For my son’s first year of college, we almost went with buying him a laptop through his university but then we talked to some of our friends whose son is a senior at the same school that bought the school-sponsored laptop.

The information we got on it at his freshman orientation seemed hopeful, with round-the-clock technical support on campus. But then we learned just how often students have to take advantage of that when we started researching the laptop model independently of the school’s program on satallite internet in Neosho, MO. Reviews were lukewarm at best, so we decided to buy him another brand that seemed to get better reviews across the board.

At first, we were worried that he would be stuck with a messed-up computer the night before an exam, but then we found out that the computer company has a store and support center near his apartment on campus. We feel pretty good about his laptop and him having wild blue internet service Texas because of the reviews we found on satellite internet compared to dial-up.

Now we just have to expect decent grades and hope for no late-night calls from jail cells.