Rant, cont.

Sorry, I'm not done with the whole schools and businesses taking advantages of students discussion, yet.  The more I'm exposed to this, the more I think about it, and the more I think the whole system is screwed up.  But let's look at this from a bigger perspective.

Businesses give discounts to companies and institutions based on their size and potential purchase opportunities.  Wal-Mart gets bulk discounts on Proctor and Gamble goods because they're the largest purchaser of such goods in the marketplace.  Target also gets a bulk discount, but not as much.  Unfortunately, schools are treated the same way.  IBM provides laptops for University of Texas students at a cheaper cost than they do to Baylor students because UT has over 100,000 students system wide and Baylor has many fewer. 

This has become noticeable to me as I've read blogs and message boards where people are talking about the laptop and software deals their schools are offering and the price difference is noticeable.  University of Pennsylvania students are getting laptops for hundreds of dollars cheaper than students at other, smaller universities.  University of Texas students are getting Microsoft software for $15 that will cost me $99.  While I understand the bulk processing business logic being used here, I don't think this is the right application.

We're all students.  There's no difference between students at University of Michigan and those at University of Wisconsin, yet they pay different prices for the same goods and services based on their university's purchasing power.  This isn't right.  Companies offering student discounts should offer the same discount to all students regardless of the size of the university.  Students at Wayne State should pay the same for textbooks, laptops, and software as students at Louisiana State.  Is this too much to ask?