Need advice on a laptop for grad school

I’m thinking about getting a Chromebook because it’s affordable and easy to use, but I’m worried it might not work well in a Windows-based school environment. Can I still do stuff like word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations on a Chromebook and move them between PCs easily? If anyone has experience with this, please let me know!

I use a Chromebook for school and it works great. I do everything in Google Docs, and when I need to, I just download my work as a Word file and submit it. I don’t really get why schools push Microsoft products so hard. I haven’t found anything in Google Drive that stopped me from finishing an assignment.

Slurry said:
I use a Chromebook for school and it works great. I do everything in Google Docs, and when I need to, I just download my work as a Word file and submit it. I don’t really get why schools push Microsoft products so hard. I haven’t found anything in Google Drive that stopped me from finishing an assignment.

Have you had any issues where you needed to install a program or use a disc, and not having a CD/DVD drive was a problem?

Porter said:

Slurry said:
I use a Chromebook for school and it works great. I do everything in Google Docs, and when I need to, I just download my work as a Word file and submit it. I don’t really get why schools push Microsoft products so hard. I haven’t found anything in Google Drive that stopped me from finishing an assignment.

Have you had any issues where you needed to install a program or use a disc, and not having a CD/DVD drive was a problem?

Not really. I do everything online with web apps. I only miss having a CD drive for games sometimes. I guess if you’re doing something like engineering, you might need to install design software, but for me, as a business major, it hasn’t been an issue. I used to have a Macbook Pro, but I didn’t use the CD drive for the last year I had it. When it broke, I figured why spend so much on another Mac when all I do is use Chrome anyway?

Slurry said:

Porter said:
Slurry said:
I use a Chromebook for school and it works great. I do everything in Google Docs, and when I need to, I just download my work as a Word file and submit it. I don’t really get why schools push Microsoft products so hard. I haven’t found anything in Google Drive that stopped me from finishing an assignment.

Have you had any issues where you needed to install a program or use a disc, and not having a CD/DVD drive was a problem?

Not really. I do everything online with web apps. I only miss having a CD drive for games sometimes. I guess if you’re doing something like engineering, you might need to install design software, but for me, as a business major, it hasn’t been an issue. I used to have a Macbook Pro, but I didn’t use the CD drive for the last year I had it. When it broke, I figured why spend so much on another Mac when all I do is use Chrome anyway?

I have a Macbook too, but I mostly use Chrome. I’ve started doing more and more online since I got it. I thought about getting a Chromebook when I bought my Macbook but was too nervous to go web-only at the time. Now I wish I had. I’m in grad school for an MSW, and I’ve never needed anything outside my browser to finish assignments.

Slurry said:

Porter said:
Slurry said:
I use a Chromebook for school and it works great. I do everything in Google Docs, and when I need to, I just download my work as a Word file and submit it. I don’t really get why schools push Microsoft products so hard. I haven’t found anything in Google Drive that stopped me from finishing an assignment.

Have you had any issues where you needed to install a program or use a disc, and not having a CD/DVD drive was a problem?

Not really. I do everything online with web apps. I only miss having a CD drive for games sometimes. I guess if you’re doing something like engineering, you might need to install design software, but for me, as a business major, it hasn’t been an issue. I used to have a Macbook Pro, but I didn’t use the CD drive for the last year I had it. When it broke, I figured why spend so much on another Mac when all I do is use Chrome anyway?

Yeah, same here. I’m going to business school, so I don’t think I’ll need to install anything complicated either.

Slurry said:
I use a Chromebook for school and it works great. I do everything in Google Docs, and when I need to, I just download my work as a Word file and submit it. I don’t really get why schools push Microsoft products so hard. I haven’t found anything in Google Drive that stopped me from finishing an assignment.

Honestly, Office 365 can be a bit annoying on a Chromebook, but Microsoft’s programs are still better. You have way more options and customization than Google Docs. And this is coming from someone who used Google Docs for most of my school years. Has anyone here tried both and can tell me that Google Docs is actually better than Word?

Josephine said:

Slurry said:
I use a Chromebook for school and it works great. I do everything in Google Docs, and when I need to, I just download my work as a Word file and submit it. I don’t really get why schools push Microsoft products so hard. I haven’t found anything in Google Drive that stopped me from finishing an assignment.

Honestly, Office 365 can be a bit annoying on a Chromebook, but Microsoft’s programs are still better. You have way more options and customization than Google Docs. And this is coming from someone who used Google Docs for most of my school years. Has anyone here tried both and can tell me that Google Docs is actually better than Word?

You’re replying to a 9-year-old comment, haha.

Slurry said:

Josephine said:
Slurry said:
I use a Chromebook for school and it works great. I do everything in Google Docs, and when I need to, I just download my work as a Word file and submit it. I don’t really get why schools push Microsoft products so hard. I haven’t found anything in Google Drive that stopped me from finishing an assignment.

