Computer

Buying a laptop for medical school... The school will probably suggest the recommended laptop that will cost about about $1000 - $1500. Should you buy it or stick with the one you already have?
The reason the school suggests this particular laptop is because it prepares you for the one that you will have in residency, apparently (not sure if that is 100% true, since he isn't to residency yet). Because the school recommends a particular laptop, the IT department will fix it whenever you are having any issues, free of charge. A pretty sweet deal, huh? However, if you bring IT a laptop that is not the recommended they will not be able to fix it for you and you are stuck running around finding a place that will or buying a whole new computer. I can't tell you how many students I see freak out about computer issues (and I don't blame them). It's the week of a test and their computer no longer turns on, they have no access to their notes and can no longer study at home and have to study in front of a desktop at school, on top of that worrying about getting the laptop fixed. Can you say stressful and bad timing? I have seen that 3 times in the past 2 months and I'm sure there are more out there. If you have the recommended laptop, take it to IT and you can have their loaner laptop in the meantime. Pretty stress free.

There are only a handful of students who actually bought the recommended (my husband being one of them). And there are plenty of students who do just fine without it. But when a problem does arise, it's comforting to know that you are taken care of.

With that being said, students who have macs have one slight advantage over others. But not big enough to make a huge difference. Tests are given through a particular software that shuts down your computer when the test is downloaded. It essentially shuts it down and opens only the testing program so you do not have access to internet or any other documents while taking your exam. Mac users shutdown and restart in the blink of an eye. While others, go through the normal shut down process and are waiting. Like I said, not a huge difference because everyone finishes at a different time anyways, but Mac users are finished with a few questions before others even start.

Just some things to think about when weighing your options. $1500 is a lot of money for a med-student, but so is freaking out before a test and having to pay another couple hundred to get yours fixed.