I love my macbook. I have the basic 13" model with the new aluminum case. It's just so much more user friendly the mouse gestures make me do everything faster. I can't stand track pads on a PC, but the one on my macbook is super convenient. You'll have to get used to some things that are a bit different, but for your uses it should be pretty straight forward. Yes, it will be more expensive, but I bet it would last longer. Also, the battery life on both of my macbooks has been phenomenal. Show your student ID and you get a 10% at any Apple store on your macbook. Some college bookstores have apple stores in them, and they might throw in an ipod or something with a new macbook purchase. If you go with a mac, I'd recommend Apple Care. The 1 year warranty you automatically get covers everything, but by extending it for 3 years you know you'll always have a working laptop. Repairs are pretty quick too. And I, personally, see little to no use for tablet PCs that allow you to write on the screen. You would be able to type faster, most likely.