Depending on what you will be doing, and what software you will be using, will decide if you need a Mac or a PC. They both use the same hardware, so in either case, I would focus on RAM and Processor. anything with 4 GB of Ram or more should take care of you. As for processor, I would try for an Intel i7. That should render things for you about as quick as you can get in a laptop. Try and find out what they want you to get (Mac/PC), then make your decision. A powerful video card isn't as important as you may think, because a majority of the rendering will take place on the Processor. Anything better than "Intel Integrated Graphics" certainly would not hurt, so try and get something with either an nVidia or AMD video card.
I do not work in animation at all. However, I have lent my home computer's processing power to friends so they could render some frames, and it's all on the CPU, or processor, not the video card.
If you end up having to get a Mac, I'm sorry. You'll probably end up spending $1199+. Probably more (if you want some real horsepower).
Does anyone here that actually does work in the industry have any help to offer?