Verified answer

I think that I can only offer response to part of your question. Yesterday I was at an Apple store looking at 15" MBP & Retina's. I noticed right off the bat that the Retina's don't have an internal optical disc drive at all. If you need/want to use discs (like DVD's) then you'd need to purchase an additional optical drive if you got the Retina. BTW, the Apple blue shirt that I chatted with told me that Apple is moving away from disc drives altogether. They plan on gradually phasing them out.

Also, when I was a student I was able to get Office Suite for a vastly discounted price through my college book store since I was a registered student. That was for a PC but you may want to look at that option: might save you some money.

I know that isn't a complete answer but I thought it might help a little. Good luck!

I say get the older kind. The retina reveal is magnificent, yet for what you're doing it really is over kill. it really is more advantageous if you happen to artwork with pictures, action picture making, and any source of imagery. i can make investments that further earnings buying a faster older pc. make powerful you get the fastest processor you are able to. reliable success

if you are used to office , you can get office mac , it is familiar, but iwork is also good !

you can download office mac 2011 trial on https://www.microsoft.com/mac/trial

then get a key on www.getsoftwarekey.com , it is cheaper and working great on my Mac