Apple Is Owning Higher Education
Thursday, August 12, 2010 by Shep McAllister 
Don't get your MacBook mixed up with the one sitting next to it, or the one next to that, or the one next to that... Photo courtesy of Flickr user niyam bhushan and licensed under CC 2.0
Apple doesn't try to hide the fact that they want college students using their products. For years now they've been giving away iPods and printers to new Mac purchasers during back to school season, and their strategy is pretty sound. I took the liberty of diagraming it below.
Parent buys Mac for student -> Student loves Mac ->Student gets job ->Student buys Mac
Seems simple, but hell, it's going to work on me.
Anyway, if you've stepped foot on a college campus at any point over the last five years, you can probably tell that it's working. A recent study confirms this, and though the numbers are a little spongy, it's clear that Apple is the most popular computer manufacturer among college students. Keep in mind this is comparing Apple to Dell, Asus et al., not Microsoft -- an important distinction.
The most shocking statistic here is that of the students planning on purchasing a new computer soon, nearly half said they wanted a Mac. This is a pretty jaw-dropping figure considering Apple's market share as a whole is something less than 10%. If this study is even close to accurate, Steve Jobs will probably start buying up diamond-crusted dialysis machines (with multitouch) as these kids start earning paychecks.
As anybody who follows Apple will tell you though, the company is betting its long-term future not on laptops and OS X, but on iPads, iPhones and iOS. I wrote earlier about how the iPad seems poised to infiltrate campuses around the world, and the latest news out of Cupertino shows us just how serious Apple is about seizing the education market. Schools that want all of their students to have access to, say, the same PDF annotating app for their iDevices can now purchase that app in bulk for a discount, and distribute redemption codes to students. Schools have been giving away computer software for years to ensure students all had the required programs for classes, and now they can do the same with iOS apps. I'm not saying that this will cause your school's IT department to beat down the doors at your local Apple Store, but it does remove a very important hurdle for colleges hoping to "officially" support Apple's touchscreen lineup.
It remains to be seen just how big a dent the iPad ultimately makes in the student market, but it would be unwise to bet against Apple at this point, especially with this new bulk-purchasing initiative. Think about your own school. What percentage of students there would you say own a Mac? Now add in the students that use a PC but also an iPhone. How about iPod Touches? iPads? If your experience is anything like mine, you probably have a very big percentage in your head. As Apple gets more serious about pushing iPads and other iOS devices in higher education, I wouldn't expect that number to go anywhere but up.
Reader Comments (15)
How many of those students will actually use a Mac to its fullest potential? More like 50% of college students want a Mac to look cool and don't know how to use it at all.
@Ryan P and about this article in general. Students aren't just buying macs to look cool. Apple products really sell themselves because of the quality and value you get. Although macs can be quite pricey up-front, you'll find that you'd spend just as much if you were to buy a PC and keep it running as efficiently long-lasting as a mac. I think one big part of apple's education department is their Campus Reps. I'm a campus rep and we try really hard to get parents and students to see the value in macs. As for knowing how to use them? Macs are easier to use than a PC, and if those students who "don't know how to use a mac" had a PC they'd probably be in the same situation. Campus reps do a lot to reach out and teach students how to use iWork, iLife, etc...
@Spencer
Macs use the exact same components as those found in PC's which means they are just as prone to breaking as a PC. I was able to build my brother a 17" Dell laptop for $873 that blew out a $999 baseline Mac and the Dell even included two more years of an advanced warranty than Mac's standard one.
"Macs are easier to use than a PC" and I could say the opposite but I'm not going to change your opinion. Hopefully you (as a rep) are showing students how to run Bootcamp because any college student I know has it installed for a reason...
@Ryan P
1. Show me a mac with a virus on it. I doubt you'll find one, ever.
2. Define "blew out", what did your dell do that made it so much better than a mac?
3. You can get applecare at the educational discount for a 4 year extension, covering your life at college.
4. Every college student you know is running bootcamp? Highly unlikely, although Windows DOES run better on a mac, the majority of students don't need it.
5. The fact that you built your brother a Dell and the fact that you're being so abrasive about macs must mean you're a PC fanboy, so I won't really argue with you, but I thank you for expressing your opinions.
:)
Guys, play nice. This isn't for a Mac vs. PC discussion - we're not debating specs, features, or costs. Shep is talking about the explosion of Apple products on campus - he isn't endorsing Apple or its products (albeit mentioning that their strategy is effective).
For me, I got interested in buying my first Mac in high school after purchasing an iPod. From my iPod, I got interested in podcasts. From podcasts, I got interested in podcasting. I felt that GarageBand was the superior podcast maker, and hence invested in making my first laptop a Mac. I've lost touch with podcasting since ninth grade but I still feel like I made a good decision for me, and I feel like Apple's handheld devices (the iPods, the iPhones, the iPads) encourage users to use Macs to get a "complete experience". I've met people who are incredibly content with their Apple handheld, but would never consider getting a Macs at the same time. It's all relative.
I think theres really going to be a boom when professors start using the iPad. It's really the perfect device for someone on the go, like a professor commuting to work to teach. Once professors start using them, students will be sure to follow. Especially with the new web 2.0 version of BlackBoard which is used by a lot of college campuses, the iPad is really going to contribute to this whole new idea of mobile learning and productivity.
twitter.com/spencersays
1. http://antivirus.about.com/od/macintoshresource/Macintosh_Viruses_and_Mac_Virus_Resources.htm Macs are not invincible and as a rep for the company, I hope you are aware of that.
