- Best 2 In 1 Laptop For College Students
- Best Laptop For College Students Mac Or Pc
- Best Laptop For College Students On A Budget
How to Choose a Laptop to Last Through School
If you’re a student, a laptop is as essential as your textbooks and school ID — and not just because of your school work. It should also be able to handle your big extracurricular activities: keeping up with your social networks, streaming movies, listening to music, posting photos, gaming, video chatting with the ‘rents back home. And of course, the best laptops for college students need to last for the long haul, preferably through four years of undergrad and maybe a year of grad work.
Best College Laptops 2018. The MacBook Air earns its place back on our list of the best laptops for college students. The 13.3-inch machine costs a bit more than its predecessor, but the. Picking a laptop for online college is easy. For most students who need a computer for things like creating documents, slideshows, and browsing the web, a decent PC or even a Chromebook will do.
Lucky for you, we have a bunch below that fit that description perfectly — and since most of them are below $1,000, they won’t drain your savings account. Here are the basics you should keep in mind while looking for a laptop for college.
First Off: Research Your College
The first, and most important, thing to do is check with your school for specific system requirements. They may have hard-and-fast hardware recommendations. (Or not.)
Some colleges and universities want their students equipped with Windows-based laptops, to cut down on software incompatibility issues or to keep technical support concentrated on one platform. Others don’t care which operating system you use, whether it’s Windows, macOS, or even Linux if you’re a hard-core type. Some institutions have on-site computer repair centers that service only laptops purchased from the university or an affiliated computer store on campus; using one of these facilities, the turn-around time will be much quicker than if you were to send it overnight to the original manufacturer.
Also note that most schools offer price breaks for particular vendors and include extensive software bundles, which can shave off a good amount from your laptop purchase. So you might want to look into the campus store as a first shopping destination, before you hit your local superstore or favorite online seller.
Keeping It Light: Why Weight Matters
Not every student will agree, but depending on how far you’ll haul it every day, a big-screen notebook may not be such a good idea.
It’s nice to have a mini home theater in your dorm room or play the latest games in big-screen 1080p glory, but a 6-pound-plus laptop with a 15-inch or 17-inch screen will be a chore to haul across campus while you’re running from class to class. You’re better off with something that’s light: If screen size matters less to you than convenience, a super-thin ultraportable might be the way to go.
For most people, a maximum 13- or 14-inch widescreen panel is ideal, as it will make room for other items in your backpack and minimize the weight burden. Depending on your tolerance level, a smaller display works as long as you understand that full webpages and productivity applications will involve more scrolling, and fonts will appear smaller than they do on larger screens, assuming the same resolution and zoom level.
Essays, research papers, and chatting online with your classmates will take up most of your computing time, so a full-size keyboard and a comfortable touchpad are crucial. Also know: When you venture smaller than a 13-inch-class laptop, you run the risk of not getting the same typing experience. The easiest way to ensure that you have the best keyboard is to stop by a brick-and-mortar store and spend some time typing on prospective choices of different size classes.
If you do decide to buy a smaller, less expensive laptop, it’s probably worth investing in a standalone keyboard you can keep at home or in the dorm for when you need to do a lot of typing. A desktop monitor you attach via HDMI could be a nice complement, too.
How Much Power Do You Need?
Laptops offer a wide selection of processors across both budgets and usage cases — you can choose one that maximizes performance, or one that favors battery life. Or you can select one that plays to both strengths: Intel’s latest ‘Kaby Lake R,’ ‘Coffee Lake,’ and ‘Whiskey Lake’ Core CPUs (all various forms of 8th Generation Intel processors) confer the benefits of both power and battery efficiency.
If you desire all-day battery life, and spend almost all of your time in a web browser, you might want to consider going with a Chromebook. These typically run on low-powered processors (Intel Celeron and Pentium chips, in most cases), but these CPUs suffice for the kinds of workaday online tasks that Chromebooks excel at. (More about Chromebooks in a bit, below.) If performance, on the other hand, ranks high on the list, a Windows 10 or macOS machine with an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 CPU gives you the most oomph.
Note that not all Core i5 and i7 chips are created equal. The ones ending in ‘H’ or ‘HQ’ are the highest-performance chips, typically found in larger gaming-focused and power-user laptops, while the ones ending in ‘U’ are efficient, low-power CPUs meant for use in thinner, more portable machines. More performance means more heat generated, which generally means the more substantial the chassis and supporting gear needed to cool the chip.
