Cedarville University

Hey I'm an incoming student this 2012 fall and am planning on Computer Science as my major. I know every dorm has a laptop but I'm stuck on what would be the best thing to do for a computer as a Comp Sci major. Is a desktop enough? Or is a laptop highly recommended. Also what kind of laptop? (CPU type, HDD space, Monitor size, etc.) Thanks!

Hi DRees,

Honestly your best bet would be to email one of the Comp Sci Professors. The Cedarville profs are great at helping out with these kinds of questions. (Although bear in mind right now, almost everyone is writing final exams & doing their last projects, so if you don't get a response right away, don't think you've been forgotten!)

Two of the profs who teach in Comp Sci are Dr Kohl (kolc@cedarvile.edu) and Dr Shomper (kshomper@cedarville.edu) - I'm sure that emailing them about what is required for class will help, although I believe most of what you need in terms of software and storage space will be provided to you.

While most dorms have a computer, I don't think many are laptops. (Just to clarify that) And personally I don't think I could do college without my laptop, although my situation may be different to yours. I like having the freedom to get off campus (or at least out of the campus buildings) and write a paper or do my tests somewhere else. I don't know what the statistics are but I believe most students have their own private laptop.

In terms of what kind (outside of what you hear back from Dr Kohl/Dr Shomper) it really depends on what you can afford. The WiFi on campus is pretty great - of course, like anywhere, it has its moments of weakness - but having a high speed processor may be helpful. I personally use a toshiba satellite p755-s5320 (and changed out the harddrive for a 7200) and that's all I needed. I've seen people with older laptops and newer and even (gasp!) Macs! In terms of "accessories" - don't bother with printers etc. Printing on campus is getting easier (they're moving to wireless printing - send documents to a printer and use your ID card to print whenever you want), and many students are using a basic smart-phone now for campus emails and the like. But of course Dropbox (or some sort of back-up system) is VITAL! Every semester there's a dozen or so people who lose projects, papers etc due to computer failures etc.

The tech support on campus is great and they can get hardware/software in for you if you want to go through them (they also do full system back-ups etc. Although you may want to check out your own deals - Windows & many other operators have great college student discounts you can get once your campus email is activated (happens at "Getting Started" when you arrive in August).

All in all, I'd say talk to the professors - they're the best source of information (you'll hear different things from Admissions/Students/Other Faculty. And generally I say, don't splash out until you get here and have a chance to see what you need. Most profs will launch into assignments, but the general expectation will be that you only have what is available on campus - you'll have PLENTY of time to work out what sort of laptop you need/want/can afford. Again tho' - check with the professors. They're the best ones to ask! (they may be able to put you in touch with a current Comp Sci student if you ask them to!)

Oops that was meant to be kohlc@cedarville.edu

If I could recommend something, I STRONGLY suggest investing in a good, quality laptop that will last you throughout college and even afterwards. I know it can be expensive, but it's more convenient than a desktop, and if you are better at taking notes on a computer, it really helps in class! However, you will survive without one. I'd just recommend getting one

Dr. Kohl is really more computer engineering, but he's really friendly and always willing to help; Dr. Gallagher would be the other Comp Sci professor to talk to... and I have to say he's my favorite (though that's probably because I like incredibly sarcastic people ) Dr. Shomper sat down and talked to me for over an hour when I visited CU and was one of the reasons I chose the college, so he's great too especially if you have a more math-oriented brain.
Most of the Comp Sci majors have laptops; there's only one I know with a Mac, but he seems to get along just fine with that (despite friendly teasing from classmates I've got a Toshiba, but based on what I've seen in classes I think Dell and HP are more common. It really depends on you; if you talk to the professors and are still not sure, I can put you in touch with a number of Comp Sci majors to discuss it with, just shoot me an email (ecurwick@cedarville.edu)

-------------------------
Class of 2013 and a member of the facebook group.

A little about me to anyone who's interested: My name is Elizabeth, I like music (singing and piano), running, bowling, reading, writing, and a number of other hobbies.

I'm majoring in Math Ed with minors in Computer Science and Bible.

Dr. G (Gallagher) met with me before I decided on CU.
By far my favorite prof (and my adviser). Dr. Kohl, even though I only had him for one class my Freshman year, is my second favorite. Both wonderful men of God.

Curwick was right, it's really a huge mix. In my class I'm pretty sure there are no two people with the same brand of laptop. I prefer Lenovo personally, because where I work that's what they use and I've had great experiences with them. They're a tad more expensive then most, but very solidly built and enterprise level laptops. I actually found this forum because I was looking for the university discounts on laptops, because I was thinking of buying a new one myself. Cedarville does have discounts through HP and Dell.
http://www.cedarville.edu/Offi...le/New-Computers.aspx

Toshiba has been popular lately for solid and inexpensive laptops, so I guess my recommendation behind Lenovo is Toshiba.

Following Curwick's lead.... a little about me:
Class of 2013 in Computer Science. I play a bunch of intramural sports, have lived on The Hill all three years thus far and am living there for my senior year as well (lower Rogers, feel free to stop by and ask questions). Oh, and Curwick's BF has been my partner in just about every class project I've had for the last two years in Comp. Sci. classes. :-D