alwaysaangel]

The general consensus around here is its useful to have a laptop and since we all have old laptops upon graduating college most people seem to plan to buy a new one.

You can even add money to your loan amounts for a laptop your first year.

But ultimately it depends on your school - call them up and find out what they have to say. Some schools (like GWU) have completely digitized histology labs etc and as a result it would probably be really difficult to get by without a decent computer.

Where as other schools don't really care at all.

Ask your school, ask the financial aid department what they can do to help you and make your own choice.

Here are some threads about laptops/paying for laptops that may be helpful:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=393897&highlight=laptop
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=390511&highlight=laptop
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=383831&highlight=laptop
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=369294&highlight=laptop
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=380124&highlight=laptop

 

[ADeadLois]

Ok. So I have a 5 year old laptop. It works fine, but it is not very fast and does not have DVD/graphics or anything.

I've been getting mixed messages from medical students. Some of them say a good laptop is important for histology/anatomy slides ya ya ya. Are any of you going to spend the money to get a new computer and why. Does anyone use their laptop all the time in med school?? Is is worth the investment or should I just keep my old one?? PS I hate tablet PC's so I'm not even considering buying one.

I may be able to sell my computer now... but 4 yrs? Probably not.

Sigh... this all comes out to money and getting myself ahead... I still have sticker shock for tuition.

Sorry if there is already I thread... I searched but could not find it.

As long as you can run Office, view PDFs and surf the internet with a decent degree of speed you should be ok.

The only disadvantage to a 5 year old computer is that I doubt it has an integrated wireless card, and an external one is likely painfully slow.

That being said, prices on laptops are dropping. You can get a decent Dell for $500.

 

[bacteriophage]

Thank you so much you guys (thx for thread as well). I guess I will just have to make a decision... I'm leaning toward buying a new one... we'll see.

 

[MDAdam]

Seeing that you will most likely have approximately $150K in debt (+/- $75K), what is another $2K towards a decent computer? And you will likely use it throughout your med school experience. I say go for it.

 

[kakashi74]

Not trying to jack the thread, but anyone have problems with Mac compatibility in Med school?

I have a relatively new Mac and I would hate to have to change it(or at the very least load bootcamp) because it is not compatible with the school system. I know it can open PDF's, powerpoints, etc...but are there any school's that run specific applications that can only run on a PC?

Thanks

 

[alwaysaangel]

Not trying to jack the thread, but anyone have problems with Mac compatibility in Med school?

I have a relatively new Mac and I would hate to have to change it(or at the very least load bootcamp) because it is not compatible with the school system. I know it can open PDF's, powerpoints, etc...but are there any school's that run specific applications that can only run on a PC?

Thanks

I've heard of some but there are usually work arounds - call the schools you've been accepted to and ask or ask in the Allopathic Class Thread forums.

 

[Think Big]

I may be able to sell my computer now... but 4 yrs? Probably not.

Sigh... this all comes out to money and getting myself ahead... I still have sticker shock for tuition.

You are coming to a sad realization, cancel or allow?

 

[etf]

macs are great, and because so many people are switching, aapl reported a few hours ago that profits were up 88% in 2nd quarter, driven by strong macbook sales. marvelous!