MacBook Setup Essentials for College Students

Updated August 2021 (for macOS Big Sur 11.4)

Apple MacBooks are very popular with college students, but a little planning and configuration is required for the best experience. A student moving away to college might be the first time they have full control over their own computing experience: installing apps, protecting their privacy, creating good passwords, avoiding viruses & malware, and backing up their data.

These are my suggestions for setting up a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or an iMac for any college student to simplify their computing experience. This is actually a good setup for anyone, but I focused on college students during Back-To-School season.

If you’re working with an older Mac, you can view the prior version for macOS Mojave 10.14.6 from August 2019.