[baldux]

As student I can recommend you from my own experience to go for something portable like a lightweight laptop. Mine lasts over my whole student years and it was used quite hard every day. Ok, after 5 years it doesn't look that fresh but at least it worked.

 

[DoYouRight]

Netbook or a 13" laptop all the way. I never have looked back for a desktop since I switched. Period.

 

[ozz]

Another thought will you be needing your computer when you are away from school and
on break its a lot easier to snag up a laptop then pack up a desktop.

 

[mgrewe]

13" MBP just arrived along with my free 1 TB hard drive and I couldn't be happier!

 

[krmathis]

Sweet!

The 13" MacBook Pro looks aces...

 

[DoYouRight]

i havent seen one i need to check, does it have optical?

 

[ozz]

Yes the 13 has a double duty analog digital phone plug.

 

[CastanonY]

For a college student, I am pretty sure that laptop would be the best for you. College is a fast-paced life, too. You will be running around for completing the requirements before the deadline. I used an HP, though.

 

[The_X]

Definitely laptop!
 
Computers are a commodity these days, so don't go crazy.  I spend lots of money getting the newest and best during my earlier years in college.  During my senior year, I did tons of intensive engineering work on a Thinkpad I bought for $350.  It handled everything like a champ.
 
I would completely echo the comment made earlier: buy an inexpensive, used Thinkpad!  It will last forever, you won't feel bad if you manage to kill or lose it, and the performance is great.  I used a T61 for most of this year, and just "upgraded" to a T60p with the IPS UXGA screen.
 
There are lots of kids in college who spend $2k on a MBP, only to use it for typing English papers and surfing Facebook.  On the other hand, I was using my $350 Thinkpad for heavy CAD duty (T61 had a Quadro, T60p has a FireGL), signal and image processing in Matlab, typesetting big reports for senior design in LaTeX, and a lot of other things.  Make the most of what you have, and if you find that you somehow really need more power, upgrade without breaking the bank.

 

[techenvy]

sony vaio has a new  laptop model thats in your price range and sports a Core i5!   its the blue lookin one on their site forget model number. 
   that one is way portable but if you want i7 you must get a 16.5 screen i think... or if you have more funds the Z laptop is  my favorite and has core i7.
 
cheers

 

[TheMarchingMule]

I hope you guys know that you've resurrected a year-old thread.
 
And in my case, I'm going from laptop to desktop. Right now I have my 17" laptop closed, but it's outputting to a 26" monitor, a full-size keyboard, a Pico DAC, and a mouse. Next year I'm definitely bringing my desktop on campus, throwing in a quad, and beginning to fold like none other, because here on campus we aren't charged for how much electricity or air conditioning we use.

 

[nkk]

 
Take it from a current college student: One study session where you cannot bring your computer and you wish you had a laptop.  Also, you need it for live music performances?  What on Earth prompted you to think an iMac was appropriate for that?  Laptop all the way.
 
-Nkk  <-- a proud Linux user who if forced to would take Windows over Mac.  
 
EDIT:  It seems I assumed this was recent due to the recent activity on it.  Oh well...hope you liked whatever you chose.