Which one would you buy?

 Do you have any relatives that are students?

Photoshop,IMHO...it is worth the cash. 

I'd go with photoshop though I've used earlier versions of Corel.

 Photoshop- Have a student buy it.  Adobe has major discounts for students.

 I didn't know about the student discount. That is a good idea.

I'll ask some of the grand kids that are in HS.

Like RF, I have used Corel in the past and I had an old rudimentary version of Photoshop. I found Photshop more intuitive but I did like some of the bit map-vector facets in Corel.

I also wondered if the interface to Word might be better with Corel.

Take a course up at Porterville College--just a half-unit would do--and you could buy it yourself, too.  (My spouse is a student.)  But it's pricey even with the discount.

 Does Photoshop Elements not have enough of the bells and whistles that are in the professional full version?  Elements is stripped down, but waaaaay cheaper.  Keep in mind that I don't actually do any photo manipulation myself, my wife is the family photographer.  :)

Having used both...Corel Draw stinks. High end printers hate the files it generates.

Go with Photoshop. The CS3 version, along with Lightroom, will give you more possibilities than you ever imagined. If it's relatively minor editing you want to do, Elements will probably work okay.

But if you really want to do much in the way of bitmap to vectors, Adobe's Ilustrator is the way to go. Its LiveTrace feature is phenomenal.

Cost is relative, I suppose. I find something inherently dishonest in buying it with a discount that isn't rightfully yours, but I suppose that's just that progressive mindset in terms of doing the right thing and paying for what I use.

 believe it or not, it did cross my mind about the inherent dishonesty in having one of the grandkids purchase it with a discount for their use and then I comandeer it

kinda like a LE buying a Glock for someone with their discount and then a non-LEO utilizes it!

well one is just dishonest.......... the other is quite a bit more serious.......... not that I would know anyone that has ever done that you understand.............

You have me concerned now though nooneis......... my wife will kill me for the $1,127 I priced Adobe at Office Depot for..............

 good idea RF.

maybe I'll even buy a beret

(hey, I'm old -- maynard g. krebbs days)

 Try Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Adobe...

There it's only $625.

 The upgrade from Adobe is only $199 if you've got a version of Elements or Photoshop 7.0.

 I don't. I had a really old version but in the process of changing PCs it was corrupted. Then I couldn't find the old software to re-install.

Probably used it for a coaster.

Mebbe I'll go to Porterville College

Mebbe even take a Poly Sci class (and get banned)

 Go with the adobe software. Photoshop is an amazing program, and the full version is very professional, but you just might be able to do what you want with Elements. The biggest problem with Photoshop elements is that you can only work in RGB mode, which is not good for professional printing either. Just as nooneisabovethelaw mentioned, there is nothing better for vector art than Adobe Illustrator. the improvements in CS3 are top notch. Corel is a cheap amateur version that should be avoided. Actually, I don't have much experience with Corel, except that it makes me cringe. Please don't send anything done in corel to your local printer. The prepress department will make fun of you after you leave.  

To save a bit of money, you might consider getting an older version.

 I have used Corel & Photoshop for many years and IMHO, Photoshop will do ANYTHING your imagination desires! I would not have a business if not for Adobe Photoshop. I have Corel *Draw* that I use for many things, but I tried Photo Paint and was NOT happy at all. The abilities in Photoshop far outshine Corel.

 All good advice here.  I'm an Adobe diehard.  Used Corel 2 or 3 times and was not impressed.  Also as pointed out, PhotoShop doesn't do vectors.  I don't use illustrator much but I have it.

 Actually, Photoshop CS3, or version 10, I guess it would be, does have some vector tools...little known and seldom used, but they are there. But for anything serious, Illustrator is the way to go.

 Well, alrighty then

Adobe it is!