Mac or PC for College?
Which Laptop Is Best for the College Student

You’re getting ready to head to college. And, your laptop is giving you trouble. The memory is low. It’s outdated. You found out you need a new motherboard.

Or maybe you’re just one of those people who has to have what’s new and are ready for an upgrade. The new Windows and Mac laptops have made their debut, and you’re wondering whether to buy a Mac or PC for college?

There’s nothing usual about going to college in the fall of 2020. Coursework in many schools is happening remotely, which affects what exactly qualifies as the best laptop for students. The best Apple laptop for a student might be an iPad with an add-on keyboard. Photo: Brydge The fall semester is right around the corner, so students will soon be plugging away on homework.

Student deals for everyone means you can find great student discounts throughout every stage of your education. And our tools like checklists and wish lists make it easy to plan ahead and get the electronics you need to succeed in making this the best school year ever. For better performance, look to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is a touch smaller than the MacBook Air and weighs just a bit more, but features much more powerful dual-core processors, includes a gorgeous Retina display, and provides Thunderbolt 3 ports for charging and expansion.

In this article, you’ll learn the advantages and disadvantages of Macs and PCs. Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, here are the facts you need to know as Mac and PC go toe-to-toe.

Which One Offers the Better Price?

It’s no secret that an Apple laptop costs more money than Windows. But many Mac lovers say it’s worthy of the higher price tag. On the other hand, PC guys and girls would tell you not to waste the money.

Apple computers are more stylish in appearance. Their design is sleek and clean. But looks aren’t the only thing that makes people want to pay more for Apple laptops. They’re also easier to maintain.

You don’t have to worry about root directories and other technical tasks necessary to maintain the PC. The PC takes more computer experience, but the Mac is so easy a grandparent can learn it. Children already know it! The other thing: it syncs with your iPhone and iPad.

These aspects are why people are willing to pay more money for a more attractive and easier-to-operate machine. Of course, it depends on your budget. If you’re footing the bill for college, you might want to save your money and go with a PC.

But, if you have wealthy parents who want to get the computer you want, you might want to buy a Mac because you think it’s a better investment.

Mac Vs. PC: How Does Battery Life Compare?

With midterms and finals around the corner, there’s no time to worry about where to find an outlet in a crowded cafeteria, library, or coffee shop. If you’re out of juice because you’ve been on campus all day, then that’s a problem.

You need a battery that lasts. School is stressful enough around exam time. You don’t want your computer to add more stress to your life.

While some Windows models have a long battery life like the Asus ZenBook 14 or the ThinkPad, many PC models fall short when comparing their battery to Apple. The powerful and long-lasting batteries in the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air take the prize, offering between 10-13 hours of battery life.

MacBooks work well with all of their components. This differs from Windows and is why Mac leaves Windows at the gate with a dead battery.

If you buy a PC, keep in mind your charge may only last six hours, so you may be scouring around campus looking for power options.

Compatibility on Campus

College campuses equip themselves to accommodate PCs and Macs. If for some reason your campus doesn’t accommodate both computer systems, you have your answer.

But, if you’re an engineering student or major in a technical subject that’s not design-based you’ll probably be working in a PC environment. Your department may even use Internet Explorer for projects. But can you download internet explorer on a Mac?

If you’re not a wizard at the computer, you might want to base your decision on your college campus’s technical support staff. Does your school have way more PC technical support than the Mac?

This could be a deciding factor and can leave you behind if you make the wrong choice. However, if the IT support team specializes in Apple computers, you should probably buy a Mac if you don’t have the learning curve. It would simplify things since PCs tend to be more complex in their technology.

Another compatibility issue to consider is filing transfer compatibility. Although compatibility has come a long way between programs and files, sometimes PC and Mac file extensions don’t play well together. This could cause a problem for Mac users if most people use PCs.

Internet Security

When it comes to malware, computer viruses, and spyware, PC users are hit all the time. The PC computer keeps hackers and Internet security companies in business with all the attacks on its systems. And, the need to develop defenders to ward them off.

The Relationship Between the PC and Security

The reason why PCs are targeted more frequently is that more computer users own a PC. In fact, 88.7% of computer users have a PC to be exact. While only 10% of the population owns an Apple. This makes being the underdog a better option causing fewer headaches.

But, on the other hand, Microsoft works hard to keep Windows environments more secure than its former versions. But internet predators still work just as hard to hack into systems and infect them with viruses, malware, spyware, and ransomware.

But although Macs are safer, no computer is totally safe from threats. So it’s always critical to run anti-virus software on the Mac to keep viruses away as best as you can.

Which Platform Is Better for Design?

If you’re studying art or design in school–whether it be fashion design at F.I.T. or animation at NYU, a Mac computer is the industry standard. Your classrooms will have Macs, your internship company will use Macs, and you’ll use Macs all through your profession.

Apple was originally designed for artists and designers. It continues to be the computer platform of choice for design, although some say the PC is not far behind.

Make your Mac invincible

Best Macbook For College Students

Here's an app kit that will turn your academic life into a pleasant bearable experience. When you have the right tools, it's so much easier to score those A's. Get published, get a Nobel prize in math, get a favorable comment from your supervisor (in that order). You can do anything because academia is the true land of opportunity.

You can have all these apps as a part of Setapp subscription.

Best apps for students

Download Setapp and get access to handpicked apps for studying. Hack your way through college.

