Now that my days are largely my own, this is becoming a significant question, that factors into the issues of time, money, gender.
As an undergraduate, I didn't have a computer of my own. I used the campus computer labs to write papers, code homework assignments. Most of the labs, I worked with hardware during the lab period, and not outside of it. In fact, the one exception to that "rule" was EE 207, Digital Logic, where purchasing the hardware was a required part of the class, and I could bring it home (or to the Band Lounge) and work on it anywhere.
As an undergraduate, I didn't have a computer of my own. I used the campus computer labs to write papers, code homework assignments. Most of the labs, I worked with hardware during the lab period, and not outside of it. In fact, the one exception to that "rule" was EE 207, Digital Logic, where purchasing the hardware was a required part of the class, and I could bring it home (or to the Band Lounge) and work on it anywhere.