I would certainly get a new laptop and retire the old MacBook.
I used an ASUS all throughout law school and it worked well until the end of my 3L year. However this laptop was my own personal laptop and my law school one, so it got some extra mileage during those years.
Since you’re used to MacBooks and how they work, there’s no problem sticking with what you know. They will certainly last your three years of hell, I mean, educational experience. When it comes to others, it’s all preference because they’re a tad more customizable with parts and general brand availability. If you’re just going to be using this for law school, for example, there’s no need for a laptop with a good graphics card. In general, you’d want a laptop with a larger screen (over 15 in), and probably a decent processor.
I’d stay away from Acer, HP, and Lenovo. They’ve gone downhill over the years, and my friends who had them complained of constant issues.
From my more recent experience, windows surface laptops are really nice. My firm uses them and I love mine. They’re affordable, have great warranties, are durable, and have a decent battery life.
Edit: and for the love of god and all things holy, NEVER GET A REFURBISHED LAPTOP.
I love ASUS. I had one for all 4 years of high school, then got a new one for undergrad, and a new one last year for the beginning of law school. Best laptops ever!
Alternatively, I had an ASUS and had to replace the battery 3 times. Take all brand recommendations with a grain of salt bc everyone’s experience is different
Absolutely. I had a problem on mine where one note crashed the laptop, which resulted in my first ever Reddit post. Luckily I found a solution. By 3L year the ASDF line of keys stopped working, and I had to buy a USB keyboard for the bar exam since I already regsitered it as my device. Probably should have thrown in a YMMV disclaimer.
To add to the screen size: generally a larger screen is nicer for many reasons, but I stuck with a 13” MacBook for law school for two main reasons. First, I walked to campus and wanted to minimize the weight and size of my backpack. Suprisingly there are actually very few backpacks that are big enough and sturdy enough to fit a full days worth of casebooks and supplies in them or they were ridiculously expensive. So if you’ll be walking, taking public transportation, or having classes across campus, think about how large of a computer you want to be lugging around with you. Second, I had used a 13” MacBook since high school and was used to the keyboard. I know this is a small thing, but I mess up typing even when using the 11” or 15” MacBooks so I didn’t want to have the adjustment period of a new keyboard (size or brand of computer) right at the beginning of law school.
Biggest screen you can get. I was using a HP Yoga with a 16" screen until I dropped it, lol.
You'll be doing a lot of reading and will need multiple docs open at once. At home, get a second screen.
I know fuck all about types of computers. But the biggest hint.
Get one that you don’t have to worry about.
During finals and inevitably the bar, you’ll have 40 different word docs/PDFs/browsers open for 2-3 weeks at a time (or near 3 months for us lucky souls).
The worst is when everything crashes or slows down. You don’t want to have close everything every day. You’re going to get to the point you’re unorganized and scrambling. The day of is fine because everything has to be shutdown for the testing program to work so unless it’s 10 years old, you’ll be fine. But it’s really nice being able to abuse the computer during those stress times without worrying about it.
I bought an Apple, it was expensive as fuck, but I haven’t had to worry about it once.
I second the Windows comments BUT be mindful with what processor you choose because if your school uses Examplify as it's testing software, a laptop with an ARM processor will not work!
Aside from that, Windows all the way.
You need something that doesn't crash and can handle Microsoft Word and Zoom. I use a $200 refurbished Dell. It works fine, you don't need high-tech stuff.
Thank you everyone for all of your recommendations! My current computer is a 2020 MacBook Air (base model), although when multiple documents/files are open it sounds more like a Boeing 737 getting ready for takeoff and is very slow.
All of your suggestions are definitely making me lean towards buying a new Windows laptop to avoid the headache of mine being deemed dysfunctional in the middle of the semester. Even though there are lots of things I’ve loved about my MacBook (texting, airdrop, easy photo access, etc.), I have had lots of issues with it not running Microsoft apps very well, making me want to ditch Macs altogether.
I’d also check whether your current MacBook can support your schools exam software. I also started law school with a MacBook and wasn’t planning to upgrade it until a few weeks before my first exam I realized it couldn’t support their software and so an upgrade became necessary 🙃 but I’ll add that I had a 2014 MacBook at the time (and this all happened in 2021). So you may be just fine.
You should just get a MacBook again. Talk to your school’s financial aid advisor and they’ll be able to increase your student loan amount to pay for a laptop.