Manuscripts: Academic document manager

Manuscripts knows what it means to write a proper paper. Handling footnotes, annotations, references, restructuring, and editing is unbelievably easy. Everything is a click away and, unlike in Word processors, all formatting is intuitive and painless. With Manuscripts it even seems (briefly) like the style guides weren't invented to make you suffer.

Prizmo: Image to text converter

Prizmo is the best for scanning and performing OCR (Optical Character Recognition ) in 23 languages, has powerful editing capability, text-to-speech, iCloud support, and translation into 59 languages.

You can convert printed documents, photocopies of text documents, text on the images, scanned documents, and screenshots – whatever you want – into digital text. It allows to effortlessly extract and share text directly in the camera view, search for or edit your document.

Prizmo has editing tools to correct warping, skewness and other distortions. For multipage documents or multiple text documents, the software offers batch OCR functionality to speed the process.

PDFpen: Robust PDF editing

Is anyone still buying hard copies of textbooks these days? When it comes to cramming, PDF is way more convenient (weighs less at least). And with PDFpen, you also get the freedom to tweak your docs in any way imaginable – from editing text to merging multiple PDFs into one test prep package. Redaction functionality is a nice perk as well: if you’re often tempted to check solutions to exercises in your textbook, PDFpen covers them up, so that you concentrate on tasks.

MarginNote: A non-boring way to read and learn

Best Macbook For College Students 2020

Out of all the apps for studying and completing assignments, MarginNote is the most fun. Whenever your relationship with a textbook gets complicated, the app is there to save the day. The ultimate e-reading expert, MarginNote adapts to your study habits: you can choose your perfect annotation mode, outline and mindmap, or turn notes into flashcards. No more humdrum courses – as soon as you start using MarginNote, your study plan will be nothing short of awesome.

MathKey: Translating words into math expressions

If you’re dealing with math documents and reports, you’ll want to get your hands on MathKey. The app converts your handwriting to LaTeX, MathML, or a perfectly formatted image. Write an equation with your mouse or TrackPad and hit the Convert button – it’s that easy. You can also apply various colors to formulas and images.

Best Macbook For College Students 2020

Be Focused: Smart timer for productive work

Be Focused is a work timer that uses psychology to keep you on task. If know yourself to be easily distracted, this app is your jam. It's created for the ultimate work-break balance, which is essential if you want to stay sane through the semester. Set daily goals and move towards them at a steady pace, controlled by the fun interface with a classic 'pomodoro' timer.

Instant Translate: Quick translator with 100 languages

If Google's Translate kind of bums you out with its inaccuracy, try Mate (Instant Translate). It's way more powerful and can correctly translate phrases and sentences with its new feature 'Phrasebook.' It even has speech translation if you're in a hurry and typing seems tedious. 104 languages, a history of translations, and an easy access from the menu bar.

Studies: Storage for info, schedules, and memos

When you take on the next project, it all starts with notes. You probably have a pack of subject-related notes stashed somewhere on your Mac and it's a pain to find the ones you need when you need them. Studies solves this issue with elegance: it gives you separate and comfortable niches for each subject, there's a space for images and screenshots alongside text notes, and a schedule with statistics data on classes. So good.

MoneyWiz: Personal finance manager to track your expenses

You should be thinking about your next scientific breakthrough, not heating bills. Let MoneyWiz take care of money matters for you: a single setup and a single input of all your regular bills, and you'll never forget to pay anything. MoneyWiz will send you reminders, plan your monthly budget, even predict your future expenses for the nearest period (if you feel like looking into that).

Ulysses: Professional writing app

Even if your plans go as far as dissertation, Ulysses is where you should write it. This app is favored by writers and bloggers, it's distraction-free and highly reliable. It allows you to focus on writing, quickly export finished work as a PDF or an ebook, and enjoy the process way more than with the usual doc-like services.

Aeon Timeline: Project management app

When you feel overwhelmed by the number of important items in the project, by the subtasks and milestones, open Aeon Timeline and put all of it in there. Aeon gives you a bird's-eye view of the whole project and lets you easily orient among its parts. You'll never miss anything important and your beautiful research will form easily, chapter by chapter.

Collabio Spaces: Collaborate on projects and research papers

Collabio Spaces is there for you when you want to share a document with your academic advisor or collaborate with your classmates. The app lets you co-edit text documents and spreadsheets in real-time, 100% offline. Just share a collaboration password with someone and start working together — the doc stays on your computer and won’t be shared to the cloud so even if you co-edit it with other people, they won’t be able to access it once you stop your collaboration session. You can use Collabio on Mac and iPhone with a Setapp subscription.

TaskPaper: To-do list to have tasks at hand

Deep down you know that your memory did not undergo that tedious evolutionary process to cope with dry cleaning and groceries. Your mind is made for higher levels. That's why when it comes to routine, to-do lists are life saviors and should be used at all times. And TaskPaper is a perfect example: it has the simplicity of a sticker note, the search of a smart engine, and the cleanest interface.

MindNode: Mind map for idea generation

Whenever you feel bubbling with ideas, use MindNode. It's a brainstorming and idea-gathering tool. Visualise every possible solution or see how many studies refer to a specific topic. It's a fast and clear way to approach a complex subject and understand the big picture. And when it comes to drawing conclusions, mindmapping is a magic well of insights.

Every app on this list is available as a part of Setapp subscription and we have an Educational discount for a whole year. Try it out and see the difference a good toolset makes in studying.

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

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