For a college student, there is no more important tool than a laptop. It's a catch-all for note-taking, studying, homework, collaboration, procrastination (don't tell your professors), and extracurricular activities. When you pick one, you're likely choosing a tool for at least four years of education, if not further studies or just life after college.
Picking a college laptop can feel like homework in itself. There are a ton of laptops on the market, and you may get some help by checking out recommendations from your school or department. In our opinion, most students should prioritize portability, battery life and then performance, unless your school recommends something specific.
This semester, the latest parts in laptops include Intel's Core Ultra CPUs, AMD's Ryzen AI 300 processors, Apple's M3 chips and Nvidia's RTX 40-series GPUs.
If you're taking classes remotely, be sure to take the webcam into consideration. More and more laptops are finally getting 1080p webcams, which often include higher-quality lenses for better images. (Many, but not all, also have privacy shutters for when you're not making calls.)
Also, don't forget whatever student discounts are available. Many vendors may give you some percentage off, a gift card, or a free extra when you can prove that you're a student, either with a .edu email address or a college ID card.
Best College Laptops You Can Buy Today
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Popular in the lecture hall
Apple's thin and fanless MacBook Air with the M3 chip is likely to be a popular sign on college campuses this fall. The company may be popular, sure, but the M3 Air has the performance and longevity to back it up.
If you use multiple monitors at your desk, you'll be glad to know the new MacBook Airs support two of them. For when you're on the go, both the 13-inch and 15-inch models ran for more than 15 hours on our battery test.
Both machines include sharp webcams, excellent touchpads, and bright displays. The 15-inch version in particular has excellent speakers, with six speakers and force-canceling woofers.
The M3 MacBook Airs start at $1,099 for the 13-inch model and $1,299 for the 15-incher. Be sure you get exactly what you want, but beware, upgrade pricing can be wallet busting. For those looking for some savings, the 13-inch M2 model starts at $999.
Read: MacBook Air (M3) review
High specs for a good price
We see laptops with great screens and fast chips all the time, but the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED delivers both, and for a great price. We tested it with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage for $1,299, and have seen even lower prices in the months since.
At just 2.82 pounds, the sturdy aluminum laptop won't be too heavy in a backpack (Though the "pounder blue" color attracts fingerprints).
The only performance downside was that this machine throttled on our Cinebench stress test. For quick bursts of speed, it's good, but if you do intensive work, you should take note.
The keyboard is sort of mushy, which might not be great for term papers, but for the pricing, you may be able to tolerate that.
Read: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review
For dedicated notetakers
The Microsoft Surface Pro is a sleek, portable system that's easy to take with you, and is great for notetaking with a pen. Add in long battery life, and you have a study tool that can go with you from class to class.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip has enough power to keep up with x86. Thanks to an increasing number of Arm-compatible apps, including Google Chrome, you won't be missing out on a lot from Intel and AMD machines. That being said, you'll want to make sure any dedicated software you use for class will work.
Qualcomm's NPU, with 45 TOPS, is great for Windows Studio effects, but mostly these effects are cool tricks for now. Don't buy this just for AI. But if you want a great note taking device that's extra slim, it's worth considering. Just don't forget to add a keyboard and stylus to the base price.
Read: Microsoft Surface Pro review
An excellent 2-in-1
HP may have sunset the Spectre line, but the last 14-inch machine on the market to bear the name is a great one.
The Spectre is an attractive laptop with a 16:10 display (though we still miss the old 3:2 aspect ratio). The aluminum design feels premium, which it should — this laptop commands a high price.
The Spectre doesn't have a ton of ports, but you still get a USB-A port for legacy peripherals thanks to a drop-jaw hinge.
HP has switched to speakers from Poly, which it owns, and we found they were loud, clear, and balanced.
Read: HP Spectre x360 14 review
For a bit of graphics power
Some majors, like engineers, graphics designers, or some programmers may need a bit of extra graphics power. That's where having a discrete GPU comes in. We tested the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i with an RTX 4050, along with a beautiful 16-inch, 3200 x 2000 display.
The Yoga Pro 9i also has an excellent 5MP webcam for when classes are remote, and deep key travel for taking notes. The display could be a bit brother, and there's a bit of bloatware you may want to remove. But the Yoga came in cheaper than some competing laptops, like the Dell XPS 16, with a discrete graphics card.
Those who like to tinker will appreciate the extra SSD slot, which you can use to bulk up storage.
Read: Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i review
A finely-honed business machine
For business majors who want to get a feel for the type of laptop their first job will give them, there's the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12).
The ThinkPad has its trademark excellent keyboard, and with the TrackPoint in the middle, you don't even have to move your hands from the home row to move the cursor. There are plenty of ports for your peripherals, including USB Type-A.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon can get pricey. We advise against the OLED screen option, as we didn't find it that impressive, and a standard LCD display would likely do better on battery life.
Read: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12)
Quick College Laptop Shopping Tips
Quick College Laptop Shopping Tips
- Consider your major or specialization: Science majors and liberal arts majors may have different needs. An engineering major working with computer-aided design software might want a notebook with a discrete graphics card, while students who primarily do research and write papers may be fine with a thin ultrabook. Your school or department may also have recommended specifications (as well as a list of software that you'll need to run), so be sure to check those out.
- Learn if your work will live locally or in the cloud: Find out if your school or department uses cloud storage, such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. If they do, you may be able to get by with less internal storage. Of course, if you want your own copies of your work or would like to keep personal files as well as school files, budget for a bit of extra space.
- Weight and battery life matter: After all, you'll be carrying this laptop around all day in a backpack as you move from class to class. Lightweight and long battery life can both save your back and leave more room for books.
- Consider how you take notes: A good keyboard is always important, especially when you're writing papers. But some students still prefer to take notes by hand, and those people will want to consider a convertible or detachable 2-in-1 with a stylus.
- See if you can get a student discount: Some stores will offer you a discount with your proof of affiliation with a university or college. It's also possible that your school will have a relationship with a vendor for deals on certain models. Others may just throw in a gift card or some free earbuds. If you can find a deal, great; school is expensive enough.
Finding Discounts on the Best College Laptops
Finding Discounts on the Best College Laptops
Whether you're shopping for one of the best gaming laptops or another model that didn't quite make our list, you may find some savings by checking out our lists of Dell coupon codes, HP coupon codes, Lenovo coupon codes, Razer promo codes or Newegg promo codes.
