Medical Student Computer Access
Do you need your own computer in medical school?
Although students are not required to own a computer, it is highly recommended that they purchase a personal computer and printer for their educational program. Computers are available for students and the public in our medical library. Depending on a student's work habits, it may be acceptable to use the Library computers rather than using a personal computer. The computers in the library, however, are available for use by our entire population of faculty, residents, students and staff, and their availability for the medical student class is not guaranteed.
This year, for the in-coming medical class only, the IT Department is offering a new optional program to allow medical students to purchase a pre-configured Dell laptop computer. This computer will include the recommended software and features used in the College of Medicine for the medical education program. Laptop computers purchased through this program will be supported by the IT Department. Further details of this program are discussed below.
What kind of computer do you need?
If you are technically savvy, or already own a computer, you may chose not to participate in the Student Computer Purchase Program. If you do not participate in this program and bring your own computer with you, we have specific recommendations regarding the type of computer and installed software you should have. The minimum recommended specifications for computers are listed below. The IT Department recommends the purchase of Dell computers, because we have found them to be reliable and our support staff is familiar with these machines. Please note, however, computers (even Dell computers) purchased outside of the Student Computer Purchase Program will receive limited support. For externally-purchased computers, support is limited to guidelines published on our support websites and to telephone support only.
- Laptop or Desktop? – Most students will agree that laptop computers are far more convenient for people who work in multiple locations, but they cost about 30% more than a comparable desktop machine. This is especially true with the increased availability of wireless Internet access on our campus. With the advent of inexpensive removable media, however, a desktop computer is also a viable option.
- Operating systems - Windows XP Professional, VISTA or Macintosh 10.3.x ONLY. Many of our systems WILL NOT WORK with Windows ME, Home Edition, 98, or Mac OS 9. Note that, in general, there is considerably less support for Macintosh computers.
- Speed – 1.6 GHz or faster is recommended.
- RAM – 2GB of Memory should be considered for Vista For Windows XP 1GB is sufficient. More is better, but it is not essential.
- Hard Drive – A 80 GB drive will give you sufficient storage space. However, for security reasons, the IT department STRONGLY RECOMMENDS that students take advantage of our file server systems for data storage. We provide instructions on how to use these services.
- Wireless – If you purchase a laptop, it should have either an integrated wireless card or a PCMCIA slot to add a wireless card. The wireless card MUST support WPA and TKIP with 802.11a,b\g\n. with PEAP\LEAP authentication.
- Monitor – A good monitor is worth the investment. Other things being equal, given the choice between a faster computer or a larger, brighter, sharper monitor, most savvy users would chose the better monitor.
- Software - Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007 is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Nearly all of our educational material is distributed in the form of Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents. The Adobe Acrobat reader is required to read PDF files. An updated antivirus software program is also essential. The College of Medicine has a site license to Symantec Antivirus software which can be downloaded free of change from Penn State upon arrival.
