When I got my official acceptance letter and funding information from Most Favored University, I was pleasantly surprised that in addition to the tuition waiver and teaching assistantship money, I am also getting a laptop computer (which I keep when I graduate).
Of course, this made me pleased, but I realized that it actually made me more pleased to find out I would get $X for the TA and a computer worth $Y than if I had been given a higher than expected assistantship in the sum of $X+Y. I have been planning to buy a laptop computer anyway when I start school so maybe I'm glad I won't have to invest the time in researching different models to make that decision for myself? No, I don't think that's it - I mean, I am happy to outsource the brainy work of investigating the various options to my tech-geek friends. I also am not especially happy because I think there will be some kind of benefit to having the same kind of computer as all my classmates (that may be true but it doesn't account for my reaction to the news).
I think this is just one of those simple situations in which getting a product valued at $Y seems better than getting $Y in cash.
Perhaps in my case, getting a computer from the university puts the computer purchase decision outside of my general purchase framework (i.e. Operation Cheap Ass) and means that I will get a nicer computer than I would have comfortably allowed myself to buy. Or possibly my reaction just reflects how painful it is for me to spend my own money.
Googling suggests that the laptops are Lenovo (once IBM) ThinkPads (which is hilarious to me for reasons that should be obvious to the informed reader).
In any event, this deal gets sweeter all the time.
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It's funny how the mind isn't rational about such things, isn't it? I mean, presumably if you would have gotten a less expensive laptop, then that reflects your priorities, and you would have rather had the cheaper laptop and the additional money than the more expensive laptop. (Yes, I do know that you know this. This reminds me of the "you know, cold doesn't actually enter you from the floor" thing.)
I do think a laptop is a rather pleasing perk.
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