i'm looking to get a laptop for my first year. are there any programs through the school that offer discounts, or is there a specific laptop that's recommended by the administration? or should i just get one i like through dell or something?
Wash U and laptops
- Thread starter Syranope2
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WashU just finished a pilot study to see how medical students would use tablet pcs during first and second year. They are thinking of making laptops mandatory starting for the entering class of 2005, possibly leasing them out to the students and then giving them the option to buy after they finish second year . The school got brand new gateway tablet/laptop pcs with an extra battery and lots of programs for about $1,650, and after the two month pilot sold them for $1,250. A laptop is nice to have because they have wireless pretty much everywhere where you would need it in the school. Also, you may want to get the model that the school recommends because ITLS will offer free support for it, while they may charge for other models. The gateway model is kind of heavy. They tested some slate tablets as well, but they are not as functional and are more expensive.
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Ok, so now I have an update. I just talked to the director of ITLS and she said. . .
"Our basic recommendation is as much memory as you can afford, built in wireless (802.11b or g - we'll be moving to g soon) and windows xp pro. Also, Microsoft office suite. WU students can buy office for about $109 at the bookstore on the hilltop. If you can do better than that I'd say go for it. We won't be doing any bulk buying this year for certain. The most I expect to do for this year is to recommend a configuration. Changes in policy and especially those that involve money take a long time to wend their way through the system."
So, go ahead and get what you want. You are definately going to want wireless for it. Sorry, if this made you hold off for too long. Maybe the laptop you were interested in has gone down in price now. If you did decide to wait, I think the school can factor in an extra $500 into your loan amount. Good luck this coming school year.
"Our basic recommendation is as much memory as you can afford, built in wireless (802.11b or g - we'll be moving to g soon) and windows xp pro. Also, Microsoft office suite. WU students can buy office for about $109 at the bookstore on the hilltop. If you can do better than that I'd say go for it. We won't be doing any bulk buying this year for certain. The most I expect to do for this year is to recommend a configuration. Changes in policy and especially those that involve money take a long time to wend their way through the system."
So, go ahead and get what you want. You are definately going to want wireless for it. Sorry, if this made you hold off for too long. Maybe the laptop you were interested in has gone down in price now. If you did decide to wait, I think the school can factor in an extra $500 into your loan amount. Good luck this coming school year.
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I don't think you are going to have too many problems. PCs vastly outnumber Macs here, but I guess you are probably used to it. If you are a true Mac addict then you should be able to adapt without too many problems. You will be able to use office and stuff, but I don't know for sure if all of the other programs the school has licenses for are Mac compatible. If you want to use them, you may just end up having to long on to one of the PCs in the library.