If you like playing games in your downtime, you might want to splurge on a more expensive gaming laptop. Most general-purpose machines, especially at under-$800 prices, won’t have the kind of discrete graphics chip (GPU) necessary to make the hottest AAA game titles look good and play smoothly. But if you hunt around a little, you can find gaming laptops these days starting at around $700 with a decent Nvidia GeForce GTX or (less commonly) AMD Radeon RX GPU for playing games at 1080p and moderate or better settings. (See our guide to the best cheap gaming laptops for lots more about budget GPUs, and about how to buy just enough gaming machine for your needs.) A powerful GPU can also help in certain high-end and scientific applications that can benefit from GPU acceleration, but, like a high-powered processor, they also feast on the battery.
The good news is that, in most other cases (unless, say, you’re an architecture major with a heavy reliance on CAD software), integrated graphics solutions should suffice for the day-to-day tasks you’ll face. This is the graphics silicon built into the processors of most budget and midrange laptops. Today, that overwhelmingly means some form of Intel integrated graphics: Intel HD Graphics, Intel UHD Graphics, or Intel Iris or Iris Plus graphics. Our reviews will detail their comparative performance levels, but none is a match for even a moderate dedicated GPU.
Storage Solutions: SSDs Are Tops
With the increasing prevalence of cloud storage and web applications, having plentiful local storage space is somewhat less vital now than it used to be, but you should still make sure that your laptop meets your needs. If you plan to install a lot of programs or want to hang on to lots of large media files, you’ll need 500GB of space or more. If you don’t foresee needing all that local storage, or are content with leaving a lot of your work online, you can get by with a laptop with less space.
Whichever way you go, remember that storage affects speed, too. If you go with a hard drive because you get more storage for less money, know that it will be noticeably slower than a snappy-feeling solid-state drive (SSD). The higher cost and lower capacity of a faster SSD is a trade-off that some students are willing to make. We strongly recommend SSDs for laptops that are carried around campus a lot, since they are impervious to drop damage. Plus, they are a lot faster than hard drives and give a laptop a much snappier perceived feel.
The good news is that by plugging an external hard drive into one of your laptop’s USB ports, you can add more space whenever you need it. Although you probably won’t have to do this unless you’re a video junkie or an aspiring filmmaker, it’s a good option to have.
Gamers may want to take an altogether different view. With many AAA game installations topping 40GB or 50GB each, a small SSD can get eaten up fast. You’ll want to think about that before you buy a machine, say, with a 256GB SSD alone, or at least be prepared to swap games on and off the drive as you complete them.
Battery Life: How Long Must It Hold Out?
A sizable battery can be your biggest ally on a day filled with classes and extracurricular activities. A few school-oriented laptops come with multiple battery options. Most, though, have only one — and it’s not removable.
In this case, figure out where battery life ranks in the grand scheme of things. If removable batteries are an option (increasingly they are not, alas), it might be a good idea to get a second one, or a larger ‘extended’ one if available, at the time of purchase. The more ‘cells’ the battery contains within a given model line, the better the battery life.
A big battery can mean some heft, but the weight gain is well worth it if it means leaving the system unplugged from dawn until dusk. This is where our reviews come in especially handy; we’ve tested every laptop that passes through our labs for battery runtime with nonstop video playback, so you can get a good idea of relative endurance between models.
What About Chromebooks?
In the past several years, we have seen a strong push by Chromebook manufacturers into the education market. Chromebooks themselves have gone from being glorified netbooks running the Chrome OS to laptops that are still web-centric but have a relatively full feature set. If, like many schools, the one you’re attending puts its coursework in the cloud, a Chromebook can offer you much of the functionality of a regular laptop, and it may deliver longer battery life.
It will also likely cost you a lot less than other types of notebooks. Chromebook prices typically run between $200 and $300 (although higher-end models can go for as much as $1,000). Just be sure you have ready access to constant, stable Wi-Fi, as there is scant local storage on these systems, and you have to plan ahead to use them effectively offline.
PC gamers, of course, won’t find much use for one of these laptops; they only run Chrome OS apps and (in the case of most recent Chromebooks) Android apps from the Google Play store. But a Chromebook can also be a good, inexpensive second laptop you carry around campus to take notes, while your beastly gaming rig (or desktop gaming PC, for that matter) hangs back at the dorm or at home.
