Funny timing since my sister just bought the exact model you have through her college (which is having a sale in addition to her student discount) for $1649 (before taxes). I told her that was a great price and she should get it before they run out.

As for your question about Discover, I can vouch that it works. Another relative of mine clicked the link through Discover and logged into his school’s web page on Apple and received both the student discount and the 5% rebate.

My last tip for you is that in the cases where the Mac isn’t working for you (incompatibility, etc.), which does happen from time to time, you can use the Boot Camp program on your Mac to install and boot up Windows natively. That way you’ll have the best of both worlds. You can use your Mac side primarily and switch over to Windows if you need. If you find yourself switching over often, you can buy either the Parallels program or VMWare Fusion program to boot up Windows right on your Mac screen.

Anyhow, if you ever have any questions as a new Mac owner, feel free to shoot me an email and maybe I can help. Enjoy your new gadget!