Hi, I'm a college student studying Software Engineering, and I plan on buying a MacBook Pro M3 Pro. I was at the Apple store and tried both the 14" and 16", but I just can't decide. I prefer a larger screen and a very big trackpad, but I also like the 14" version because of its size and portability. By the way, we're talking about the same specs; the only difference is the screen size.
I like to keep many text windows open. I'll have an IDE like Pycharm up and also some reference materials on a web browser and of course, my app has some kind of output. Ideally, all this would be on the same screen. So the larger screen makes life easier.
On the other hand, you have to lug this computer around with you.
One solution is to buy a smaller Macbook and a larger 27-inch 5K monitor. Even the smaller size Mac barely fits on those seat/desk things you find in most classrooms. My daughter gave up and bought an iPad for note-taking and keeps the Macbook at home.
I was a computer science student back when you needed a refrigerator dolly to move a computer. We wrote code on paper with pencil and after we liked it, typed it. Paper works better then you might think for writing multiple drafts of psuedocode. That said I've been back to school as a grad student recently and agree with my daughter, even the 14" is just too big.
Get the smallest thing you can find to carry with you and then at home have the biggest thing that will fit in the space.
One more thing... If you keep your project code on a cloud server then you can work at any computer worldwide. Our school had 27" iMacs in the library and many other students access computer labs. If the code is online you don't need to lug around your own computer. Just find any random computer and log on. I was not able to completely not need my computer but much work could be done without it.
