My daughter is a Freshman at MassArt. The college recommends a Mac laptop with a 2 GHz processor and a 120 GB hard drive. What level of Mac Book does she need? Recommendations? Cost? Student purchasing programs?

For an art student, don't even think about anything but Mac. That's the only platform that they use. It's assumed that you have Apple. The configuration sounds right. Unless you have someone working for Apple, check the school store and compare the prices. You missed the tax free weekend, it's not much, but still, every bit helps, that's what I did.

If you want to buy it from the store, ask the people there, they are very helpful. You can buy used from elsewhere if you are on a budget. If you dont need a macbook, other brands are much cheaper.