What Computer is Best for Pre-Med Through Med School

[pillowfighty]

I have had a Macbook Air for over 7 years and getting a new one this December since this one is seriously outdated and has ran its course. I'm planning on getting a Macbook Pro to run everything, but I'm using part of my loans to cover it so I want to choose the most practical and cost-effective option.

What are your opinions on what you need versus you wish you'd have?

Figuring out whether a 13inch or 15inch is better, or if that bar thing is worth it since it's newer, but people say it's gimmicky. Just want some opinions on what others use and such! Thanks!

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[leonardoson]

Any laptop which you can type on, use the internet, and save stuff

 

[Lucca]

If you want cost-effective, a Lenovo-Thinkpad with Linux on it is the absolutely best bang for your buck.

If you want the Porsche 911 version of that, get the MBP.

I have a MBP and love it. I use my computer for absolutely everything.m, including research, so I don’t shy away from splurging but if money is tight, the Lenovo Thinkpad is a serious workhorse and not expensive to fix or replace if anything does happen.

 

[freedoctor17]

Asus Zenbook is a pretty great windows laptop and you don't need all the killer specs so you can get a decent one for around $600

 

[animalluver101]

A lot of med schools (not all though, you should check out the student handbooks for the schools you get interviews at) provide their students with laptops that have the required applications built into them. So for my answer, I’d say get a laptop you’d like and will last as a good personal laptop. I have a MacBook Pro and I love it! My old one lasted me through most of high school and all of college, and I just got a newer version that I expect will also last me a long time (I also think the bar was useless so I got the one without, which is way cheaper too)

 

[deleted938090]

You don't need a fancy computer. If your assignments or classes require more computing power, you can use the ones provided by the institution or lab.
Probably access to the internet, make documents, and make presentations is enough. CS majors need more processing power.

 

[eteshoe]

If you want cost-effective, a Lenovo-Thinkpad with Linux on it is the absolutely best bang for your buck.

If you want the Porsche 911 version of that, get the MBP.

I have a MBP and love it. I use my computer for absolutely everything.m, including research, so I don’t shy away from splurging but if money is tight, the Lenovo Thinkpad is a serious workhorse and not expensive to fix or replace if anything does happen.

Currently been using a MBP (w/ the most RAM available) since starting med school --> battery life has waned but still going strong.
Had a Lenovo-Thinkpad during college and a couple years after and ran that computer into the ground since I tend to push the limits of all my electronics. Will agree that it can take abuse, though not to the level of MBPs (as far as multi-tasking and running some computational heavy programs) --> at least not in my hands.

 

[ciestar]

Ive had a MBP since 2012 and it is definitely going to last me the rest of med school

 

[dr_kateb]

Dell XPS 15.

 

[Medic741]

I have had a Macbook Air for over 7 years and getting a new one this December since this one is seriously outdated and has ran its course. I'm planning on getting a Macbook Pro to run everything, but I'm using part of my loans to cover it so I want to choose the most practical and cost-effective option.

What are your opinions on what you need versus you wish you'd have?

Figuring out whether a 13inch or 15inch is better, or if that bar thing is worth it since it's newer, but people say it's gimmicky. Just want some opinions on what others use and such! Thanks!

Have a spec’d out MBP for bioinformatic research & love it. If you get something should be 16 GB ram and solid state HD so it lasts for the foreseeable future. Solid state is the key there. Macs also last forever. The new MacBook airs are pretty reasonable too. 13” is plenty, the 15” are the quad cores and are pretty bulky. Having an external monitor at home is really nice when you’re working on posters or multiple programs

 

[Glaucous]

I have a Dell XPS but honestly, I think I'm leaning towards getting a MacBook next. I quite like its aesthetics oh, and personally I wouldn't go for the touchbar.