Mac or PC, Incentives Abound for Students
Deals for computers, printers and iPods can be found all over the Web.
Aug. 7, 2008 — -- Maggie Heintzman will join the University of Georgia Class of 2012 as a freshman next week. Nobody knows what the world will be like in four years, but Heintzman thinks she wants to study public relations and she knows she wants a new computer now.
"I have a really old hand-me-down computer that has hardly worked for the past two years. It has a lot of problems and I am excited to get a new computer for school."
Heintzman's school leaves the brand of computer up to the freshman and advises buying a computer -- a necessity for students to communicate, research and have fun -- that will last through the college years.
The school predicts the average computer can last about five years before it becomes outdated, so Heintzman knows her first major decision for school will be an important one.
"My grandmother left me money to buy a computer for college and I want this computer to last a long, long time," she said.
With just two weekends left before school starts Heintzman has modest plans of hanging out with friends, eating sushi and taking a drive with her father, Mark, to an Apple store to make that one last purchase.
"I decided it would be nice to switch to a Mac, because they are low maintenance and it comes with a lot of the software I'll need, so no extra downloading and configuring. My school is only 20 minutes away from home, but I don't think I'll get to visit that much so the built-in chat camera will be nice too."
She usually makes her electronics purchases at Best Buy, but this time a perfect storm of educational savings and promotions is too strong for her to ignore, including a rebate to cover an iPod Nano ($199) or a widescreen iPod Touch ($299) with the purchase of a Mac through Sept. 15, an educational discount and a tax-free weekend.
Apple's online educational store, retail stores and some authorized sellers are adding even more incentives this month to drag students off the beach and into stores.