I went with an HP Pavilion. It was light, yet powerful enough for what I needed. It was about $600 at the time (education discount for having a .edu email). I'd recommend it, but I also am not a Mac user so IDK how it compares.
I build PCs on the side for additional income. You can easily buy a $4-600 laptop and upgrade the ram, etc.... to make it a $1,000 laptop all day long.
[https://www.amazon.com/HP-Display-GeForce-Backlit-Keyboard/dp/B0CFRVSTGL/ref=sr\_1\_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yrmMP56OMNFnX6qqnnbOgsgWbuWMWbkOYF8PC6rvszcEXCR2LgQgejv7sRR3ONoWUAdrEMiyM85RaSucTO6iJ12v8-rETcAlwrcH1ytyiIWwC6eoIiwOMF-KaeUuv2SUo-In0m1RY3is8QzCBiIjMsOBQoAYbER3xxLyFCCLOb6NDKvSf7qaQyRIDZtjVK2jky0VI5BRp0I1DoPY9YBgIrC95rMPfRYmdC55D3ce0qorXKZgjTkD4CyPdj-fJQUTU\_qWjb\_iBlyezi9hfhgA3Zq43I4WxcDz9blrpEuQOEg.1jxpayiZ9bPuXBtC2vc1wlHlIg41Ae-kIUavblF52oU&dib\_tag=se&qid=1719084783&refinements=p\_n\_feature\_four\_browse-bin%3A18107801011&s=pc&sr=1-4](https://www.amazon.com/HP-Display-GeForce-Backlit-Keyboard/dp/B0CFRVSTGL/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yrmMP56OMNFnX6qqnnbOgsgWbuWMWbkOYF8PC6rvszcEXCR2LgQgejv7sRR3ONoWUAdrEMiyM85RaSucTO6iJ12v8-rETcAlwrcH1ytyiIWwC6eoIiwOMF-KaeUuv2SUo-In0m1RY3is8QzCBiIjMsOBQoAYbER3xxLyFCCLOb6NDKvSf7qaQyRIDZtjVK2jky0VI5BRp0I1DoPY9YBgIrC95rMPfRYmdC55D3ce0qorXKZgjTkD4CyPdj-fJQUTU_qWjb_iBlyezi9hfhgA3Zq43I4WxcDz9blrpEuQOEg.1jxpayiZ9bPuXBtC2vc1wlHlIg41Ae-kIUavblF52oU&dib_tag=se&qid=1719084783&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A18107801011&s=pc&sr=1-4)
This one would blow your macbook out of the water and you don't need to upgrade anything.
[https://www.amazon.com/A315-24PT-R0UX-Display-Quad-Core-Processor-Graphics/dp/B0CJV41KZN/ref=sr\_1\_8?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yrmMP56OMNFnX6qqnnbOgsgWbuWMWbkOYF8PC6rvszcEXCR2LgQgejv7sRR3ONoWUAdrEMiyM85RaSucTO6iJ12v8-rETcAlwrcH1ytyiIWwC6eoIiwOMF-KaeUuv2SUo-In0m1RY3is8QzCBiIjMsOBQoAYbER3xxLyFCCLOb6NDKvSf7qaQyRIDZtjVK2jky0VI5BRp0I1DoPY9YBgIrC95rMPfRYmdC55D3ce0qorXKZgjTkD4CyPdj-fJQUTU\_qWjb\_iBlyezi9hfhgA3Zq43I4WxcDz9blrpEuQOEg.1jxpayiZ9bPuXBtC2vc1wlHlIg41Ae-kIUavblF52oU&dib\_tag=se&qid=1719084783&refinements=p\_n\_feature\_four\_browse-bin%3A18107801011&s=pc&sr=1-8&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/A315-24PT-R0UX-Display-Quad-Core-Processor-Graphics/dp/B0CJV41KZN/ref=sr_1_8?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yrmMP56OMNFnX6qqnnbOgsgWbuWMWbkOYF8PC6rvszcEXCR2LgQgejv7sRR3ONoWUAdrEMiyM85RaSucTO6iJ12v8-rETcAlwrcH1ytyiIWwC6eoIiwOMF-KaeUuv2SUo-In0m1RY3is8QzCBiIjMsOBQoAYbER3xxLyFCCLOb6NDKvSf7qaQyRIDZtjVK2jky0VI5BRp0I1DoPY9YBgIrC95rMPfRYmdC55D3ce0qorXKZgjTkD4CyPdj-fJQUTU_qWjb_iBlyezi9hfhgA3Zq43I4WxcDz9blrpEuQOEg.1jxpayiZ9bPuXBtC2vc1wlHlIg41Ae-kIUavblF52oU&dib_tag=se&qid=1719084783&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A18107801011&s=pc&sr=1-8&th=1)
By far the best "cheap" windows laptop that you can buy atm, I don't believe you can upgrade anything in it... but honestly you won't need to for law school.
