<p>I've decided to come to Hamilton and I have some questions: Do you really need a laptop on campus and if you do, does the school comp. shop have better prices? Also if I wanted to buy used textbooks for my classes, which links should I check for the book lists that classes use and which used book websites are best for finding the books I need?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Yay! I'm glad you decided to come.</p>
<p>It's not absolutely necessary to have a laptop here, but it's definitely more convenient. There are computer labs on both sides of campus, in the science center and in the library, but it can sometimes be hard to get one because a lot of people use them. A printer, however, is definitely not necessary. I barely ever use mine (although it's nice in emergency situations), and because printing is free and unlimited there's no reason to get one.
The bookstore sells Macs online (I'm not sure about discounts), and Hamilton also has a deal with Dell where you get a percentage off.</p>
<p>The bookstore does sell used books, but if you want to shop around for better prices you can try half.com. Make sure you get the right edition, though! Book lists are available through the bookstore's website.</p>
<p>I DEFINITELY recommend using half.com/ebay to buy your books. It's a little harder 1st semester freshman year, because you don't pick your classes till you get on campus, yet you can save a TON of money. I spent nearly $400 on non-used books in the bookstore 1st semester (used are only 25% off), and barely over $150 this semester buying used online. It takes a little longer to hunt and search for everything, but I highly recommend looking in to it.</p>