Honestly, Office 365 can be a bit annoying on a Chromebook, but Microsoft’s programs are still better. You have way more options and customization than Google Docs. And this is coming from someone who used Google Docs for most of my school years. Has anyone here tried both and can tell me that Google Docs is actually better than Word?

You’re replying to a 9-year-old comment, haha.

Wait, what?! I just made a fool of myself

Slurry said:

Josephine said:
Slurry said:
I use a Chromebook for school and it works great. I do everything in Google Docs, and when I need to, I just download my work as a Word file and submit it. I don’t really get why schools push Microsoft products so hard. I haven’t found anything in Google Drive that stopped me from finishing an assignment.

Honestly, Office 365 can be a bit annoying on a Chromebook, but Microsoft’s programs are still better. You have way more options and customization than Google Docs. And this is coming from someone who used Google Docs for most of my school years. Has anyone here tried both and can tell me that Google Docs is actually better than Word?

You’re replying to a 9-year-old comment, haha.

Haha, awesome that you’re still active here 9 years later. Still a Chromebook fan?

Scout said:

Slurry said:
Josephine said:
Slurry said:
I use a Chromebook for school and it works great. I do everything in Google Docs, and when I need to, I just download my work as a Word file and submit it. I don’t really get why schools push Microsoft products so hard. I haven’t found anything in Google Drive that stopped me from finishing an assignment.

Honestly, Office 365 can be a bit annoying on a Chromebook, but Microsoft’s programs are still better. You have way more options and customization than Google Docs. And this is coming from someone who used Google Docs for most of my school years. Has anyone here tried both and can tell me that Google Docs is actually better than Word?

You’re replying to a 9-year-old comment, haha.

Haha, awesome that you’re still active here 9 years later. Still a Chromebook fan?

Yep, Chromebooks do everything I need. Plus, with GeForce Now, I can game too. Most stuff I use, like Google apps, is all in the cloud anyway.

Microsoft Skydrive works great for office tasks. I used it for my accounting class this semester with a Chromebook, and it worked perfectly. You just need a free Microsoft account, and you can use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint straight from your browser. It’s the best option for Microsoft file types and works way better than Google Drive.

Baylor said:
Microsoft Skydrive works great for office tasks. I used it for my accounting class this semester with a Chromebook, and it worked perfectly. You just need a free Microsoft account, and you can use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint straight from your browser. It’s the best option for Microsoft file types and works way better than Google Drive.

Agree with this.

I’m in a similar situation. You can’t open Word documents or spreadsheets from your offline downloads, but I’ve never had a problem opening them from Google Drive. There are some Chrome extensions that give you more options, and I’m sure things will improve as more people use Chromebooks.

Teo said:
I’m in a similar situation. You can’t open Word documents or spreadsheets from your offline downloads, but I’ve never had a problem opening them from Google Drive. There are some Chrome extensions that give you more options, and I’m sure things will improve as more people use Chromebooks.

Thanks! So the issue only comes up when you’re offline? Can you work with Word documents created by others, convert them to Google Docs, and then share them back without problems?

Porter said:

Teo said:
I’m in a similar situation. You can’t open Word documents or spreadsheets from your offline downloads, but I’ve never had a problem opening them from Google Drive. There are some Chrome extensions that give you more options, and I’m sure things will improve as more people use Chromebooks.

Thanks! So the issue only comes up when you’re offline? Can you work with Word documents created by others, convert them to Google Docs, and then share them back without problems?

I usually have my phone with me and tether for internet when needed. I think the best way is to convert the Word doc to Google Docs and share the link. That way, you can work together on it in real time. In my classes, people keep emailing files around, and I’m like, ‘No, just use a link!’ It blows their minds every time.

Porter said:

Teo said:
I’m in a similar situation. You can’t open Word documents or spreadsheets from your offline downloads, but I’ve never had a problem opening them from Google Drive. There are some Chrome extensions that give you more options, and I’m sure things will improve as more people use Chromebooks.

Thanks! So the issue only comes up when you’re offline? Can you work with Word documents created by others, convert them to Google Docs, and then share them back without problems?

You can open Word docs from your downloads folder, and if you’ve already converted it to a Google Doc, you can still work offline as long as you’ve set it up. I’ve been using a Chromebook in law school, and it’s been great. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Oli said:

Porter said:
Teo said:
I’m in a similar situation. You can’t open Word documents or spreadsheets from your offline downloads, but I’ve never had a problem opening them from Google Drive. There are some Chrome extensions that give you more options, and I’m sure things will improve as more people use Chromebooks.

Thanks! So the issue only comes up when you’re offline? Can you work with Word documents created by others, convert them to Google Docs, and then share them back without problems?

You can open Word docs from your downloads folder, and if you’ve already converted it to a Google Doc, you can still work offline as long as you’ve set it up. I’ve been using a Chromebook in law school, and it’s been great. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Yep, I use a Chromebook for school too, and it works fine if you have it set up right.

Since you’re not used to working with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for a long time, just stick with Google apps. They’re free, work offline, and are the same on Windows, Mac, and Chrome.

For school, make sure to check your printing needs because not all printers work with Chromebooks.