The program wasn't "Screwed" - they just set limits on how much you could purchase per year. Any student who was actually low-income, or required educational discounts/financing, was almost certainly not impacted - how many of those are buying more than one Desktop, Mini and Notebook/year. I make a decent salary - and even I don't refresh my notebook more than once every two years (and, on occasion, go almost three years without a refresh)
"Faculty, Staff and Students purchasing from the Apple Store for Education Individuals will be allowed to purchase the following quantities of product per academic school year. Not all products have special Education Pricing.
1. Desktop: One (1) may be purchased per academic year
2. Mac mini: One (1) may be purchased per academic year
3. Notebook: One (1) may be purchased per academic year
4. Display: A maximum of two (2) may be purchased per
academic year
5. Software: A maximum of two (2) per software title may
be purchased per academic year"
Here is the Apple Educational Policy from: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/open/salespolicies/edu
"Faculty, Staff and Students purchasing from the Apple Store for Education Individuals will be allowed to purchase the following quantities of product per academic school year. Not all products have special Education Pricing.