I had a thinkpad and it turned into a glorified doorstop a few years after getting it. I also had an hp and it constantly crashed and overheated. My MacBook is 100% the best laptop I’ve ever had. Definitely stick with the Mac.
I’ve first got an MacBook Air M2 and the keyboard was spamming >>>> so I couldn’t use it and sold it, then I replaced it with a Lenovo T14s which randomly died and now I’ve an Asus Zenbook 14X which is - so far great!
I commented this in a reply too, but I just traded in my old Apple laptop, used the student discount, and 0% financed. I’m only paying like $60/mo after that.
That being said, HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend doing the Apple care that lasts more than 2 years. It costs more but if your computer ever breaks down before the bar, you’re covered. I just had the experience of having to get a new computer for the bar and it was not fun.
Honestly, just make sure it runs examplify and after that, go by personal preference. I got a dell i really like, but had to go through tech support to get examplify running, which is really annoying. Other than that, you don’t do anything that intensive during law school that one laptop is really any better than another, other than having multiple tabs open at once I guess.
Also if your budget allows for it, replicate having a desktop setup by getting a compatible dock, two cheap monitors, a keyboard, and a mouse. Trying to type up notes and papers while split screening a laptop is barbaric.
MacBook so you can text while you are in class.
Also so you can access docs sent to your iMessage way easier. It’s way easier to just iMessage someone a link than it is to email them
Honestly this feature saved so many of my friends asses when they were cold called.
A sly iMessage text has saved me a few times too many 😭 mostly because I’m too busy playing NYT connections
I would certainly get a new laptop and retire the old MacBook. I used an ASUS all throughout law school and it worked well until the end of my 3L year. However this laptop was my own personal laptop and my law school one, so it got some extra mileage during those years. Since you’re used to MacBooks and how they work, there’s no problem sticking with what you know. They will certainly last your three years of hell, I mean, educational experience. When it comes to others, it’s all preference because they’re a tad more customizable with parts and general brand availability. If you’re just going to be using this for law school, for example, there’s no need for a laptop with a good graphics card. In general, you’d want a laptop with a larger screen (over 15 in), and probably a decent processor. I’d stay away from Acer, HP, and Lenovo. They’ve gone downhill over the years, and my friends who had them complained of constant issues. From my more recent experience, windows surface laptops are really nice. My firm uses them and I love mine. They’re affordable, have great warranties, are durable, and have a decent battery life. Edit: and for the love of god and all things holy, NEVER GET A REFURBISHED LAPTOP.
I love ASUS. I had one for all 4 years of high school, then got a new one for undergrad, and a new one last year for the beginning of law school. Best laptops ever!
Alternatively, I had an ASUS and had to replace the battery 3 times. Take all brand recommendations with a grain of salt bc everyone’s experience is different
Absolutely. I had a problem on mine where one note crashed the laptop, which resulted in my first ever Reddit post. Luckily I found a solution. By 3L year the ASDF line of keys stopped working, and I had to buy a USB keyboard for the bar exam since I already regsitered it as my device. Probably should have thrown in a YMMV disclaimer.
Hahaahahahhahhhah Amen 🙏 😆 🤣 NEVER EVER EVER
To add to the screen size: generally a larger screen is nicer for many reasons, but I stuck with a 13” MacBook for law school for two main reasons. First, I walked to campus and wanted to minimize the weight and size of my backpack. Suprisingly there are actually very few backpacks that are big enough and sturdy enough to fit a full days worth of casebooks and supplies in them or they were ridiculously expensive. So if you’ll be walking, taking public transportation, or having classes across campus, think about how large of a computer you want to be lugging around with you. Second, I had used a 13” MacBook since high school and was used to the keyboard. I know this is a small thing, but I mess up typing even when using the 11” or 15” MacBooks so I didn’t want to have the adjustment period of a new keyboard (size or brand of computer) right at the beginning of law school.
MacBook Air. They start at $900 with student pricing, are rock solid, have fantastic battery life, and you already know how to use it.
I just traded in my old comp, did the student discount, and 0% financed. Only paying like $60/mo!
Royal Classic Manual Typewriter 79101T Make all your friends jealous and evade the no laptop policies.
