Student Technology Requirements
All students are required to bring a laptop computer to school to use for their academic needs. It is important that each student have a computer that is less than four years old. This will ensure that your computer is capable of running necessary operating system updates and the applications and web services our teachers employ for classroom work. We understand that student computers will also hold many personal pictures, movies, and other applications.
St. Andrew’s is a fully authorized Apple repair facility and can perform warranty and non-warranty work on all Apple products. Therefore, we encourage students to use Apple laptops such as the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. Laptop computers from other manufacturers are also welcome on campus, and we can coordinate repair and service on those machines as well. The Technology Department does not recommend iPads, Chromebooks, or Linux-based systems at this time, due to some School software and campus printing being unavailable on these platforms.
Questions? Visit our Student Technology FAQ page for more information.
Recommended Minimum Laptop Specifications
Mac
Models
MacBook Air or MacBook Pro (preferred size is 13” MacBook Air or 13/14” MacBook Pro)
PROCESSOR TYPE
Apple Silicon M1 or later
OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
macOS 15 or later
Recommendations
Other suggested peripherals
USB drive or USB SSD external hard drive for backing up important data
USB Type-C Hub or adapter for connecting common peripherals, such as screens, thumb drives, or SD Cards
Software
St. Andrew’s uses Google Apps for Education (G Suite) products for email, documents, and drive storage. These are all free for students. Students may choose to download Microsoft Office for free if they wish to use the Office suite of applications once they arrive and are connected to our network. Students should be using the latest version of the web browser of their choice: Safari, Chrome, or Firefox.
Windows
Brands
We suggest Dell, HP, or Lenovo with an extended warranty
PROCESSOR TYPE
Intel 12th generation or later
OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Windows 11
Recommendations
Other suggested peripherals
USB drive or USB SSD external hard drive for backing up important data
Software
An anti-virus package is strongly recommended. Fortunately, Windows Defender is built-in and when enabled, should be sufficient. For additional security, Malwarebytes offers expanded protection and is designed to run alongside anti-virus software. St. Andrew’s uses the Google Apps for Education (G Suite) products for email, documents, and drive storage. These are all free for students. Students may choose to download Microsoft Office for free if they wish to use the Office suite of applications once they arrive and are connected to our network. Students should be using the latest version of the web browser of their choice: Edge, Chrome, or Firefox.
Warranty Coverage Recommendations
We highly recommend purchasing an extended warranty plan for your laptop. You can usually purchase an extended warranty when you buy your laptop, either online or at a retail store. Apple offers a free limited warranty for the first year, but we recommend purchasing AppleCare+ whenever you buy a new Apple computer due to the three-year repair coverage it offers. AppleCare+ also covers up to two incidents of accidental damage with much lower repair costs. More information is available on the Apple website.
In addition to AppleCare+, and for computers from all manufacturers, we strongly recommend an accident/theft policy from NSSI. For a small yearly premium, this policy covers not only computers but also smartphones, digital cameras, musical instruments, and more in the event of accidental damage, fire, theft, and other issues. Theft is not covered by AppleCare+ or other manufacturers’ extended warranties. Arrangements can be made directly with NSSI via: https://www.nssi.com/portal/standrews
To learn more about Student Personal Property Insurance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnWK5kybQlc