(In the market for a Chrome OS laptop? We’ve rounded up today’s best Chromebooks.)
Consider a Hybrid: 2-in-1s for School
In recent years, a new category of laptop has emerged. Hybrids, also known as 2-in-1s, are capable of functioning as traditional clamshell-style laptops when you need them to, but can transform into tablets when that’s a more convenient form for what you’re doing. Some (generally called convertibles) sport a folding design that flips the keyboard out of the way, usually by rotating all the way around its hinge. Others (‘detachables’) allow you to dock a tablet/screen portion of the PC with an accessory keyboard for laptop-like functionality.
A budget 2-in-1 might be just what you need to fill a number of roles. One thing to be mindful of: If you are considering a detachable 2-in-1 design, make sure the keyboard base is included in the price. In some cases, it is; in others, it is an added-cost accessory that will bump up the price, sometimes by more than you’d expect.
See How We Test Laptops
What About Windows 10 S Mode?
You probably won’t run across Windows 10 S Mode in your shopping travels, but it’s good to know what it is, since it’s most often encountered in education environs. Microsoft’s new student-centric version of its operating system is a locked-down version of Windows, aimed at preventing malware from being inadvertently downloaded. It’s compatible with any app in the Windows Store, but it doesn’t allow third-party Windows programs unless you convert your laptop to full Windows 10 Home or Pro. You can easily switch to the full version of Windows 10 using the Microsoft Store app, but a fee may apply, depending on your device, and you won’t be able to go back to Windows 10 S once you convert. Also, this version of the OS supports only the Edge browser.
Windows 10 S Mode comes preloaded on portables like the Microsoft Surface Laptop (a $999 ultraportable model with a target placed firmly on the backs of Apple’s line; the newer Surface Laptop 2 ships with straight-up Windows 10) and the consumer versions of the Microsoft Surface Go.
A Word on Warranties
Almost every laptop you might buy today is backed by at least a one-year warranty on parts and labor. Extended warranties are also available, but whether they’re worth it depends on who you are as a user.
For starters, know that the standard warranty doesn’t cover accidents that stem from a spilled drink or a drop on concrete. Most manufacturers sell accident coverage as a separate plan, on top of extended warranties that supplement a standard one, so you might end up spending close to $300 for three years of coverage. Apple offers a maximum extended warranty of three years ($250), while some makers of Windows laptops will offer up to four years.
In our opinion, if the warranty costs more than 15 percent of the total laptop price, you’re better off spending the money on backup drives or services that minimize downtime in case something does go awry. Of course, you can’t put a price on peace of mind. In rare instances, the logic board or the display — the most expensive pieces of a laptop — can fail and cost you in repairs half of what the laptop is worth. Faulty components usually break down during the first year; anything after that is probably more about regular wear and tear.
Ready for Our Recommendations?
So, what’s the best laptop to get for school? True, there are ever more choices on the market today, and slogging through them can be daunting. No worries, though: We did the work for you. Scroll or swipe down to check out the hottest laptops to grace the dorm room, college classroom, and campus quad for this school year.
For more general factors to look for when shopping, check out our overall top laptop picks, as well as our favorite budget notebooks. And for more shopping advice for school, visit our Back-to-School Tech Guide.
Best Laptops for College Students Featured in This Roundup:
- Dell XPS 13 (9380) Review
- MSRP: $899.99
- Pros: Compact and classy. Beautiful rose-gold-and-white color scheme. 4K touch screen. Two Thunderbolt 3 ports plus USB-C.
- Cons: No HDMI or USB Type-A ports. 4K display isn’t the best for battery life. Loaded models get pricey.
- Bottom Line: Dell moves the webcam to where it always should have been, fixing one of the very few faults of the drop-dead gorgeous, highly capable XPS 13. Earning our highest recommendation and a rare five-star rating, the XPS 13 (9380) is, indisputably, the best ultraportable laptop you can buy.
- Read Review
- Acer Predator Helios 300 (2019) Review
- MSRP: $1199.99
- Pros: Unbeatable gaming performance for the price. Solid build. 144Hz display. Good port selection. Seamlessly integrated component monitoring and boosting.
- Cons: 256GB of storage restrictive for gaming. Brief battery life.
