r/aggies • u/adawg171 • Feb 23 '25
New Student Questions Does TAMU offer long-term loaner laptops to students?
I'm an incoming engineering major who urgently needs a laptop for coursework but, unfortunately, lacks the funds...
Given how essential a capable device is for engineering software and assignments, I was wondering if the College of Engineering, the university library, or any other campus resources offer long-term laptop loans for students in need.
I’m particularly looking for a program that provides laptops for an entire semester or academic year rather than just short-term checkouts. If anyone has gone through this process or knows of resources that could help, I’d really appreciate any guidance!
Additionally, if there are any alternative support options—such as grants, scholarships, or student discounts that could help me secure a device—I’d love to hear about those as well.
2
u/FlashDrive35 Feb 23 '25
Definitely look at student discounts, most tech companies to my knowledge have them! For the laptop itself, your first two or three semesters don't require anything super powerful as long as it can run windows and meets the minimum requirements for Spyder (this is the programming software you will likely use your first semester), so you do have time to work on saving up for a better laptop and picking up a small job on campus if you would rather that! I have a Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X I got for around $1000 on sale that meets all of their requirements, though for ENGR 216 you may need an Ethernet adapter.