How to Choose the Best Laptop for College Students

When it’s time to gear up for college, there’s a lot to pack up and to purchase for a successful year ahead, such as textbooks and notebooks. But the most important item is the laptop you choose to bring. After all, it’s the device you’ll likely use to do most of your work towards your degree.

But which one is the best laptop for students going to college? Keep reading to learn which features to consider when choosing a laptop for university students.

Since you’ll be hauling your laptop around all day to the classroom, the library and breaks in between, you’ll want a laptop that will last for hours on a single battery charge. Unless you want to carry your laptop charging cord with you wherever you go, you’ll need some excellent battery life to see you through multiple classes. You certainly don’t want your computer dying on you in the middle of a lab or lecture or, worst of all, when you haven’t hit save on that paper you’re writing.

To be safe, it’s good to look for laptops that have at least 9 hours of battery life. Thanks to advances in technology, you can even find batteries that will last 18 hours or more. Remember, for increased battery life in any laptop, you might want to skip the 4K display option unless graphics are an important part of your studies.

You should also see whether your laptop has battery-saver settings. These settings can operate in several ways. For example, some stop battery-draining background updates from happening while you’re not plugged in, while others prevent your battery from overcharging. Battery life wears down over time, especially if batteries keep charging once they reach 100%, which leads to overheating.

Once your backpack is loaded up with textbooks, adding a heavy laptop can make it cumbersome to tote across campus. A good laptop for students is one that is lightweight, yet powerful. When you’re shopping, look for a laptop under four pounds. Three pounds or less is even more ideal if you have frequent neck or shoulder pain. You can also limit discomfort and protect your device at the same time with a durable laptop backpack that has plenty of padding inside. Comfortable, cushioned straps are also important since college textbooks are often hefty.

Finding a laptop with an internal solid-state drive (SSD) instead of a hard drive can make your computer both lighter and more resilient against the inevitable jostling that comes with frequent travel. That’s because SSDs don’t have moving parts like conventional hard disk drives do, so there’s less that can get knocked around inside the computer when you’re on the move. Plus, SSDs are faster at uploading and saving files than hard drives. This feature can be extremely helpful when you’re in a hurry to save notes or submit a paper that’s due.

Another aspect that contributes to a laptop’s overall weight and portability is screen size. While a laptop with a smaller screen size is more portable than a larger one, do keep in mind that going too small can make multitasking hard, especially if you tend to have more than one file or browser window open. Most students find that a laptop with a screen diameter between 13 and 15 inches is sufficient. If that seems small because you work with a lot of visual material or numerous spreadsheets at once, you might consider investing in a secondary computer monitor to keep on the desk in your dorm room to tackle large projects with ease.

Whether you’re searching for the best laptop for engineering students or a Chromebook for education majors, you’ll want a device that has the power to multitask. For instance, a laptop with a quality processor and plenty of memory (RAM) will be able to handle playing a video while calculating a formula in Excel without breaking a sweat. The better the RAM and processor, the more expensive the options get, so be realistic about what you’ll need to complete your coursework. If you’ll mainly be typing papers, taking notes and watching the occasional YouTube video, 8GB or 12GB are both worthy options. On the other hand, the best laptops for computer science students and future graphic designers have at least 16GB to handle the complex software programs required.

Another essential factor to consider when choosing a college laptop is compatibility. If the software needed for a certain course isn’t optimized for your Chromebook or PC, you’ll have a hard time completing assignments. Before you purchase, check with your college advisor to gain insight about the best Chromebook for students with the same major. You might be surprised to learn that they recommend a different type of laptop entirely than the one you think you need.

For instance, if you’re studying journalism or graphic arts, it may benefit you to have a MacBook that excels when using photo and video editing programs. It can be useful for your laptop to be compatible with other devices you own, such as your phone or a tablet. If your smartphone uses the Android operating system, then a PC laptop is a better option than a Mac. 

It goes without saying that your laptop will be your constant companion all the way through college. Therefore, no matter what laptop you choose, consider the ways you will protect your device.

For starters, always back up your files on the cloud, a flash drive or an external hard drive so that you don’t lose an assignment after hours of hard work, causing you to miss a due date. In the case of an unfortunate accident, you will thank yourself for securing insurance on your laptop.

The fact of the matter is each college student’s journey is unique and what laptop is best for one student is not the same for another. More people are choosing to earn their degrees virtually rather than attend in-person classes. For those non-traditional students, finding the best laptop for online classes is a higher priority than figuring out which laptop is the most portable.

Another factor that varies between individuals is budget. Fortunately, there are student laptop deals that make it possible to find affordable laptops for students that are putting themselves through school. Even if you’re not limited when it comes to laptop price, getting a good deal on a laptop means you’ll have more cash to spend on laptop accessories, like a wireless mouse. With your new student laptop and any peripherals to enhance your device, you’ll be ready to go from the first day of classes to the day you walk across the stage to receive your diploma.