2025-2026 Upper School Laptop Program
Greetings St. Andrew’s Upper School Parents!
We are very excited to welcome your children to school for the 2025-2026 school-year. Included below is information on the three laptop models we offer, and how to purchase the laptop your child will use at school.
We require that incoming Upper School students purchase one of the three selected SAS laptops or use a comparable device that matches one of these models and meets these minimum specifications. Because our school's curriculum relies so much on technology, students must bring the school approved laptop to school each day. Other laptops or devices that do not match these models and general specifications will not be supported and may impact your student's ability to engage with SAS coursework.
Effective use of laptops in the curriculum calls for one of these standardized platforms which ensures that:
Family FAQs:
Where do we ship the laptop?
Since the laptop is a family purchase, it can be shipped directly to your home.
When we receive the laptop can we start using it?
Yes! It's your laptop so feel free to begin setting it up.
How do we get the SAS Software Suite? Do we need to bring the laptop to SAS to be set up?
In early August we will email each student and their parents instructions on how to install the SAS Software Suite. This is self-managed and can be done at home, so there's no need to bring the laptop to SAS for any set up!
We are very excited to welcome your children to school for the 2025-2026 school-year. Included below is information on the three laptop models we offer, and how to purchase the laptop your child will use at school.
We require that incoming Upper School students purchase one of the three selected SAS laptops or use a comparable device that matches one of these models and meets these minimum specifications. Because our school's curriculum relies so much on technology, students must bring the school approved laptop to school each day. Other laptops or devices that do not match these models and general specifications will not be supported and may impact your student's ability to engage with SAS coursework.
Effective use of laptops in the curriculum calls for one of these standardized platforms which ensures that:
- Each student will be equipped with technology and software that is explicitly tied to the class curriculum
- The Faculty can prepare and conduct classes knowing exactly what technology and software students have, and be better prepared to assist them with just-in-time support
- Our technology department will be best prepared to quickly and efficiently troubleshoot and repair the student laptops
Family FAQs:
Where do we ship the laptop?
Since the laptop is a family purchase, it can be shipped directly to your home.
When we receive the laptop can we start using it?
Yes! It's your laptop so feel free to begin setting it up.
How do we get the SAS Software Suite? Do we need to bring the laptop to SAS to be set up?
In early August we will email each student and their parents instructions on how to install the SAS Software Suite. This is self-managed and can be done at home, so there's no need to bring the laptop to SAS for any set up!
Laptop Comparison
| Base Macbook Air M4 | Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 Laptop (DB04250) | Advanced Macbook Air M4 |
 |
 |
 |
| Apple M4 chip with 10‑core CPU | Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 | Apple M4 chip with 10‑core CPU |
| 256GB SSD Harddrive | 1TB Harddrive | 512GB SSD Harddrive |
| 16GB RAM | 32GB RAM | 24GB RAM |
|
Student Software Suite including Microsoft Office provided by SAS. Instructions will be sent in early August on how to self-manage the installation.
|
||
| 2.7 lbs | 3.6 lbs | 2.7 lbs |
| 13.6" Screen | 14" Screen | 13.6" Screen |
| No Touch Screen or Tablet-Mode | Touch Screen which folds into Tablet-Mode | No Touch Screen or Tablet-Mode |
| macOS 15 Sequoia | Windows 11 Professional | macOS 15 Sequoia |
| 3-year AppleCare+ Warranty (See Warranty details below) |
4-year Complete Care Warranty (including Accidental Damage) |
3-year AppleCare+ Warranty (See Warranty details below) |
| $1,078 + Tax
The price includes a 3-year AppleCare+ warranty that covers manufacturer hardware defects. It also covers two annual incidents of Accidental Damage where a $99 service fee will be charged by Apple for screen/enclosure damage or a $299 service fee will be charged by Apple for other accidental damages. |
$1,968.99 + Tax*
The price of the Dell 14 Plus will fluctuate through the summer. The price above was current as of June 2025. Dell also offers a 10% coupon to use when purchasing. Details on how to obtain the 10% coupon are below.
The price includes a 4-year Complete Care Warranty that covers manufacturer hardware defects and accidental damage. |
$1,478 + Tax
The price includes a 3-year AppleCare+ warranty that covers manufacturer hardware defects. It also covers two annual incidents of Accidental Damage where a $99 service fee will be charged by Apple for screen/enclosure damage or a $299 service fee will be charged by Apple for other accidental damages. |
How to Order a Dell 14 Plus Laptop
To order the Dell 14 Plus laptop for your child, please follow the steps below:1. Obtain your unique 10% Coupon Code by visiting this site and entering your email address and the Registration Code: "STAES_US". Your unique code will then be emailed to you which you will use in the following steps.
2. Order the Dell laptop by going to this site. You will see the Dell 14 Plus Laptop model we suggest with the configuration and current pricing.
3. Click Add to Cart and proceed through the checkout process. On the final screen you can enter the Coupon Code you obtained in the first step for 10% off.
For any questions regarding the ordering or shipment of your laptop, please contact our dedicated Dell sales specialist, Kendra McLelland at Kendra_Mclelland@Dell.com
How to Order a Macbook Air
To order a Macbook Air for your child, please follow the steps below:1. Order one of the Macbook Air models directly from Apple by going to www.sasaustin.org/macbookair.
2. You will be brought to a list of the two exact Macbook Air configurations that St. Andrew's will support at the Upper School Helpdesk and that we will install the school software suite on.
3. Choose the unit you would like to purchase by clicking the "Add to Bag" button, and follow the process from there.
