The new school year is quickly approaching, and now is the time to prepare. If you have a student heading off to college, you know there’s a bit more on their school supply list than in previous years. We’re talking sheets, a small refrigerator, towels, kitchenware, etc in addition to traditional school supplies like paper, notebooks, pens, and pencils.
But have you thought about the best laptop your college student will need to be ready for their classes?
Whether you’re a new college student or heading into your final year, you’re going to need a good laptop for writing papers and research. But with so many different brands, it can be a bit overwhelming.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the best laptops on the market to help your student succeed in college. These options have excellent battery life, which is crucial when running between classes on campus all day. There are also several models under $1,000, but keeping in mind to more expensive options will be a good investment.
- Surface Laptop Go (i5 64GB SSD Windows 10 Pro) $349.99.
Make the most of every day with the sleek style, performance, and all-day battery life¹ you need in our lightest Surface Laptop, all at an exceptional value.
- Microsoft Store offers 60-day returns on Surface products
- Free expert help, digital workshops, and remote learning opportunities
- Up to 13 hours of battery life based on typical Surface device usage2. 2022 Apple MacBook Pro Laptop $1,399
The 13-inch MacBook Pro laptop is a portable powerhouse. Apple’s most portable pro laptop is even more capable with the new M2 chip – and the same compact design.
- 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
- 256GB or 512GB SSD
- Up to 20 hours of battery life3. HP 15.6″ Pavilion Multi-Touch Laptop $649
Enjoy a fast and efficient performance in a smaller form factor with the 15.6″ Pavilion 15-eg2079nr Multi-Touch Laptop from HP.
- A laptop that can keep up with you, with a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1235U 10-Core processor and integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics.
- Intuitively reach out and control your display with just a touch. And transform your content with amazing Full HD detail and 178° wide viewing angles
- Go from 0 to 50% charge in approximately 45 minutes
- Get up to 15x faster performance than a traditional hard drive4. Acer Swift 3 Thin & Light Laptop $650
With a sleek aluminum & magnesium-aluminum metal chassis, high screen-to-body ratio and long-lasting battery, the Swift 3 notebook is the perfect companion for a college student on the go.
- With the 0.21″ narrow bezels and an impressive 82.73% screen-to-body ratio, you get to see more of the vivid 14″ 16:9 FHD IPS screen
- An embedded fingerprint reader is a quick and secure way for Windows Hello to verify your identity without a password
- Acer Purified Voice with two built-in microphones ensures all communications are clear & filters out typing noise
- Up to 11.5 hours of battery life keeps you powered up to accomplish all your daily tasks from morning to night
- Google Pixelbook Go $849
Pixelbook Go is the Chromebook laptop designed for your life on the go.
- It’s barely 2 pounds and 13 mm thin, with up to 12 hours of battery life
- Protects your data passwords, and information with the Titan C security chip and built-in antivirus software
- Starts up in seconds so it’s always ready when you are; the 8th Gen Intel Core Processor is quick and responsive powering everything you do
- A quiet and comfortable laptop with a backlit keyboard ultra quiet keys, and a spacious touchpad that only needs a light touch6. Lenovo 14″ IdeaPad Flex 5i Multi-Touch 2-in-1 Notebook (Storm Gray)$799
Make short work of everyday tasks with the storm gray Lenovo 14″ IdeaPad Flex 5i Multi-Touch 2-in-1 Notebook at your side. This compact laptop offers high versatility by allowing you to rotate its screen on a 360° hinge, allowing you to switch it from a traditional laptop to a tablet mode.
- Powered by a 12th generation Intel Core i5 10-core processor with Intel Iris Xe Graphics, 8GB of onboard memory, and a lightning fast 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 solid-state drive
- A Thunderbolt 4 port is available alongside two 5 Gb/s USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports. Connect an external display to the HDMI and Thunderbolt ports for presentations and to enhance your multitasking efficiency
- Windows 11 has been completely redesigned from its predecessor to emphasize productivity, creativity, and ease of use.