- Bottom Line: Performing like a pricier machine without skimping on build quality or features, Acer’s 2019 Predator Helios 300 delivers excellent value. It’s our new top pick among entry-level gaming laptops.
- Read Review
- Apple MacBook Pro 13-Inch (2019) Review
- MSRP: $1299.00
- Pros: Thin, light, and stylish. Excellent trackpad. Long battery life. Brilliant display. Two Thunderbolt 3 ports.
- Cons: Relatively expensive, even in starting config. Limited connectivity for peripherals in lower-end models. Polarizing keyboard lacks vertical travel.
- Bottom Line: The 13-inch MacBook Pro is Apple’s best ultraportable laptop, thanks to stylish looks, an excellent touchpad, and long battery life.
- Read Review
- Asus VivoBook S15 S530UA Review
- MSRP: $699.99
- Pros: Thin, light design. Slender bezels. Hinge with lifting action works well. Plenty of ports. Comfy keyboard. Fingerprint scanner.
- Cons: Poor webcam quality. Awkward touchpad.
- Bottom Line: A svelte laptop with thin bezels, lots of color options, and a unique hinge design that keeps it running cool and quiet, the Asus VivoBook S15 is a winner for students and casual buyers alike.
- Read Review
- HP Chromebook x2 Review
- MSRP: $599.99
- Pros: Elegant detachable design. Spiffy screen. More lap-friendly than tablets with kickstands. Strong performance and battery life.
- Cons: Expensive. No backlit keyboard. Mediocre cameras.
- Bottom Line: It could use a $50 or $100 price cut, but HP’s pioneering Chromebook x2 detachable joins Google’s $999 Pixelbook as the elite of the Chrome OS field.
- Read Review
- HP Envy 13 (2019) Review
- MSRP: $749.99
- Pros: Low price. Sleek metal styling. Handsome 4K touch screen.
- Cons: No HDMI or Thunderbolt 3 port. Not suited for gaming despite discrete graphics.
- Bottom Line: If you can live without a Thunderbolt 3 port, you’ll find HP’s Envy 13 a stylish alternative to 13.3-inch ultraportables costing hundreds more.
- Read Review
- Lenovo Yoga 730 (13-Inch) Review
- MSRP: $799.99
- Pros: Thin and light. Comfortable keyboard and touchpad. Two Thunderbolt ports. Quick charging. Good everyday computing performance.
- Cons: Slightly bulky in Tablet mode. Screen bounces in Laptop mode. No SD card slot.
- Bottom Line: The Lenovo Yoga 730 convertible laptop is a small but worthy iteration on its already-excellent predecessor, with better computing performance and a subtle redesign.
- Read Review
- Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Review
- MSRP: $999.00
- Pros: Compact, trim design. Superior build quality. Exceptional battery life. Sharp touch display.
- Cons: Limited selection of ports. Performance isn’t quite as fast as some competitors. Touchpad clicks are loud.
- Bottom Line: Much the same as the original, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 2 remains a sleek ultraportable with a top-notch build, a stellar screen, and a very long-lasting battery. Add a port or two, and it would be a superstar.
- Read Review
- Acer Nitro 5 (2019) Review
- MSRP: $879.99
- Pros: Solid 1080p gaming and a giant display at a low price. Room for storage expansion. Decent webcam.
- Cons: Lackluster screen. No SD card slot or Thunderbolt 3 port. Hard-to-read keyboard.
- Bottom Line: For less than $900, this 17.3-inch version of Acer’s Nitro 5 bargain gaming rig plays top games at top quality settings at close to 60fps. Its screen is merely adequate, but the laptop as a whole is a great value.
- Read Review
- Apple MacBook Air (2019) Review
- MSRP: $1099.00
- Pros: Thin, sleek, and light. Excellent design and build quality. Large, accurate touchpad. Very long battery life. Fingerprint reader.
- Cons: Humdrum performance on benchmark tests. Very short key travel on a polarizing keyboard. Limited port selection. No touch screen.
- Bottom Line: The 2019 edition of Apple’s MacBook Air is cheaper and has a slightly richer feature set than its solid predecessor, making it a decent ultraportable for buyers who won’t perform many resource-intensive computing tasks.
- Read Review
Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.
The Rundown
- Best Overall:Acer Aspire E 15 at Amazon, “The ideal mix of value and performance that’s built to last.”
