In our household, all electronics have been shared, so I’m trying to figure out what DC needs for college. U of C materials seem to suggest that students need not bring printers. Personally, given my own work habits, I’m skeptical. DC is agnostic. What’s the norm (if there is one)? Are the dorm and library printers convenient, reliable and relatively standardized? Is most work submitted (and/or shared) electronically anyway? In case it matters, DC’s likely to be taking bio, stats, French, and linguistic courses and to generally be doing something musical.
Money’s not the main issue from my POV – it’s more about space and convenience.
We sent Child #1 to Chicago 10 years ago with a printer. She never used it. We sent Child #2 two years later without a printer. He never asked for one. Each of them lived on campus for only one year, so they were using library printers if they needed a printer. I only remember once when there was an issue about getting stuff printed at the library, and of course it affected masses of students so the teachers accommodated. As far as I am aware, 99% of their stuff was submitted electronically without ever being printed, and much of their course materials were distributed electronically and never printed out.
For context, I am talking about an English major (papers for every class) and a Sociology major who also took a bunch of lab science his first two years.
My son just finished his first year and did not need a printer at all. Most was submitted electronically. Everything else he was able to print in his dorm (house.)
Wait, what? I had to print things constantly, and so did almost everyone I know. Some classes require things to be typed and turned in in paper and tons of classes would upload readings online that you have to print out and bring in to class.
Printers are in every dorm and other convenient locations around campus but you have to pay for them. A lot of people brought printers and used it constantly. I know many people who started with no printer but got one halfway through the year b/c they saw that it would be cheaper and/or more convenient.
Mine used his printer a decent bit. He couldn’t or wasn’t allowed to network it so we did have to buy a printer cable and ship it Prime. We got an inexpensive compact one that can also do photocopies and scans and I know he used it for those purposes too. He doesn’t like to write by hand or read from a screen if he has a choice so we had a feeling he would want his own printer. It’s really a personal choice no right or wrong answer.
Yeah, to me, the scanning and photocopying features are useful as well. I assume copiers are fairly easily available on campus (are they in houses as well as in libraries?) but wondered whether scanning was a problem. DC’s take was that scanning wasn’t a big deal when you could easily take/share photos.
My DD scanned a fair amount in HS (sending homework/handouts/sheet music to friends), but I think cameras on phones/tablets have pretty much overtaken scanners for jobs like that.