Should I buy a laptop for uni?
In my opinion, having your own laptop for university is a very good idea as it is convenient and will be extremely useful for your course.
On most courses, you will need to be writing up some kind of assignment or report on a semi-regular basis, even on coursework-based courses. You might also need to use certain software like CAD or adobe (which you will have free access to) and it's much more convenient to be able to work on your assignments/projects from home at your own convenience.
On the other hand, Kingston has a library on each campus that has plenty of fully equipped computers available for all students to use. The library hours differ at each campus, but all are open during university hours and the earliest they close during term time is 7pm. During exam season, they are usually open later, Penrhyn Road library (the town house) is open 24 hours during exam season. To find out more about the library services and opening times at Kingston university, check out this link here: https://www.kingston.ac.uk/experience/our-campuses/library-and-learning-services
There is also the great option to rent a laptop from the libraries, this means you can work from home at your own convenience and have access to all the software you may need. However, this isn’t the best option if you are using your loan laptop for ongoing coursework as you will need to keep renewing that rental.
It is more than possible to go through university without a laptop; however, I think it is important you know the limitations this may cause such as the access hours and rental renewals. I use my laptop for my course (illustration animation) on at least a weekly basis, so my laptop was my best investment for university. There are also the non-course related benefits, for instance, because TVs are expensive, and student accommodation doesn’t provide them, you can use your personal laptop to catch up on your favourite shows or watching movies with your new friends which I personally found was an amazing bonus.
If you are planning to buy a laptop, it doesn’t need to be brand new. Refurbished ones work perfectly fine; I got myself a refurbished mac book as the new ones are extremely expensive. I highly recommend sites like amazon refurb as these products have more legitimacy compared to other secondhand sites and they have warranties in case anything goes wrong. I also highly recommend getting yourself a gaming laptop instead of expensive MacBooks, as they are usually more powerful and can be significantly cheaper and more reliable. If I could choose again, I would get a gaming laptop instead of my Mac. Just make sure whatever laptop you buy is compatible with any software you may need for your course e.g. adobe. Waiting until big sales like the September student sales, Black Friday, or cyber-Monday is a very good idea and will save you so much money. You also have student discounts now so take advantage of that.
What laptop are you thinking of buying?
Vee (Kingston rep)
On most courses, you will need to be writing up some kind of assignment or report on a semi-regular basis, even on coursework-based courses. You might also need to use certain software like CAD or adobe (which you will have free access to) and it's much more convenient to be able to work on your assignments/projects from home at your own convenience.
On the other hand, Kingston has a library on each campus that has plenty of fully equipped computers available for all students to use. The library hours differ at each campus, but all are open during university hours and the earliest they close during term time is 7pm. During exam season, they are usually open later, Penrhyn Road library (the town house) is open 24 hours during exam season. To find out more about the library services and opening times at Kingston university, check out this link here: https://www.kingston.ac.uk/experience/our-campuses/library-and-learning-services
There is also the great option to rent a laptop from the libraries, this means you can work from home at your own convenience and have access to all the software you may need. However, this isn’t the best option if you are using your loan laptop for ongoing coursework as you will need to keep renewing that rental.
It is more than possible to go through university without a laptop; however, I think it is important you know the limitations this may cause such as the access hours and rental renewals. I use my laptop for my course (illustration animation) on at least a weekly basis, so my laptop was my best investment for university. There are also the non-course related benefits, for instance, because TVs are expensive, and student accommodation doesn’t provide them, you can use your personal laptop to catch up on your favourite shows or watching movies with your new friends which I personally found was an amazing bonus.
If you are planning to buy a laptop, it doesn’t need to be brand new. Refurbished ones work perfectly fine; I got myself a refurbished mac book as the new ones are extremely expensive. I highly recommend sites like amazon refurb as these products have more legitimacy compared to other secondhand sites and they have warranties in case anything goes wrong. I also highly recommend getting yourself a gaming laptop instead of expensive MacBooks, as they are usually more powerful and can be significantly cheaper and more reliable. If I could choose again, I would get a gaming laptop instead of my Mac. Just make sure whatever laptop you buy is compatible with any software you may need for your course e.g. adobe. Waiting until big sales like the September student sales, Black Friday, or cyber-Monday is a very good idea and will save you so much money. You also have student discounts now so take advantage of that.
What laptop are you thinking of buying?
Vee (Kingston rep)
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