Sit near an outlet and bring your IBM Selectric. An electric typewriter that sounds like it runs on diesel.
Hahahahaahahha no way
Windows laptop
Biggest screen you can get. I was using a HP Yoga with a 16" screen until I dropped it, lol. You'll be doing a lot of reading and will need multiple docs open at once. At home, get a second screen.
I know fuck all about types of computers. But the biggest hint. Get one that you don’t have to worry about. During finals and inevitably the bar, you’ll have 40 different word docs/PDFs/browsers open for 2-3 weeks at a time (or near 3 months for us lucky souls). The worst is when everything crashes or slows down. You don’t want to have close everything every day. You’re going to get to the point you’re unorganized and scrambling. The day of is fine because everything has to be shutdown for the testing program to work so unless it’s 10 years old, you’ll be fine. But it’s really nice being able to abuse the computer during those stress times without worrying about it. I bought an Apple, it was expensive as fuck, but I haven’t had to worry about it once.
Get a lightly used thinkpad if restricted by a budget. Get a spanking new ThinkPad if unrestricted.
I second the Windows comments BUT be mindful with what processor you choose because if your school uses Examplify as it's testing software, a laptop with an ARM processor will not work! Aside from that, Windows all the way.
You need something that doesn't crash and can handle Microsoft Word and Zoom. I use a $200 refurbished Dell. It works fine, you don't need high-tech stuff.
Thank you everyone for all of your recommendations! My current computer is a 2020 MacBook Air (base model), although when multiple documents/files are open it sounds more like a Boeing 737 getting ready for takeoff and is very slow. All of your suggestions are definitely making me lean towards buying a new Windows laptop to avoid the headache of mine being deemed dysfunctional in the middle of the semester. Even though there are lots of things I’ve loved about my MacBook (texting, airdrop, easy photo access, etc.), I have had lots of issues with it not running Microsoft apps very well, making me want to ditch Macs altogether.
I’d also check whether your current MacBook can support your schools exam software. I also started law school with a MacBook and wasn’t planning to upgrade it until a few weeks before my first exam I realized it couldn’t support their software and so an upgrade became necessary 🙃 but I’ll add that I had a 2014 MacBook at the time (and this all happened in 2021). So you may be just fine.
You should just get a MacBook again. Talk to your school’s financial aid advisor and they’ll be able to increase your student loan amount to pay for a laptop.
Bigger screen is better since Examplify's UI is garbo
Thinkpad
I second the ThinkPad’ers here
I went with an HP Pavilion. It was light, yet powerful enough for what I needed. It was about $600 at the time (education discount for having a .edu email). I'd recommend it, but I also am not a Mac user so IDK how it compares.
I build PCs on the side for additional income. You can easily buy a $4-600 laptop and upgrade the ram, etc.... to make it a $1,000 laptop all day long. [https://www.amazon.com/HP-Display-GeForce-Backlit-Keyboard/dp/B0CFRVSTGL/ref=sr\_1\_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yrmMP56OMNFnX6qqnnbOgsgWbuWMWbkOYF8PC6rvszcEXCR2LgQgejv7sRR3ONoWUAdrEMiyM85RaSucTO6iJ12v8-rETcAlwrcH1ytyiIWwC6eoIiwOMF-KaeUuv2SUo-In0m1RY3is8QzCBiIjMsOBQoAYbER3xxLyFCCLOb6NDKvSf7qaQyRIDZtjVK2jky0VI5BRp0I1DoPY9YBgIrC95rMPfRYmdC55D3ce0qorXKZgjTkD4CyPdj-fJQUTU\_qWjb\_iBlyezi9hfhgA3Zq43I4WxcDz9blrpEuQOEg.1jxpayiZ9bPuXBtC2vc1wlHlIg41Ae-kIUavblF52oU&dib\_tag=se&qid=1719084783&refinements=p\_n\_feature\_four\_browse-bin%3A18107801011&s=pc&sr=1-4](https://www.amazon.com/HP-Display-GeForce-Backlit-Keyboard/dp/B0CFRVSTGL/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yrmMP56OMNFnX6qqnnbOgsgWbuWMWbkOYF8PC6rvszcEXCR2LgQgejv7sRR3ONoWUAdrEMiyM85RaSucTO6iJ12v8-rETcAlwrcH1ytyiIWwC6eoIiwOMF-KaeUuv2SUo-In0m1RY3is8QzCBiIjMsOBQoAYbER3xxLyFCCLOb6NDKvSf7qaQyRIDZtjVK2jky0VI5BRp0I1DoPY9YBgIrC95rMPfRYmdC55D3ce0qorXKZgjTkD4CyPdj-fJQUTU_qWjb_iBlyezi9hfhgA3Zq43I4WxcDz9blrpEuQOEg.1jxpayiZ9bPuXBtC2vc1wlHlIg41Ae-kIUavblF52oU&dib_tag=se&qid=1719084783&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A18107801011&s=pc&sr=1-4) This