The workload of a Computer Scientist is much more demanding than most users' computational needs, and there are a few things you should know if you plan to purchase a laptop for your use in the CS program.
While we do not recommend a specific make and model of laptop for Computer Science students, we do suggest the following guidelines:
Look for a system with
Avoid Chromebooks, Ultrabooks, and other "tablet computers".
These seldom have the resource to run virtual machines and other important software. More importantly, they tend to have locked-down custom operating systems that prevent the installation of development software.
Please feel free to contact Dr. Robert Marmorstein (marmorsteinrm@longwood.edu) with any questions.