My College MacBook Pro -- Smart Or Not?

[xfiftyfour]

whoa there, the developer discount isn't THAT much greater than the student discount. you should visit both stores first, and see the prices for yourself.

student discount:
MBP 2.0 = 2,300

developer discount:
MBP 2.0 = 2,000 + the 100 sign up fee = 2,100.

200 is a good chunk, yeah, but certainly not 40%.

 

[xparaparafreakx]

I wish I would sign up for a Dev program for a Mac Book Pro. However my job is giving me a MBP for college.

If I were you, get a macbook or wait til the 64bit processors come out. I think its called mem something. Does anyone know of Student Dev get the iPod deal too?

 

[interlaced]

I think if you BTO the parts are also discounted? Example:

2.16 MBP/1GB RAM/100GB 7200 w/ Student Dev = $2239

2.16 MBP/1GB RAM/100GB 7200 = $2899

 

[saturnino3]

The Student developer program seems to be the ideal option. The low end MBP (1.83) is showing up at the Developer Connection (Students) for $1,599 USD. Factor in the $99 USD fee and you get a total of $1,698 USD (+tax) for a brand new MacBook Pro.

If you upgrade the RAM from 512 to 1 GB, the additional cost is $80 USD. I think is not worth it since Apple is a notorious RAM price gauger but consumers pay for convenience.

I would wait a couple of months until the Cram & Jam promotion showed up and to see if Apple drops the prices of the MBP's given the supposed drop in Intel chips.

Good luck from a fellow (and envious) student!

 

[thecheda]

job

what exactly do you do? do you need the macbook pro right away?

 

[bobber205]

Thanks for telling me what the prices are on the website...

That really helps make my decision.

Oh. Here's an idea. What's the price on the higher end MBP? Would it be worth buying the upper level machine for what the lower end machine was going to originally cost me in the first place?

Hmm...

 

[bobber205]

what exactly do you do? do you need the macbook pro right away?

Job? My current, and very boring job, is working as a parttime grocery clerk.
I would only get the MBP early for enjoyment purposes...

But isn't that reason enough?

BTW. Since the MBP is a relatively new machine... where's a source I could trust to get very detailed instructions on where to buy and how to install the RAM I might buy instead of paying apple?

How much would a 512 stick cost for the MBP?

 

[bobber205]

I checked Crucial's site for memory.

And it turns out I'll only save about 4 dollars installing it myself.
Pic included...

I think I'll bite that bullet and pay Apple

 

[speedemonV12]

since your getting this for school, i would defiantely wait, the intel chips are supposed to drop in prices, and then also, they will be releasing merom, 64bit around the same time WWDC, Also, i read that Leopard will be released november, and the merom chip, along with Leopard will support running two opperating systems side by side (not possible with current chips)

so me...im waiting, you can do what you want, but at least wait till school starts, maybe just a little after for merom.

 

[wkw]

wait until you get to Oregon. No sales tax here!

 

[interlaced]

wait until you get to Oregon. No sales tax here!

Hm, now I see why half of my friends moved up there after we graduated.

 

[Whistleway]

Job? My current, and very boring job, is working as a parttime grocery clerk.
I would only get the MBP early for enjoyment purposes...

But isn't that reason enough?

To be honest, Nope, not when you buy on credit.

 

[bobber205]

Darn

That student developer discount might not work after all.

I'm sure exactly when I'll be officiall "enrolled" as a student...
and I need some kind of proof to fax to apple to proof my status as a student.

 

[zap2]

Buy online, they don't check and your are student so it legal.

Even if your not "enrolled", you going there and thats for sure

 

[bobber205]

Buy online, they don't check and your are student so it legal.

Even if your not "enrolled", you going there and thats for sure

\

What you say is true, good friend of mine.

But for the developer discount, I think, I need to have the enrollment stuff.

It says on the site(Linky) that your enrollment must be verified before all membership benefits are activated.

And I'm thinking the benefit for saving on hardware would count...
Unless someone can tell me otherwise from experience

 

[solvs]

wait until you get to Oregon. No sales tax here!

Wish I'd thought of that.

There's no sales tax in OR

Seriously though, you can use your student discount at the Apple Retail Store too. Just show some kind of ID or proof you're a student. That's the way I'd go. Actually, that's the way I did go.

Discount + no sales tax + previous gen iMac + free printer (after rebate) = cheap!

 

[bobber205]

I know they don't check your student status when ordering from the "college and university" store. I bought my mini like that.

What a hard decision this is turning out to be...

 

[erictheninja]

\

What you say is true, good friend of mine.

But for the developer discount, I think, I need to have the enrollment stuff.

It says on the site(Linky) that your enrollment must be verified before all membership benefits are activated.

And I'm thinking the benefit for saving on hardware would count...
Unless someone can tell me otherwise from experience

The ADC student discount verification can be assisted through your registrar. Apple is looking to confirm that you are a full-time student. That means, if you're enrolled for the upcoming fall semester with 12 credits (most schools consider that full-time status), then call up your registrar and tell them you need proof of full-time enrollment. Typically, they'll give you a printout of your upcoming classes and ask them to sign it. When ski resorts in New England require official verification from the school of an individual's full-time status, the registrar has letters that say blah blah blah is enrolled in the full-time program at blah blah blah and they'll sign it and your class schedule if required. I did this before I actually was in school my freshman year to get my discounted season pass. Of course, I already made a down payment, solidifying my intent to go to the school.

Registrar's are use to doing this stuff. Even when I was in Iowa and got a student ski season pass to somewhere that was 2 1/2 hours away, they had a letter all written up. Again, that was Iowa...where the cornfed girls are unbelievable.

I agree with the rest of the people here, however. Wait until late July/early August before you order the hardware. The prices will most likely drop with the introduction of new macs and the expected price drop of the duocore's (higher speeds are coming out soon).

 

[bobber205]

But it's so hard to wait...

Does anybody have any ideas what the speeds should be/ how much of a drop?

 

[bobber205]

New Idea?

Whether I get the MBP in Oregon or not (I might), should I get a refurb model... the lower end one?

It's only 1699. That would be the equivalent of getting the ADC developer discount w/o having to wait and deal with the approval process.

I even thought about getting the 3 year extension of coverage for 239. After tax, it would be only 100 more than I was planning originally to spend (about 2000).

Good or bad? Comments very welcome.

 

[FFTT]

The latest model refurbs are generally priced within $50 of the new standard education price.

The developer discount is a once in a lifetime offer, so I'd consider holding
that until later before your enter the workforce or go to grad school.

 

[xparaparafreakx]

what exactly do you do? do you need the macbook pro right away?

I am a part time mac admin and I will maintain the brand new xserve from UC davis because I am a high school senior right now. They do not have a tech so I been their tech.

The macbookpro is to test out the whole intel system since the lab needs and update very soon and we have some apps that need to be test on the new intel chips.

 

[bobber205]

The latest model refurbs are generally priced within $50 of the new standard education price.

The developer discount is a once in a lifetime offer, so I'd consider holding
that until later before your enter the workforce or go to grad school.

So is my idea a good one?