Which schools require you to buy a specific laptop?

[that redhead]

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I saw somewhere on the forum that certain schools may require you to own a specific laptop. Does anyone know which school(s) might require this and if so, which one do they require you to have?

Thanks 🙂

 

[nyanko]

UC Davis requires a specific tablet PC laptop, but it changes every year depending on what vendor they get the best deals from. They do actually allow for a 13" Macbook Pro as an alternative, but you have to buy it through the bookstore here as they have a specific OSX Snow Leopard image for the School of Veterinary Medicine that they want to be preloaded on the machine (comes with certain utilities and programs).

I think my class ended up being the first one that has more than 50% Macbook users. In past years the tablet PCs have been a bit of a headache but I don't know if the ones my class has (from Lenovo) have been as bad as the Toshiba ones from previous years. Maybe someone with a tablet PC can speak to that (I am one of the MBP users).

 

[moosenanny]

Are you asking because you'd be very opposed to buying a new one?

Davis gives us a $500 grant to make getting a new laptop a bit more affordable. I already had a perfectly fine Mac, and now I have a second one, lol. I like having two, though, because I can set them up like duel monitors, which makes transcribing my notes from PowerPoint pdf's to Word documents a whole lot easier. Also, with everyone being 'forced' to have new laptops, there are no compatibility issues when mass emailing out notes or getting electronic materials from our professors. I thought of it as a nice excuse to get a shiny new laptop that would be the fastest and best possible.

 

[BlacKAT33]

I think IL requires a certain laptop.

I have a tablet PC (Lenovo) and I love it. Here is a thread about it. It is LONG lol but basically the beginning of the thread is when me and a few others were investigating which laptops to buy. By the middle/end of the thread majority of us ended up buying the Lenovo tablet. And the end of the thread is when we were all asking each other questions about how to use certain functions of our computer.

Soo if you want where it talks about certain computers I'd go back to the beginning.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=705374&page=7&highlight=computer

I know some people have said they went with the HP tablet, which is a lot cheaper, and they said that they like it a lot too

 

[cuitlamiztli]

Iowa State requires you to purchase a specific Fujitsu tablet; the model changes every year but for the past few years it's been the newest in the Lifebook T series. They're ordered through the school (the cost is built into your fall financial aid package), configured by IT over summer, and you receive them at orientation.

 

[rileyroo]

Auburn just started requiring a certain tablet (Lenovo) this year. They did it as a trial and I'm not sure if they will require it next year or not.

 

[that redhead]

Are you asking because you'd be very opposed to buying a new one?

Nope! I actually have a desktop now (shock and horror, right 😉) and told myself that I would buy a laptop as a reward to myself whenever I get into vet school. I also have a hunch that my boyfriend is looking into buying me a Macbook Pro for Christmas, even though I haven't asked for it. If a bunch of the schools I'm applying to actually require a specific laptop, there's no sense in a) my boyfriend getting one for me or b) buying myself one randomly so I figured I'd ask now.

 

[moosenanny]

Yes, it would be very wise to hold off until you have a better idea of where you'll be going. Hopefully there's a way to let him know that it would be better to wait, and then he can help contribute to the one your school makes you get (or if you end up at a place with no requirements, then he can buy you anything you'd like) . . .

 

[BlacKAT33]

Yes, it would be very wise to hold off until you have a better idea of where you'll be going. Hopefully there's a way to let him know that it would be better to wait, and then he can help contribute to the one your school makes you get (or if you end up at a place with no requirements, then he can buy you anything you'd like) . . .

👍 also, a lot of new models will be coming out for 2011, and especially summer of 2011. So all things point to waiting for a lil bit!! at least until the new yr 🙂

 

[puzzles74]

Hello! Does anyone have a more recent list of schools with specific computer requirements? I'm trying to hold off on buying a new one until I find out if/where I was accepted but my current laptop is dying fast... Any info is much appreciated!

 

[LyraGardenia]

Hello! Does anyone have a more recent list of schools with specific computer requirements? I'm trying to hold off on buying a new one until I find out if/where I was accepted but my current laptop is dying fast... Any info is much appreciated!

Kansas State provides each student with a convertible tablet PC. (You pay for it in your student technology fees, and you get to keep it after you graduate)

 

[Cephal0pod]

Hello! Does anyone have a more recent list of schools with specific computer requirements? I'm trying to hold off on buying a new one until I find out if/where I was accepted but my current laptop is dying fast... Any info is much appreciated!

Ohio State required the incoming class to get iPads this year.

 

[sheltermed]

Ohio State required the incoming class to get iPads this year.

Oh...why? Any specific thing they have students do with it?

 

[ktjc216]

UF also requires iPads because IOS works best with our test taking software and aperio for our pathology labs.

 

[Cephal0pod]

Oh...why? Any specific thing they have students do with it?

I believe one of the primary reasons was that iOS works best with our exam software as well. We were required to get an iPad Air 2 at minimum but the iPad Pro was recommended. Many of us just went ahead and got the 9" Pro.

 

[Frozenshades]

Kansas State provides each student with a convertible tablet PC. (You pay for it in your student technology fees, and you get to keep it after you graduate)

I'm making that damn thing a paper weight. My 2010 MacBook Pro still works better lol

Yeah OneNote plus the touch screen is nice for taking notes, otherwise, meh.

 

[LyraGardenia]

I'm making that damn thing a paper weight. My 2010 MacBook Pro still works better lol

Yeah OneNote plus the touch screen is nice for taking notes, otherwise, meh.

I'm not a big fan of it either, lol. I understand the benefits of everyone having the same computer, and it was nice to not have to go purchase it myself, but I would have rather paid a little more for something nicer.

 

[Frozenshades]

I'm not a big fan of it either, lol. I understand the benefits of everyone having the same computer, and it was nice to not have to go purchase it myself, but I would have rather paid a little more for something nicer.

Totally agree. Also what they don't tell you is they won't necessarily replace any hardware for free if stuff breaks. Some of my classmates told me they asked about getting a new battery and were told $90. Which doesn't make sense, because someone else had their computer destroyed when the bag it was it got driven over by a car, and it was like $100 for them to replace it with a new one. So I don't get it.