Buying a Computer

Important Notice for New or Admitted Students

What should students bring to campus?

If you are a new student to Goucher, a presentation is available to view that answers the following questions:

• What type of technology should I bring?
• Are Educational Discounts available on laptops and computers?
• What type of technology services and support are available?
• Who do I contact if I have questions? What else do I need to know?  What's next?

Personal Purchases and Educational Discounts

Educational discounts are available from Apple and Dell for personal purchases by students, faculty, and staff of Goucher.

Already Owned Computers

If you already own a computer and it is less then two years old, it is very likely that it will be suitable for your use at Goucher College.  Depending on the age of your computer you might want to consider an upgrade at some point during your time at the college as computers are usually considered current for about four years. It is recommended that you bring a copy of your warranty information so that information is readily available in the event you need to comtact the computer manufacturer.

Goucher recommends the use of Windows 7 or Mac OS X 10.6 or higher for laptops and computer workstations. Goucher College has standardized on Microsoft Office as the supported application suite for faculty, staff, and all campus computer classrooms and laboratories. Microsoft Office includes Word (Word processing), Excel (Spreadsheet), and PowerPoint (Presentations). Goucher College currently supports Office 2007 and Office 2010 for the Windows XP/Vista/7 operating systems. Goucher College also supports Office 2008 and Office 2011 for the Macintosh OS X 10.5 or later operating systems.

All students are eligible to download a copy of the Microsoft Office Professional software. Please do not purchase Microsoft Office or antivirus software.

Students using Windows computers in the residential halls will be required to have the college's preferred antivirus software: Microsoft Security Essentials. Students using Mac OS X should consider downloading reliable free antivirus from http://www.clamxav.com/. 

Tablet computers, e-readers, and smart phones provide many exciting new ways to interact with information and technology. This class of technology is still rather new and has some notable limitations. While Goucher College does not discourage the use of these devices on campus, Information Technology suggests that they be used to compliment not replace a full laptop computer.  For example mobile devices may not afford you full access to network printing and storage in the same way a full computer can.

Purchases for Faculty, Staff, and Departmental Offices

The links on this page are not intended for purchases made with College funds. Goucher College has a computer replacement strategy for labs, classrooms, faculty, and staff and provides assistance to departments when purchasing computers, software, or peripherals. The Help Desk will connect you with someone who will assist you in understanding your needs and providing you with recommended configurations and advice.