Computer Recommendations
Although VLS does not have a mandatory computer requirement, owning a laptop is strongly recommended. Wireless coverage is available throughout the school and outdoor areas.
Purchase Recommendations
If you plan to purchase a laptop, we recommend either Dell (PC) or Apple (Mac) systems. Support is provided for hardware and software issues relating to the operating system or software/applications related to academic purposes.
When purchasing a system, these are the system specifications we recommend:
- Solid State Hard Drive: minimum size: 128GB
Solid State drives offer increased speed and performance and are less prone to failure
- 8GB RAM Minimum
Most new systems will offer more at a minimum but the above RAM size should be enough
The above specifications are the most important when choosing a device and most other options are negligible or fairly standard across devices, such as screen size, keyboard type or wireless speeds. Most manufacturers only differ in the above two specification items
Regardless of brand, we strongly recommend purchasing a 3-year warranty for your new laptop:
- Dell: Three-year CompleteCare
This covers accidental damage and all other hardware failures
- Apple: Three-year AppleCare coverage
Does not provide accidental damage protection but does provide extended hardware and software support
Exam Software Compatibility Information
The Exam4 software used for all exams will limit supported operating systems: Windows and Mac OS X/macOS; ChromeOS is NOT supported by the makers of Exam4. No exceptions are made by the software vendor and therefore the IT team cannot provide support for non-approved operating systems.
Exam4 (the exam software used by Vanderbilt Law School) supports Windows 8.1-10 and macOS 10.13.6 "High Sierra" through 10.15 or "Catalina."