Laptops are really only practical with the LE software. It's possible to use a laptop with the HD stuff but you need a card slot (which the regular Macbooks don't have) and a PCI breakout chassis (like a Magma). Needless to say, an HD rig plus a chassis extension isn't very portable!
Sounds like a nice little rig there, punkbassistfc!
You can't go wrong with that setup.
Cardioid just describes the type of polar (pickup) pattern a mic has so you can have a cardioid condenser mic or a cardioid dynamic mic but when you just say cardioid, you're just referring to the polar pattern that it has. Condenser and dynamic refers to the operating principle of the mic.
The only thing I would maybe add to your list would be a nice pair of headphones and eventually some inexpensive omnidirectional mics (like binaurals) to compliment your directional mics. Omnis are great at capturing what's going on in a room and they have superior bass response to directional microphones. A common technique for me is to use my omnis as the foundation of the overall sound and then use my directionals as 'spot' mics to bring out certain instruments. In your case, you could use a pair of omnis as a spaced array, then put your cardioid condenser on guitar and the dynamic on a vocalist (for example). There's so much affordable gear on the market now it's hard to know where to start!
Good luck at the school and have fun!
