Macbook Air or Macbook Pro for Nursing School?

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I've had a Lenovo PC for about 3 years now and I don't think it's going to last much longer. It has significantly slowed down and takes 30 minutes to start up. I've been looking into Macs and I wanted to see if any of you have advice on which model would be best for school? The Pro does have a faster hardware but will the Air do the job just as well? I need it for online class work, care plans, paper work, ebooks and homework assigned through book sites.

Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

I have a Macbook Pro and don't utilize everything on it but I will never buy another PC again in my life!

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a laptop with internet access.

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The first few posts suggest not to waste money on a mac for school, but i think the later posts say it all. You will spend more when you buy a pc ($700) then another pc ($700) when that one deteriorates or a mac after pc failure. So buy a more expensive mac upfront.

Dont invest cheaply for school, invest in school and beyond, you will need a good computer for applying for jobs too.

My mac air was my trusted device applying for jobs as a new grad, with all my resumes and cover letters. I accidentally dump coffee on it and lose all of my important files! This was pre-icloud, so now if i did this all files are safe. The backup system is built in with icloud. But point is u want a trusted device for career and beyond.

Most mac converters will tell you, they would never go back and cant imagine their computer life without it.

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Wow I had that issue but didn't feel like spending a dime on a computer. I spoke to a few people at my school who spoke to a few other people and I was able to get in campus based program helping students with loaner laptops for school. I received a brand new dell from campus store with everything (office 16) already on it and a bunch of other cool things. There's also an option to purchase and keep it if i wanted to. OP see if your school has a similar program. It blows my mind how many people do not take the time to look at resources available to them at school.

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Yeah I agree. I am not willing to spend another $500+ on a windows laptop that slows down within 6 months.

The one I have now is ridiculous and its specifically from using my nursing school programs.

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My MacBook Pro was a great investment when I was completing my first degree, and it was about 10 years old when I was accepted to nursing school. It was slowing down considerably and I knew that I would be continuing my education after completing my ADN, so I decided to bite the bullet and buy a new one. I actually ended up getting another MacBook Pro because there were some pretty significant student discounts and I'd had such a good experience with my first one. I think the Air would be just fine for school, though. I have never run into issues with my school's programs not working on my Mac, but I did install Microsoft Office so that I could easily submit assignments in Word format.

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I have used my daughters $100 pink HP laptop for stats this summer and some English classes last year when I first started college. I really don't think anything fancy is necessary. Now I am using a small MacBook Air that is secondhand from my mom, and there have been no issues with speed or anything.

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My $1300 MacBook Pro that I bought 5+ years ago still works as well today as it did the day I bought it. Well worth the extra expense. It's the 13" and I love that it is small enough to carry around with me - since I start nursing school in September :D

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I would have to agree with some of the above posters regarding mac products. Face it, they're great products however, they are also expensive. My best friend had a mac and she ended up buying a cheap pc halfway through her first semester because the school website did not format well for mac.

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I would have to agree with some of the above posters regarding mac products. Face it, they're great products however, they are also expensive. My best friend had a mac and she ended up buying a cheap pc halfway through her first semester because the school website did not format well for mac.

School website didnt format well for Mac?

That's a load of BS.

There are different web browsers you can download to your Macbook besides the stock Safari: Google Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge. Most Windows users actually use Chrome anyways.

Maybe your school had applications or programs that specifically needed the Windows operating system (OS) to work properly if that is the case then yes you definitely need a Windows laptop or you need to buy software to run Windows on your Macbook (headache)

Ive had my Macbook Air since 2014 and it runs good as new, even the battery is great. Only bad thing is the screen is not 1080p but again this is a 4.5 year old computer so high definition screens werent the norm back then.

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OK, one of my things on my resume is that I'm A+ certified as a IT technician. Mac computers don't magically work better or last longer. They're computers. You're using the same Western Digital hard drive, on the same B series motherboard, using the same DDR3 RAM, all running on the same intel i5 CPU. Literally the only difference is the operating system, which for the average user makes no noticeable difference.

The HP equivalent of a macbook air is a few hundred dollars cheaper for 100% identical hardware. For a student, go with the HP. Don't waste your money on a logo. Also, for useful software as a student, Windows is the way better choice because if it's not designed for both OS's, it's more likely going to sell to windows users because there's just that many more of them, so as a result, you tend to get more choices of software.

Don't listen to the apple fanclub's hype. Buy anything that's not designed as an "e machine" and you'll be fine.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
OK, one of my things on my resume is that I'm A+ certified as a IT technician. Mac computers don't magically work better or last longer. They're computers. You're using the same Western Digital hard drive, on the same B series motherboard, using the same DDR3 RAM, all running on the same intel i5 CPU. Literally the only difference is the operating system, which for the average user makes no noticeable difference.

The HP equivalent of a macbook air is a few hundred dollars cheaper for 100% identical hardware. For a student, go with the HP. Don't waste your money on a logo. Also, for useful software as a student, Windows is the way better choice because if it's not designed for both OS's, it's more likely going to sell to windows users because there's just that many more of them, so as a result, you tend to get more choices of software.

Don't listen to the apple fanclub's hype. Buy anything that's not designed as an "e machine" and you'll be fine.

Okay, question. My situation is that my Mac has worked better and has lasted longer than any other laptop I've had. My dad, who is computer-savvy/gentle on his personal laptops and uses them for the same purposes that I use mine has gone through two non-Mac laptops in the 5 years that I've had one Mac... and my Mac still runs! Every person I know who has had a Mac is totally satisfied with their machine and has managed to keep it running for at least 5 years, usually longer. Everyone I know who uses a different type of laptop has had significantly more issues and lower satisfaction. They also have replaced their laptops at a much quicker rate. There's gotta be some sort of difference that explains this. I've heard people say the same sort of things that you're saying, but my experience and observations don't lie.

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