Ok, so on Friday I dropped about an ounce-ish of (brita filtered, if that makes a difference) on my macbook pro keyboard. Yes. I know.
Nothing happened to the computer, within a minute or two I had it shutdown and unplugged. Did not feel comfortable or have the tools to unscrew the back to get integrated battery out. I put paper towels, flipped it upside down for a couple hours, sent a bit of cool air on it. Then I put it in a container with a lot of dry rice, sealed the container, put in a garbage back, under my desk, in a dry room.

I bought the macbook pro just THIS August, with Applecare too. I know applecare doesn't cover water damage, actually I found out this weekend googling and reading threads on here. I was basically forced into buying applecare when buying the computer, and I was directly told "it will cover everything, unless you throw down stairs or something haha". Having had a stupid Toshiba for years, I interpreted it as no-questions asked "insurancey-type" warranty. The toshiba always broke, it was even dropped once, keys fell off the keyboard, etc.... I had the screen, harddrive, keyboard, disc drive etc. and even the whole laptop replaced in the three years of its warranty. It was a bad computer, with a good warranty I suppose.

Anyway, what do I do now:
a) when can I take the computer out of the rice?
b) do I ask for refund on my applecare?
c) if computer works do I bring it to apple store for a check? if it doesn't , do I bring it at all? and hope for someone nice? or would I have more luck at an authorized reseller (at getting a nice technician)?
d) would homeowner's insurance apply to this? (my parents', and I live in university residence about 4 days a week, but .. I dont know)

Any help, advice would be great.

First of all - yikes. Sorry to hear about your troubles.

a) A week.

b) You are not entitled to a refund on your AppleCare Protection Plan unless the reseller who sold you it agrees to do so, which they likely will not do. As per: ""it will cover everything, unless you throw down stairs or something haha"" - That directly implies abuse is not covered, as per their reference to throwing it down stairs. I think that's fairly obvious. Did you want a specific list of abuses that aren't covered? Sales people may not always cover topics or products with a fine tooth comb - unfortunately, it is up to the consumer to do their own research in the end. In this case, to see what AppleCare does or does not cover. Some sales people, in any store selling any product, will at times provide inaccurate or incomplete product information to a consumer/customer, and unfortunately, are not usually held liable if the consumer is provided false information, or misleading information. Always do your own research.

c) If it works later, no need to do a check - the check won't be covered, and you'll be charged for a 'once over,' and then charged even more to repair anything that is broken. (Warranty has been voided.)

d) Possibly - check with your insurance company and ask. No harm in trying.

I bought the applecare directly from applestore while buying the mac. It says in the terms and conditions that I can get a prorata-refund, based on how long I have left on the warranty. Is that not true?

So it will make a difference if I wait a few more days?

I knew Apple offered a prorata-refund on APP under certain circumstances, but was not sure if it applied to abused machines. If it does, definitely call Apple up to obtain a partial credit if your machine is indeed beyond repair.

Yes, a few days can make a big difference. Hang in there.

Ok, I'll wait the full week until this Friday. Definitely better safe than sorry.
How would they know the state of my machine if I got the refund? I'm pretty sure the applecare is transferable to another machine anyways?
I wish I knew a nice apple-licensed technician.
I feel like this such a catch-22! my best luck would have been getting all the parts dried out, seeing if the water detectors are on, etc. but I can't do that.

Even if the machine works, I suppose it would be worth it to get a prorata refund on applecare since it is apparently voided now. (frustrating!) 4 months... definetly cannot afford another laptop, will probably sell parts and buy the cheapest netbook I can find. Saved up for the last 2 years of high school, 2 grand into the macbook! Ironically, I had ordered an external hard drive the other week and got it in the mail this morning...heh. my data will probably be recoverable though.

AppleCare is not transferrable between machines -- just between owners of the same machine.

Ah, ok. Thanks for the information. The last three days have been total torture, hopefully I'll survive the next four of this.

You should be able to get a refund on the applecare (through Apple).

Applecare will be useless now I believe since the water sensors are under the keyboard (assuming it works anyway).

This whole incident is another valuable reminder to us all --

DO NOT keep liquids close to your computer!!

I will be doing that. If, god forbid, it does work, I wish there was a way of finding about about the applecare without ruining my chances of getting a refund.
Also, if it does work, how high are the chances of it dying a couple months later due to corrosion or something?
And, if it doesn't, what are the chances of getting lucky with manager/genius at the apple store? Would I have more chance with authorized dealer than with the actual applestore.

Yes, keep liquids away from Mac people. I am always EXTREMELY careful around the mac, lock my bedroom door when I leave it, etc. etc. but one incident (tripped on a cord with a glass of water) led to a 4 month old macbook pro with extra ram, hard drive, applecare plan, iwork, snow leopard etc. probably being dead. Unfortunately the stress of this may have a scarred me for a good number of years (not even kidding, I'm 17 and I've been working summers and school years to save for it for 2 years and now living on my own as well, costly business... no luck of help from parents really except for maybe that insurance I mentioned, I will essentially get an "i told you so" for buying a pricey mac when PCs with much higher stats are available for cheap).... 199$ netbook here i come

*Officially 90 hours of hell since spill*. Temptation of testing is so high...