2. i5 processor compared to a dual core, 4gbs of memory compared to 2gb, 17" screen vs 13", double the hard drive capacity, nine cell battery (on par with a Mac), etc.
3. Your still paying for that on top of the $999 price tag. The three year advanced warranty was included in the price I listed above.
4. The colleges you visit don't have any education software that is specific to Windows? Every freshmen in the business college within my university has to take a computer programming course that specifically requires a program that can only be run in Windows.
5. I'm a fanboy because I didn't buy my brother a Mac? Seriously? Just because I'm expressing a dissenting opinion does not make me a fanboy. I hope you don't use that term as an Apple representative because that is very unprofessional. My brother weighed the options between a Mac and a PC himself, chose a PC, and I configured one for him simple as that.
My initial comment was brash, but I won't deny that it is on the mind of thousands of perspective college students and that is definitely something Apple knows which will help them push their agenda in the education market (what a run on sentence :P).
I'm just a college student that promotes apple on campus for apple inc. I understand that you're obviously tech-educated enough to make your own decisions. All I really wanted to respond to was your comment about students buying macs JUST to look cool: harsh generalization. As for the fanboy comment, I'm sorry if that was offensive, it seems like a commonly used term in 2010, I'm a mac fanboy (obviously). Viruses: you're absolutely right, there are rare occasions when macs can get viruses, but really it's negligible compared to a PC, I myself don't have any virus protection on any of my macs. I've never had my mac crash, or lost that paper I was working on all night. I didn't have to even turn my first mac off for the first six months I had it, until it required a restart for a software update, and thats a typical experience, no lie. I think that's pretty awesome, and it was my "aha moment" that really got me onto loving macs. Thanks for answering my questions instead of just blowing me off. I never meant to really spark debate, just putting in my positive 2 cents on why I and many others think a mac is the perfect computer for college and so on and so forth.
peace.
I would like to say that my Macbook was one of my best purchases to get ready for my first year in college. After debating for quite a while on which computer to buy, I settled on a Mac because I would have paid the same amount for a Dell with the same specs anyway, but i would have to had put in the effort to customize my Dell laptop to get it that way, where as I was able to walk into my local apple store, and pick up my Macbook, which came with an iPod touch for only the taxes (which was a major bonus, because I LOVE my iPod touch). Admitedly, I do not use my Mac to it's full potential, but I probably wouldn't use a PC to it's full potential either, and at least with the Mac I'm interested in learning what it's full potential is. I have had zero problems with my Mac, no viruses, crashes or slowdowns, where as my sister who purchased an ASUS Laptop at the same time has faced the blue screen of death 5 times in the past year, and she uses the computer a lot less intensely than myself. I felt that my Macbook would last me through my 4 years of university, where as another brand would probably not, so that's why I went with my Mac and I am not looking back.
Hey guys, thanks for making the discussion civil and educated, i.e., not biased ranting.
Well, I guess that everyone here has a good deal of experience with their respective OS, and that's actually really cool. Reading through this article the first time, at first you might take away that Apple is monopolizing the college student/ taking advantage of a particular niche, etc. Though that is some of the case, in my opinion, I would also like to say how very good it is.
What does it matter if one campus has certain number of students that use Apple for computing needs? Why not focus on the more holistic picture: Apple has made computing a friendlier experience for people. I would disagree that OSX is the "easiest" OS, as I could teach anyone Lubuntu and install it anywhere, but that's beside my point.
Apple is making the digital age a more tangible medium for the consumer market and those who it appeals to. I don't buy their products nor do I particularly enjoy them (I got an iPod Touch for Christmas, found it to be rather boring, so I jailbroke it and have had a much better time using it), I can't argue against their company model.
i agree with the above post.. mac have good quality and they are easier to use as compared to PC.. apple products are more famous nowadays specially they have good range of ipods.. i like them too..
@Spencer
I just wanted to point out that you seem to be basing your comparison on older PC hardware. The newer Windows OSes are rather difficult to get viruses on (The largest point of entry for viruses now seem to be messenger services, facebook, and P2P file sharing, all of which require you to download the virus and run it to get infected). Anyone running Vista or Windows 7 and IE8 or Firefox/Chrome shouldn't need any virus protection either (I ran windows for about 3 years w/o any anti-virus software before finally installing Windows Security Essentials on my latest PC and I've never had a virus). Losing papers is basically unheard of in MS Office 2007/2010 because both automatically save your work every 5 minutes (you can make the interval even shorter, 5 minutes is the default). Finally, many windows laptops are now defaulted to going into sleep mode whenever the power button is pressed rather than turning off (my GF, for example, has never turned off her laptop since getting it 8 moths ago because she just doesn't bother to update her windows). When comparing Windows and Mac, it's best
There are many compelling reasons to get a Mac (excellent build quality, the applecare warranty is amazing, the Macbook touchpads make PC touchpads look like a joke, intuitive user interface, excellent battery life on all models, protects oblivious users from themselves, amazing default browser, etc), but the points you made just don't stand unless you're talking about a PC from 2005 and earlier.
Higher Education in Portugal is sponsored by Microsoft. Oh no, the world will end.
Spencer is my son he is a homosexual and i disowned him many summers ago for his addiction to penis.
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