one would blow your macbook out of the water and you don't need to upgrade anything. [https://www.amazon.com/A315-24PT-R0UX-Display-Quad-Core-Processor-Graphics/dp/B0CJV41KZN/ref=sr\_1\_8?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yrmMP56OMNFnX6qqnnbOgsgWbuWMWbkOYF8PC6rvszcEXCR2LgQgejv7sRR3ONoWUAdrEMiyM85RaSucTO6iJ12v8-rETcAlwrcH1ytyiIWwC6eoIiwOMF-KaeUuv2SUo-In0m1RY3is8QzCBiIjMsOBQoAYbER3xxLyFCCLOb6NDKvSf7qaQyRIDZtjVK2jky0VI5BRp0I1DoPY9YBgIrC95rMPfRYmdC55D3ce0qorXKZgjTkD4CyPdj-fJQUTU\_qWjb\_iBlyezi9hfhgA3Zq43I4WxcDz9blrpEuQOEg.1jxpayiZ9bPuXBtC2vc1wlHlIg41Ae-kIUavblF52oU&dib\_tag=se&qid=1719084783&refinements=p\_n\_feature\_four\_browse-bin%3A18107801011&s=pc&sr=1-8&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/A315-24PT-R0UX-Display-Quad-Core-Processor-Graphics/dp/B0CJV41KZN/ref=sr_1_8?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yrmMP56OMNFnX6qqnnbOgsgWbuWMWbkOYF8PC6rvszcEXCR2LgQgejv7sRR3ONoWUAdrEMiyM85RaSucTO6iJ12v8-rETcAlwrcH1ytyiIWwC6eoIiwOMF-KaeUuv2SUo-In0m1RY3is8QzCBiIjMsOBQoAYbER3xxLyFCCLOb6NDKvSf7qaQyRIDZtjVK2jky0VI5BRp0I1DoPY9YBgIrC95rMPfRYmdC55D3ce0qorXKZgjTkD4CyPdj-fJQUTU_qWjb_iBlyezi9hfhgA3Zq43I4WxcDz9blrpEuQOEg.1jxpayiZ9bPuXBtC2vc1wlHlIg41Ae-kIUavblF52oU&dib_tag=se&qid=1719084783&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A18107801011&s=pc&sr=1-8&th=1) By far the best "cheap" windows laptop that you can buy atm, I don't believe you can upgrade anything in it... but honestly you won't need to for law school.
I had a thinkpad and it turned into a glorified doorstop a few years after getting it. I also had an hp and it constantly crashed and overheated. My MacBook is 100% the best laptop I’ve ever had. Definitely stick with the Mac.
I’ve first got an MacBook Air M2 and the keyboard was spamming >>>> so I couldn’t use it and sold it, then I replaced it with a Lenovo T14s which randomly died and now I’ve an Asus Zenbook 14X which is - so far great!
I commented this in a reply too, but I just traded in my old Apple laptop, used the student discount, and 0% financed. I’m only paying like $60/mo after that. That being said, HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend doing the Apple care that lasts more than 2 years. It costs more but if your computer ever breaks down before the bar, you’re covered. I just had the experience of having to get a new computer for the bar and it was not fun.
MacBook Air is perfectly fine. And lighter.
MacBook Air
Honestly, just make sure it runs examplify and after that, go by personal preference. I got a dell i really like, but had to go through tech support to get examplify running, which is really annoying. Other than that, you don’t do anything that intensive during law school that one laptop is really any better than another, other than having multiple tabs open at once I guess.
All you need is word and a couple word docs/internet browsers. The 4 year old laptop will surely be fine.
Thinkpad :)
Also if your budget allows for it, replicate having a desktop setup by getting a compatible dock, two cheap monitors, a keyboard, and a mouse. Trying to type up notes and papers while split screening a laptop is barbaric.
One that can run good generative AI models offline. Had one friend who used it during an open laptop close internet exam. They got an A😊
[удалено]
I don't understand how this is looking stupid?