- Best Rugged:ASUS Chromebook at Amazon, “A rugged computer that’s capable of being repeatedly thrown in your backpack.”
- Best 2-in-1:Acer Chromebook R 11 at Amazon, “A laptop that can handle both homework and extra-curricular internet use.”
- Best Lightweight:ASUS ZenBook S at Amazon, “A 2.2-pound, 0.5-inch thick design made from aerospace-grade aluminum.”
- Best Apple: MacBook Air at Amazon, ‘It’s portable, offers great battery life, boasts a gorgeous display, and packs more than enough power to spare.’
- Best Value:Dell XPS 13 at Dell.com, ‘Has the performance and memory to handle a last-minute essay and a stream of your favorite Netflix series at the same time.’
- Best Budget:HP 15 at Amazon, “The trade-off in power and ability is well worth the extra heft.”
Our Top Picks
Best Overall: Acer Aspire E 15 E5–576–392H
4.5
The latest Acer Aspire model is the ideal mix of value and performance that’s built to last through all your college years. It’s also significantly cheaper than most high-end laptops, which college students can truly appreciate. First off, it contains an 8th-Generation Intel Core i3 processor, 6GB dual-channel memory, and a 1TB hard drive. It also features Intel Turbo Boost Technology for smooth video streaming and high-speed performance, along with a long-lasting 13.5-hour battery. The hardware should satisfy the needs of most college students, but if your workload is particularly demanding, then upgrading the memory or hard drive is a simple process — just open the easy-access compartment in the bottom of the laptop to replace the parts.
The Acer Aspire is built for both work and entertainment. The 15.6-inch screen features full HD resolution, although the color isn’t as vibrant as some of its competitors. This model is also on the heavier side at 5.27 pounds. However, it comes with a DVD drive, SD slot, and has port space for USB 3.0, 2.0, Type-C, as well as Ethernet and HDMI inputs. As an added bonus, you can even charge your USB-connected devices when the laptop is powered down.
Want to take a look at some other options? See our guide to the best Acer laptops.
Best for Durability: ASUS Chromebook C202SA-YS02
3.7
The ASUS Chromebook C202 is a rugged computer that’s capable of being repeatedly thrown in your backpack. It has a spill-resistant keyboard, a reinforced rubber bumper to protect it from minor drops and scratches, and nano-molding technology on its edges and corners to reduce the impact of falls. In a drop test, the Chromebook C202 was capable of withstanding a fall from as high as 3.9 feet — and that’s particularly impressive given it only weighs 2.65 pounds.
The C202’s 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 display even comes equipped with anti-glare technology, so you can work while you catch some rays on the quad. With a 180-degree hinge, you can also manipulate the laptop into whatever angle you like. On the inside, it packs an Intel Celeron N3060 Processor ( 2M cache up to 2.48 GHz) and 16GB of flash storage. The Chromebook runs on, you guessed it, Chrome OS, so you can download and edit files via Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Like other Chromebook models, the C202 also employs automatically-updating anti-virus protection so you don’t have to worry about accidentally downloading any malicious software when you’re surfing the web.
Interested in reading more reviews? Take a look at our selection of the best ASUS laptops.
Best 2-in-1: Acer Chromebook R 11
4.4
Every college student needs a laptop that can handle both homework and extra-curricular internet use — like those early morning hours when you’re five hours deep into a Netflix original series. The Acer Chromebook R 11 gets an A+ for both. The convertible, 360-degree laptop/tablet runs on Chrome OS, so you can download apps — both productive and just for fun — from the Google Play Store and use Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to complete your classwork.
With an Intel Celeron N3150 Quad-Core Processor 1.6GHz with Intel Burst Technology up to 2.08GHz combined with 4GB of onboard memory and 32GB of internal storage, the Chromebook R 11 multitasks with ease. Built-in virus protection — which updates itself automatically — also safeguards your files, so you don’t have to worry about crashes or data loss. And once you’ve submitted your report or finished your online quiz, you can flip the screen all the way back to enjoy your favorite games and shows in tablet mode on its 11.6-inch HD IPS touch display with 1366 x 768 resolution. The battery life is rated at about 10 hours, so it’ll last you a full day of classes and then some. You also get 100GB of free storage on Google Drive for two years, so you won’t have to worry about storing important documents or photos.
