If you are going to College you should first asertain if the College offers
the various suites at a special price.
Then check what components the various suites contain
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/pr...635841033.aspx
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/pr...754511033.aspx

You will allmost certainly find an achademic full version is more cost
effective than buying a basic version together with the seperate Access
component.

All your old data will be available - though as with any data a backup is
reccomended -
Ensure your PC is capable of running Office 2007

"mojoman" <mojoman@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AB35569E-4CCA-460F-A2D4-11942FA30905@microsoft.com...
> Several years ago I purchased Office 2000 Small Business . I have only
> used
> Word and Excel. I will soon be going back to college for a degree in
> Finance. I will be using Office, Excel, Powerpoint and Access. I have
> received opposing answers from the IT department where I work. One answer
> is
> to upgrade to Office 2007 Small Business and the other is to purchase
> Office
> 2007 Student and Home version. I am told that all of my saved Word and
> Excel
> files on Office 2000 will open in Office 2007. I am leaning toward the
> Student and Home version as I don't need all of the extras in the Small
> Business version but am somewhat confused. Help!! Also, my understanding
> is
> that I will need to purchase Access separately. Am I correct? Thanks.