Should she buy a refurbished laptop?

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I have to start somewhere. My daughter says she needs a Mac for her art classes in college. She is looking at refurbished laptops at the Apple Store site.
I am wondering if refurbished laptops are a good idea, do they hold up up? What are the advantages and disadvantages of buying refurbished. Anyone bought one and loved/hated it?
Opinions and advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear.
The discount on a refurbished Mac computer, from what I've seen, is much lower than the discount you would get through an education discount. So if you're trying to save money, I would go with the refurbished laptop, especially since the warranty is the same.
I'm just saying that from what I've seen at the genius bar, if you do buy a computer through the school bookstore and it's found defective within the first two weeks, they will repair it, not replace it. However, if you buy the computer directly from an Apple store, whether the brick and mortar store or the online store and show proof, you will get an educational discount. To top it off, if it is found defective within the first two weeks, it will be replaced.
So to me, if you're thinking of using the education discount, it would be better if you bought it directly from Apple instead of the school's bookstore.
I assume that the same would apply to a refurbished computer that's found defective within two weeks. If you bought it from Apple, it will be replaced within two weeks. That's all I'm saying.
In a nutshell: To be safe, buy directly from an Apple store (brick & mortar or online) and get the educational discount or buy a refurbished computer from an Apple store (brick & mortar or online) just in case there are any problems.
Message was edited by: Sunny's mommy
Message was edited by: Sunny's mommy

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