Want to take a look at some other options? See our guide to the best 2-in-1 laptops.
Best Lightweight: ASUS ZenBook S
4.5
The ASUS ZenBook S is one of the most rugged and portable laptops out there, with a 2.2-pound, 0.5-inch thick design made from aerospace-grade aluminum. It’s got a neat backlit, tilting keyboard, too, that can angle your typing surface by 5.5 inches. This function also allows for additional airflow which helps keep the machine cool — in tandem with a copper-alloy heat pipe and liquid-crystal-polymer fan — so it won’t sound like a rocket ship when it’s working hard. Add in a headphone jack and three USB-C ports (with two that can handle Thunderbolt 3 cables) and you’ve got some serious connectivity in this highly portable device.
The ZenBook S also comes with Alexa integration for voice commands and a lithium polymer battery that can last up to 9 hours without a charge. You can gear it up with either an i5 or i7 Intel CPU for some serious power in exceptionally small form, and you can outfit your ZenBook S with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM for a smooth, multi-app running experience. If you’re looking for something a little different, you can opt for the laptop in Deep Dive Blue or Burgundy Red. Media-types will dig being able to add a 4K glossy touchscreen as an option, with HD glossy non-touch or HD anti-glare screens as the other two.
Best Apple: MacBook Air
Since their conception, MacBooks have been extremely popular laptops among college students and, for most, Apple’s MacBook Air is the one to buy. It’s slim, it’s portable, offers great battery life, boasts a gorgeous display, and packs more than enough power to spare for the needs of most college programs. In short, Apple has taken a formidable MacBook for college students and made it even better, with a screen that is, rest assured, easy on the eyes.
Under the hood, you’re still getting a 1.6GHz 8th-generation Intel Core i5 CPU that can burst up to 3.6GHz when you need it, plus 8 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD. If all you’re doing is writing essays, this base model will likely be more than enough, but you can bump both the RAM and the SSD up to 16GB or 1TB, respectively, if you have a few extra bucks to spend. Of course, it goes without saying that your course load will help determine this as well, but remember that there are also a pair of Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, so keeping some high-speed external storage on hand back in your dorm room is always an option, too.
At only 2.75 pounds and 0.61 inches thick, it’s portable enough that it won’t weigh you down, and its 12- to 13-hour battery life means it will easily keep you going all day long without needing to worry about toting a charger around. Apple has also built-in its T2 security chip, along with Touch ID, which will keep your work encrypted and also help protect your MacBook should it ever get lost.
Or you could step up the processing power with one of the best MacBook Pro models of 2019. Your choice.
Best Value: Dell XPS 13
Packed with power, the Dell XPS 13 is a lightweight, portable laptop with the performance and memory to handle a last-minute essay and a stream of your favorite Netflix series — at the same time. Weighing just 2.7 pounds, the laptop can be outfitted with the new 8th Gen Intel Quad Core processors, meaning performance isn’t impacted when multiple applications are running. The screen has a 4K Ultra HD resolution with 8 million pixels and 1500:1 contrast ratio for a stunning visual experience. The 400-nit brightness and anti-reflective screen let students use it either inside or out, while the 21-hour battery life allows it to last between long days of classes and late-night study sessions.
A new HD webcam located at the front and center of the top of the frame delivers crystal-clear images, temporal noise reduction, and better video quality for calls back home or with friends across the country. Sleek and sophisticated, the laptop is available in frost, rose gold, or platinum silver colors.
Best Budget: HP 15-BS013DX
3.6
If you have a $500 budget to play with, you’ll have no trouble finding a value laptop suitable for college students. Right now, our favorite is the HP 15-BS013DX which delivers a 15.6-inch touchscreen, an Intel i3–7100U processor, a 1 TB hard drive (AKA tons of storage), and a full 8 G of RAM to keep things responsive and smooth. The Intel HD Graphics 620 card will run some decent games when you need to take a break from your studies, too. Add Bluetooth, two USB 3.1 plugs, and an HDMI port, and you’ve got a killer machine that will feel equally at home in the coffee shop as in the class (or dorm) room.
While it might be a bit unwieldy at 15' x 10' x 0.9' and 4.5 pounds, the trade-off in power and ability is well worth the extra heft. Reviewers on Best Buy really like the features included (touch screen, more RAM, etc.) for the price — especially if you’ll be doing little more than surfing the web, streaming videos, and typing up Word documents.
