Many of us are excited about getting new laptops as we begin our journey as AI Engineers, but since some students who enrolled don’t have working laptops, waiting for three weeks after the start of college can feel like a lifetime.
Are there actually people completing college work directly from their cellphone?
Surprisingly, yes… !
It’s not impossible to chat with the Maestro tutor on a phone, but using the code editor can be glitchy. If someone really can’t access class from their own laptop, perhaps find a tablet, a bluetooth keyboard/mouse, or better yet use a shared laptop, or even your local library if you have to.
The administration was upfront about the timing for receiving the laptops, as far as I know(at least in the first wave). For us of the October 20th cohort, it could be another week or so before we get our shipping confirmation.
Here is a complete article based on the experiences shared in the r/maestro laptop mega-thread.
For new students at Maestro University, one of the most exciting perks is the promise of a new, program-supplied laptop. But as enrollment dates approach, that excitement often mixes with a healthy dose of anxiety. The official shipping window can be wide—stretching from a few weeks early to three weeks after classes begin—launching students into a collective ritual of refreshing emails and checking front steps.
Based on a mega-thread of student experiences, here’s what “playing the waiting game” really looks like.
The Emotional Rollercoaster
The student experience is perhaps best summed up by user Notorious_RNG, who maintained a running log of their wait:
- “My watch continues. checks email again, just in case …Nope, nada.”
- “Update 3 (8/31): …Somebody please come bludgeon me into a coma. Still waiting. 😭”
- “Update 6 (9/3): MY WATCH HAS ENDED (got a tracking number…)”
This journey from anxious waiting to eventual relief is a common one. Students report the stress of classes starting without a machine, with one user lamenting, “When they said, ‘end of the month.’ I didn’t realize they meant mid-September.”
The Great Tracking Hunt: A Student Guide
One of the biggest sources of confusion isn’t if the laptop will come, but how it will be announced. A key piece of advice echoed by many: Don’t just look for an email from Maestro.
Tracking information and shipping confirmations often come directly from third-party suppliers. Students have reported getting their tracking info from:
- “Insight”
- “ASK IDEA USA INC”
- “BH Photo”
The shipments themselves have been handled by both FedEx and UPS. In some cases, students received no tracking email at all—the laptop simply appeared on their doorstep.
The Timeline Puzzle & The M4 Surprise
Students have worked hard to find a pattern in the shipments.
- The “First Wave”: It was speculated that students who finished their precourse by an early deadline (like August 8th) were in the first batch. However, some who met this deadline were still left waiting, proving it wasn’t a hard-and-fast rule.
- The “Second Wave”: Those who finished after the initial deadline were told they’d be in a second shipment wave.
- The New Policy: More recent comments suggest a potential policy change for new cohorts (like December 1st starters), stating that they may now receive their laptops after completing their first 10-week term.
The good news? The wait seems to be worth it. While some initially wondered if they’d receive older M2 or M3 models, the thread is filled with excited students confirming they received a new M4 MacBook Air. For many, this was a pleasant surprise, as M4s are newer and more powerful.
The Relief… And a Final Warning
When the laptops do arrive, the tone shifts to pure excitement. One user posted a photo of their decorated M4, ready for coding, while another shared a picture of the “gorgeous” new machine.
Even a self-described “Microsoft Windows” veteran, who was initially disappointed by the switch to Apple, found relief after discovering that all their essential Microsoft 365 apps were available on the Mac.
But the waiting game has one major risk: your shipping address. One student posted a plea for help just yesterday, noting their laptop was shipping to an old, hostile address. They had received confirmation of an address change weeks ago, but the tracking info showed it was still going to the old location.
The lesson is clear: Be proactive. Double-check your shipping address with Maestro support before you get a tracking number. Once it ships, as the student learned, it’s nearly impossible to change.
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