Heading off to college in the fall? Taking online classes and need a trustworthy machine for long video calls? These laptops will get you from class to class, and passing with flying colors. Battery life, weight, processing power, and high resolution are just some of the things we took into account when looking at the best laptops for college. We know everyone’s budget is different, but these choices are sure to satisfy any ambitious student.
Asus ZenBook 13
Best laptop for college
Why should you buy this: You won’t find many laptops that provide a better combination of great performance with a lightweight design.
Who’s it for: College students who don’t have a lot to spend but still want a great laptop.
What we thought of the Asus ZenBook 13:
A well-built, feature-complete, and very affordable machine, the Asus ZenBook does it all. One of the ZenBook’s best attributes is that it looks premium. It is made with the same all-aluminum chassis as more expensive machines and also sports Asus’s iconic “spun metal concentric circle” finish that brings even more appeal to the machine’s Royal Blue finish and attractive gold accents. It’s a thin, lightweight laptop with an innovative ErgoLift hinge, which lifts the keyboard to a comfortable angle.
Of course, performance and battery life are important — and the ZenBook has both in more than sufficient quantities. The processor provides excellent performance and efficiency, while the 50 watt-hour battery should keep the machine running for an entire school day. A solid, reliable choice, the Asus ZenBook proves you don’t need to spend an excessive amount of money to get a great laptop for college.
Why we love it:
- Lightweight, thin, all-aluminum body
- Work comfortably with ErgoLift hinge keyboard
- Excellent battery life
MacBook Air
The best MacBook for college
Why should you buy this: It’s the most economical entry into Apple’s MacBook ecosystem.
Who’s it for: Any college student who loves the Mac but doesn’t have the budget for the MacBook Pro.
What we thought of the Apple MacBook Air:
Apple is renowned for building attractive, robust laptops that are popular on college campuses — not least because Apple has been active in the education market for decades. And if you want a Mac, then the most economical choice (while still getting those sweet MacBook specs) is the MacBook Air.
The latest version of the Air has an updated keyboard (which has garnered plenty of praise all on its own), and a top-notch Retina display (13.3-inches at 2,560 x 1,600). The base model starts with a 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 processor, 256GB of PCIe SSD storage, 8GB of RAM, and a battery rated for about 11 hours browsing online. Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports are readily available, as well as a DisplayPort connection and USB 3.1.
Why we love it:
- Excellent memory and processing power
- Beautiful Retina display
- 11 hours of battery life
Samsung Chromebook Plus
The best Chromebook for college
Why should you buy this: It’s the most powerful Chrome OS 2-in-1 on the market
Who’s it for: College students who use Chrome OS or attend colleges using Google solutions
Why we picked the Samsung Chromebook Plus:
Google’s Chrome OS platform and its various services, such as Google Docs, are becoming increasingly important in educational environments. Chrome OS is lightweight, requiring less hardware than Windows 10, and extends support for Android apps to laptops. If you cringe at the thought of using a Chromebook from the terrible one your high school loaned you, think again. Our favorite Chromebook, the Samsung Plus model is beautiful to look at and impressive to work on.
For a fair price, you get an Intel Core m3 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage capacity. That sounds minimal when compared to the typical Windows 10 notebook, particularly in terms of storage space. But remember that Chrome OS requires far fewer computing resources — and most of your data will reside in the Google cloud. Toss in a bright, high resolution (2,560 x 1,600) 12.2-inch display, and you have a machine that’s more than powerful enough for Google’s slim OS. This all resides beneath a convertible laptop to tablet design, supporting not only media consumption, but convenient note-taking as well.
Why we love it:
- 2-in-1 laptop-to-tablet design
- Lightweight and comfortable for studying long hours
Acer Aspire 5
The best budget laptop for college
Why should you buy this: Just because you’re on a tight budget doesn’t mean you don’t want a quality machine.
Who’s it for: Any college student whose budget can’t stretch beyond the basics.
What we thought of the Acer Aspire 5:
College is an expensive proposition, and sometimes you have other things to spend your money on than a new laptop. That’s why it’s great not to have to compromise with the Acer Aspire 5, a 15.6-inch notebook that’s incredibly affordable and is still equipped with fast, modern components. For example, you can pick up a configuration with an 8th-gen Core i5-8145U CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. You can increase or decrease some of these specs, but watch to see how pricing is affected if you try.
In either case, you’ll also enjoy a 1080p display and excellent connectivity with two USB-A 3.0 ports, a USB-A 2.0 port, a USB-C 3.1 port, an Ethernet port for wired networking, and a full-size HDMI video connection. In a day and age where companies are sidelining compatibility concerns, that’s nothing to sneeze at. But perhaps most impressive is the Aspire 5 generous battery capacity. In our testing, the Aspire 5 exceeded Acer’s 7-hour estimate when browsing the web, at just over nine hours. You’ll be free to roam campus all day without lugging around a power brick or having to dash back to your dorm for extra charging.
If you’d prefer to save your money for better dorm room furniture or textbooks, then the Acer Aspire E 15 can meet your basic requirements with some room to spare.
Why we love it:
- Exceptional battery life
- High resolution screen and fast processing power
Going to college is a big deal, and whether you are studying online or on campus, you need a laptop that can take you from class to class, and from the dorm to the library. With long battery life, fast processing power, lots of memory and 2-in-1 capabilities for when you want a tablet for your class presentations, these laptops give you all the best aspects of having a computer, without decimating your back to school budget.
