Purchasing a MacBook through Columbia's or Harvard's IT department

[cgking]

My 3-year-old MacBook's chugging along, but I want to get a new one before starting classes in the fall. I currently have a Harvard ID number, so I can purchase Apple products using their discount, but I'll be attending Columbia in the fall. I won't have my Columbia login information until sometime during the summer, so I can't compare discounts. Does anyone know if the two schools' discounts are comparable, or is one much cheaper? I'm trying to figure out if I should buy before my HUID expires, or wait until late summer.

I don't know if this is a kosher thing to talk about, so feel free to PM me if you're not comfortable sharing with the whole interweb.

[sba2016]

Pretty sure the Mac discount for most universities is nearly, if not totally, identical. It's not like dell etc. where it may depend on your university.

[herself the elf]

Thanks for posting this question-- I'm in a similar situation myself.

This website has contact info for entering CU students without IDs who are buying Macs:

http://www.columbia.edu/acis/sales/

"Entering students without an active UNI:

Email or call Ronnie Peters at Apple (ronnie_peters@apple.com, 646-256-9421) for special pricing and directions for ordering."

[Genomic Repairman]

I agree sba, I'm pretty sure if you go to a school and you have an email address that ends in .edu you can get the discount on Macs. That's what I did.

[cgking]

The school where I went undergrad had kind of an open store (you didn't have to login), but Harvard and Columbia have Apple stores behind a login wall. The Harvard discount is better than my undergrad school's discount, and includes some nice packages bundled with cheap AppleCare.

herself the elf-- thanks for the email address/info!

[BrandNewName]

just thought i might throw something in here, not really pertaining to discounts that are school specific. i just bought a new macbook in the states using my brother's name (he is enrolled at a college in the states...i could only get the student discount on the german apple site and it was much cheaper to buy in dollars so i did just that while home over christmas).

anyway, when i bought it i came across the barclaycard offer on the apple website Apple Store Barclaycard. even though i was getting it at a discount price and though i'm not a big fan of having credit cards, this deal is actually pretty sweet if you don't have the resources to dish out 1300 bucks or whatever your total might be right off the bat. it's actually not a scam, you just have to pay it off within a year and make at least a $15/month payment.

a bit tangential, but just in case anyone else is considering buying and doesn't have a lump sum of money at their disposal.

[cgking]

outofredink- That's definitely an interesting idea... you had no problems doing the barclaycard thing and using a student discount? Thanks for the tip!

[BrandNewName]

outofredink- That's definitely an interesting idea... you had no problems doing the barclaycard thing and using a student discount? Thanks for the tip!

yeah, the only catch is that the total purchase has to be over $900. i don't know what kind of student discounts are offered through the specific universities in question, but all in all it seems highly unlikely that your total for a new macbook would fall under that price. anyway, yes, no problem using the discount with the barclaycard offer. i also have problems getting approved for credit because of student loans from my undergraduate years, and they approved me: i was honestly a bit shocked. all in all, IMO, a worthwhile offer.