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Why Students Should Wait to Buy a New MacBook Air

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While many college students are most likely shopping around for a new laptop for college, right now may not be the best time, and here’s why.

Now that high school seniors have graduated high school and are focusing their summer efforts on getting ready for college in the fall, one task that many students are looking forward to is buying a laptop to use in class and other general tasks while on campus.

Many students need a computer while they’re away at college, and while they could just rely on campus computer labs, having your own computer is way more convenient. More specifically, a laptop is usually the computer of choice for most students, as they can take it with them to class, as well as easily take it along with them when they go back home on the weekends.

Arguably the most popular laptop that many students will buy is the MacBook Air. It’s light and portable, which is a big feature to have when you’re a college student and you need to lug it around from class to class.

However, while you might be eager to buy your college MacBook Air right now early in the summer, that’s actually not the best idea.

Apple’s Back-to-School Promotion

Every year, Apple has a back-to-school promotion during the summer that gives students a free gift card when they buy a MacBook, iPad, or iPhone. Last year, students received a $100 Apple Store gift card when they bought a MacBook, or a $50 Apple Store gift card when you bought an iPad or an iPhone.

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This was on top of saving an additional $200 or so when students would take advantage of Apple’s educational pricing that gave students and teachers a discount on new MacBooks.

The sale began last year on July 1, which is usually the time frame that Apple has been going with recently over the last few years, so it’s safe to say that this year’s back-to-school sale for Apple will begin around the same time, which could be as early as next week.

This is why students should wait to buy a new MacBook Air until Apple’s back-to-school promotion begins, as this will net you a free $100 Apple Store gift card, which you could then use on MacBook accessories or even use it towards new a iPad if you want one of those too.

You don’t even need to be a student to take advantage of Apple’s educational pricing, as Apple’s website doesn’t even ask for proof if you’re a student or not, just as long as you order online and don’t buy a MacBook in-store.

Other Back-to-School Sales

Aside from Apple’s own promotion for students, it’s more than likely that other retailers will offer similar deals to students throughout the summer, especially when August and September get closer.

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This isn’t too surprising, as retailers like Best Buy and other places that sell laptops want to take advantage of this time of year where millions of new college students are shopping for new laptops, and a great way to do that is by offering great deals when the new school year is creeping up.

This is why it’s probably a good idea to wait before buying a new laptop, even if it isn’t a MacBook Air. Plus, you might not really know what kind of laptop you need until you actually experience your classes and figure out what kind of work is involved.

Granted, based on the major that you pick, you can probably guess what kind of work you’ll be doing. For instance, if you’re a communication major, you’ll probably just need a laptop that is powerful enough to take notes on and maybe do some light photo editing if you’re doing media communication. However, if you’re going to college for engineering, you may need something more powerful to do CAD or run various programs.

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Most college students, though, would do great with a MacBook Air, but even if you need a bit more firepower, the MacBook Pro offers faster performance in a slightly-larger form factor that’s still incredibly portable.

You can get a MacBook Air for as low as $849 with the education discount ($50 off), which is a great price and it’s the cheapest MacBook you can get right now. The MacBook Pro starts at $1,199 for education pricing, which is $100 off the normal price.

Tack on the $100 Apple Store gift card, and you’re essentially looking at a brand-new MacBook Air for only $749, which is an absolute steal.

14 Comments

14 Comments

  1. manoj91

    06/25/2015 at 11:41 pm

    thanks

  2. A Mac User

    06/26/2015 at 12:39 am

    You don’t necessarily have to wait. You just have to be a savvy shopper. Just picked up a 2015 Macbook Air 11″ base model at Bestbuy for $699. The new base model 11″ MBA was on sale at $100 off, plus an education coupon (you need an actual .edu email address though) they gave me that tacked of another $100 off. That brought it down to $699, total approx $750 w/tax. This was the 2nd week of June 2015.

