Overview
St. Lawrence University is both a PC and Mac campus, and as a result, either choice is perfectly acceptable for St. Lawrence students to make. While some students do bring Chromebooks and have found success with them, we cannot guarantee that all software that is used in classes will be compatible with Chromebooks. Therefore, St. Lawrence officially recommends to bring a PC or Mac for classes.
As an additional note, while St. Lawrence is fully equipped with Wi-fi in every building on campus, there is no support for ethernet connections in the residence halls for internet access. Additionally, some classes require the use of apps or programs during class time. As a result, St. Lawrence recommends a laptop computer for classwork instead of a desktop.
Recommendations
For someone choosing a Mac: Any modern generation Macbook will comfortably meet the needs for classes at St. Lawrence. However, Macs with the M1 or M2 processor are preferable to the Intel-based Macs, as they will be receiving support for much longer.
For someone choosing a PC: Because PCs vary more significantly between manufacturers, we have a set of minimum required specifications and also preferred specifications.
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Minimum Specifications
256 GB of Storage
Intel i5 Processor or equivalent
8 GB of RAM
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Preferred Specifications
512 GB Solid State Drive
Intel i5/i7 Processor or equivalent
16 GB of RAM
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Additional Information
While PC or Mac is the official recommendation, students using other devices such as Chromebooks or iPads do have access to some of the programs used in classes via the Remote Desktop and Remote Apps. For more information, please visit our articles about the Remote Desktop and Remote Apps here: https://stlawu.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1805/Portal/KB/?CategoryID=21585