Tested by
How We Tested
We bought five top-rated laptops for college students that our reviewers tested for more than 100 hours. We asked our testers to consider the most important features when using these laptops, from their operating system to their durability. We’ve outlined the key takeaways here so that you, too, know what to look for when shopping.
What to Look for in a College Laptop
Operating system -Apple’s Macs are known for having an intuitive interface that’s sleek and ideal for designers, while Windows PCs are capable of more customization and are often better suited for productivity.
Portability -If you need something that’s easy to toss into your backpack, you might prefer a smaller and lighter model like a two-in-one. However, if you’re mostly working in your dorm, a larger laptop might not be so cumbersome. For creative or design students, a larger screen is likely necessary.
Budget -Between buying textbooks and planning spring break, college doesn’t come cheap. If you’re looking to save a few dollars on a laptop, you can still get plenty of premium features, like a cutting-edge processor or advanced security features. If you’ve got some cash to spare, you might be more comfortable splurging on a MacBook, which has unrivaled displays.
Test Results: Acer Aspire E 15 E5–576–392H (Best Overall)
4.5
What We Like
- High-quality display
- Extensive battery life
- Good speed
What We Don’t Like
- Heavy
- Internet connectivity issues
- Lots of pre-installed software
This laptop came highly recommended by our testers as an overall good value. “It offers a great-quality display, relatively high speeds, an easy setup, and a great operating system (Windows 10),” remarked one of our reviewers. Our testers also enjoyed the long battery life. In terms of negatives, one of our reviewers reported “frequent issues with internet connectivity,” which didn’t happen with another laptop, and also didn’t like all of the pre-installed software. But while one of our testers wished the laptop were more lightweight, she declared, “For an everyday budget laptop, this is a great choice.”
Test Results: ASUS Chromebook C202SA-YS02 11.6-Inch (Best for Durability)
3.7
What We Like
- Very portable
- Great value
- Impressive battery life
What We Don’t Like
- Limited features
- Screen on the smaller side
One of our testers liked the “no frills” approach this Chromebook takes to give students exactly what they need for class. She said, “For the price, this has everything you need for school or home — docs and sheets, a camera, Internet access, and durability.” This laptop’s battery life also gets an A+ from our testers: “For school, I’m positive this computer would last a full day,” said one, “and likely have time for homework back at home.”
Test Results: Acer Chromebook R 11 Convertible, 11.6-Inch HD Touch Screen (Best 2-in-1)
4.4
What We Like
- Stylish design
- Intuitive touchscreen
- Google integration
Best 2 In 1 Laptop For College Students
Our testers loved the fact that this laptop was integrated with Google, reporting that it made it easier for them to power through daily tasks. One of our reviewers also raved about its speed and responsiveness, saying it was “intuitive” and a “joy” to use. However, one of our testers did experience some ghost clicking, which caused the cursor to click on things when the user didn’t mean to. (This can usually be remedied by restarting the computer.)
Test Results: ASUS ZenBook S (Best Lightweight)
4.5
What We Like
Best Laptop For College Students Mac Or Pc
- Very portable
- Crisp screen display
- Comes with case
Our testers loved that the ZenBook S was slim and portable: “You can easily hold it in one hand or carry in a small bag. I liked how it felt compact,” one wrote. Our reviewers also reported that the laptop has a crisp screen display, great-quality sound, and impressive battery life. One of our testers summed it up: “I felt the computer met and exceeded expectations for working quickly and being easy to use.”
Test Results: HP 15-BS013DX (Best Under $500)
3.6
What We Like
Best Laptop For College Students On A Budget
- Attractive design with some premium touches
- Includes a touchscreen
- Good battery life
- Big hard drive
What We Don’t Like
- Bloatware
- Touchscreen could be easier to use
- Display resolution is only 1366 x 768
Our tester felt that this laptop’s battery life was good compared to similar models. He also liked its design but wished that its touchscreen was more pleasant to use: “Something about the glossy screen causes the finger to stick and skid across instead of sliding smoothly,” he said. Other negatives were that it comes with too much bloatware and that it doesn’t have a full HD display. Overall, he thought that “you can get better overall specifications and performance for less money, but this is a budget-priced laptop that performs well enough.”