    Unlike the Apple store that gives you a gift card to off-set the price, this is an actual discount, total was -$200 off. So point being, you can find good, if not better than the back to school sales if you look around. Also, if you buy it at Bestbuy, you can sign-up for their free rewards program (like a frequent flyer club). Every $250 spent is $5 GC. That’s at least $10 back in credit towards a case or bag, why not? It’s free.

    Hope this helps anyone looking for a new Macbook/Air/Pro.

  3. The Kent Family

    06/28/2015 at 6:55 pm

    I got my macbook air 11 inch couple months ago. for under 650 from apple.com it was like new runs perfectly despite being a certified refurbished. Honestly i think the refurbs run better due to the extra testing.

  4. Silas

    07/05/2015 at 9:43 am

    I hope the promo starts soon.
    Last year it started with July- but still waiting for it.
    Anyone an idea when promo will kick off?

  5. Katia Grinkov

    07/05/2015 at 11:43 pm

    Don’t forget tax free week in a lot of states that saves extra also!

  6. david

    07/06/2015 at 3:19 pm

    since they didnt do it july 1st, i thought they would do it for july 4th sales, but i guess not.. i really hope it’s soon.

  7. Bryan

    07/07/2015 at 3:04 pm

    I rang and was told they had no information but like Apple Black Friday never happened last year after six years without any acknowledgement so don’t be surprised if nothing happens.

  8. Crissy

    07/08/2015 at 6:46 pm

    I called today and was also told that they have no information. I asked the representative if he knew if it was happening at all and he said it possibly might not, but he doesn’t know for sure. I don’t see why it wouldn’t happen, because New Zealand/Australia received the promo in January 2015. It would be odd if they didn’t include the US/UK this year. However, the latest they have ever announced it in US was July 1st, so I’m getting worried, and slightly impatient :/ I’m in dire need of a new laptop and have been holding out for this sale.

    I also confirmed with the representative that if I purchased my laptop before the sale I could come in within 14 days with my receipt and receive my gift card. So I’m probably only going to hold out two more weeks because I feel like once August hits there’s no room for hope. Does anyone else have any other helpful information?

    • david

      07/09/2015 at 11:33 am

      I called them about two weeks ago and I was also told they had no information. They might just be saying that so everyone just doesn’t wait for the sales because they can make more money that way. And I agree that it wouldn’t make sense for Apple not have the same promotion in the U.S. It might be easier and more convenient to find school deals at other locations at this point.

    • Bryan Hogan

      07/10/2015 at 4:19 pm

      Hey, I think the Austrailian/New Zealand promo back in January would of been our Back to school promo 2014 (last year).

      I hope they do the promo but after no Black Friday and No 12 days of Christmas it looks like Apple is shutting down the promos.

  9. Sabrina

    07/09/2015 at 7:12 pm

    I just bought a 13″ Mac book air for $749 at Best Buy. You just have to have your college email address and they will give you an additional $100 off the current sale of $849.

    • Crissy

      07/10/2015 at 9:09 pm

      I called my local Best Buy and they told me that I would only be able to gain a student discount by purchasing online (with my edu email), and that the $100 student discount would be in the form of a Best Buy gift card-and I would be unable to use it for my computer purchase. Maybe that’s not the policy at every Best Buy store?

      I know August is supposed to be the best time to purchase computers-because of sales-, however I’m wondering if Apple is really included in that statement. What are some other good places to watch for Apple sales aside from Best Buy and Fry’s electronics?

  10. Andrew D.

    07/15/2015 at 1:17 pm

    Please don’t encourage fraud. The educational pricing page ( https://www.apple.com/shop/browse/campaigns/education_pricing ) plainly says right up top, “Education pricing is available to college students, students accepted to college, parents buying for college students, faculty, homeschool teachers, and staff at all grade levels.* Just because you can get away with something doesn’t make it OK.

    • Nina

      07/25/2015 at 8:42 pm

      Second this

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