How to repair a problem covered under warranty for dented Macbook Pro?

I have MacBook Pro that I was forced to order through my school between May and June of 2007. I had dropped this laptop through my bookbag which then became dented on the right corners of the laptop. The laptop worked fine for a semester and a half, but all of sudden (just recently) the screen went out, but the computer still worked because I could hear the tone that it was turning on. I even connected an external monitor, but no video on the screen (and this was a new monitor). I researched the problem and found out that apparently there has been a recall on MacBook Pros made in 2007 and early 2008 because of defective Nvidia 8600M video cards. So this is definitely covered under warranty, but when I went to the tech guys at my school, they sent it to apple and I was told that to get it repaired I have to pay $974.95. This is ridiculous for since its covered under warranty. Any idea on how to deal with Apple? Thank you.|||If you have Applecare you can call 1-800-275-2273. If you didn't get the extended warranty, you are out of luck, the computer is only covered for a one year warranty.|||An ordinary person such as yourself trying to change Apple's mind about your case is rather like a mouse trying to screw an elephant