Adrian Dimakis
Back in the days, college students used to carry heaps of books to the lecture rooms, and they had to write all notes for every lesson they attended. It used to work, but this was tiring and consumed lots of time that could have been used for other kinds of studies. Now, fast forward! College students cannot survive without a laptop. They have to keep up with emails from their lecturers, conduct in-depth research overnight, share some memes over the internet, and of course, take a break in between with a nice Netflix movie.
The point is, academic (and social) reliance on computers is growing for college life. We are not talking about any computer here; we are talking about a fast machine that can handle pretty much everything without any problems. It’s not a luxury for students; it’ a necessity!
A good laptop for school comes with enough data storage capacity to allow you to store all your notes, coursework, and videos. It needs to have the best security features to protect your coursework as well as your personal information. And if you love surfing the web, streaming movies, and gaming, it should be able to handle all that as well. To help you get the best laptop for college and school, we have invested time and resources to conduct in-depth research, coming up with ten cool options that will take you through college. From fully-loaded machines to lightweight notebooks, there’s an option for everyone!
Top 10 Laptops For College And School of 2019 Reviewed
1. Apple MacBook Pro 15-Inch
[wt_products id=”3134″ template=”5″]2. Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch Retina Display
[wt_products id=”3135″ template=”5″]3. Lenovo IdeaPad L340 Gaming Laptop, 15.6-Inch FHD (1920×1080) IPS Display
[wt_products id=”3136″ template=”5″]4. Huawei MateBook X Pro Signature Edition Thin & Light Laptop
[wt_products id=”3137″ template=”5″]5. 2018 Flagship Dell Inspiron 11.6-Inch HD Chromebook
[wt_products id=”3138″ template=”5″]6. HP 2-In-1 12.3-Inch Touchscreen Chromebook
[wt_products id=”3139″ template=”5″]7. Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Core i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB
[wt_products id=”3140″ template=”5″]8. Dell XPS 15 9570 15.6-Inch Laptop
[wt_products id=”3141″ template=”5″]9. Acer Aspire E 15, 15.6-Inch Full HD
[wt_products id=”3142″ template=”5″]10. ASUS ZenBook UX333FA-DH51 Laptop
[wt_products id=”3143″ template=”5″]How to Choose The Best Laptops for College and school – The Ultimate Buying Guide
A laptop is an indespensable tool for college students. You need one to research, link with teachers, write papers, and create presentations. The best time to buy a laptop is usually at the beginning of the school year. But how do you know the right laptop model to pick? It can be challenging for you to know what you need as a student. That’s because the budget is an issue. If anything, you are going to pay for the laptop using your parent’s money or your student loan.
Here, we provide a comprehensive buying guide to enable you to pick the right type of laptop. In it, we discuss the factors that will concern the most as a student. Let’s get going.
What Type Of Curriculum Do You Have?
The computing needs of students differ on the basis of the kind, of course, they are taking. So, the type of degree program a student is taking is one of the biggest considerations when it comes to the laptop to buy. As such, there are students who want nothing more than a machine that can enable them to send an email, browse the web, and process documents with MS-Word. In that case, a simple Chromebook will do. You will pay $200 or less and enjoy a lot of benefits.
However, if your course has to do with video editing, CAD drawings, and 3D modeling, you will require a laptop with a high-capacity processor. It should ideally be Core-i7. If lower than that, then it should be at least 8th-generation. Also, the RAM should be at least 8GB. As for the hard disk, it should be SSD, which is fast.
The graphics card should also be up to the task. Only that you should be prepared to pay $800 or more. But that’s for Windows laptops. If you want a MacBook, then you should be prepared to pay more than $1,000.
Is The Screen Size Big Enough?
The screen size may affect the ease with which you work using the laptop. It also has an effect on the overall weight of the machine. If you want a laptop that easily fits into a bag, then you should buy one with a 15.6-inch screen or less.
You can easily throw this into a backpack and get going. Still, there are laptops with slightly smaller screen sizes at 13.3 inches. Others are even smaller. However, a laptop that’s smaller than 13.3 inches might be too uncomfortable for you to use. So, put all of that into consideration as you choose the screen size for your laptop. Only ensure that the weight doesn’t go above 4.5 pounds.
Would You Prefer A Two-In-One Laptop?
Sometimes, you do not need a laptop in the strict sense of the word. In that case, a simple two-in-one machine will do. There are several models on the market for which the keyboard is detachable. When you remove the keyboard, it becomes a tablet. When you attach it back, you will have a laptop. But it comes with several disadvantages.
The first one is that you will need to charge the keyboard separately. Some manufacturers even charge extra for the detachable keyboard. Also, the screen for a two-in-one machine will be smaller than that of a standard laptop. Some screens can be as small as 9.7 inches. When you try to put it onto your laps, you will only begin to feel overly uncomfortable, given the rear-hinge design.
Does The Storage Capacity Really Matter?
When buying laptops and computers of any kind, people have always gone for machines with the highest storage capacity. That’s why it is easy to pick a laptop with a 1TB hard drive. But that isn’t important anymore. As a student, you are better off with a laptop with a low-capacity solid-state drive (SSD). Regardless of how small it is, an SSD drive makes a machine of any kind run at a faster speed. It also boosts your battery life, given that SSD drives do not have moving parts and, therefore, consume less power.
If you opt for an SSD machine, you may get one with as little as 32GB storage. That will be a very affordable Chromebook. Since you have the option of storing your stuff on the cloud, the sacrifice you make in terms of storage capacity is still worth it. Instead of storing movies and music videos on your machine, you can stream it live from sites such as You-Tube and Netflix. You can store the rest of your documents on Office Online or Google Drive, free of charge.
Do You Need To Buy Microsoft Office?
As a student, you don’t need a machine with complicated tools. As long as you have a word processor, presentation builder, and spreadsheet manager, you are good to go. With that, you can prepare your assignments and make presentations. In fact, you can take advantage of Microsoft Office 365 for Education, which is available to students and teachers free of charge. Simply sign-up using a valid school email address and you will get the basic programs free of charge.
Alternatively, you can use the free versions of M-Word, MS-Excel, and MS-PowerPoint. They are available for all iOS and Android devices. With this, you can write your term papers easily. You could also opt for Google Docs, which is available free of charge. Other options include WPS Office and LibreOffice. In short, you do not have to invest in a fully-fledged Microsoft Office Suite.
What Additional Features Do You Need To Consider?
When buying a laptop for college or school, there are additional features you need to consider. They include the following:
- Processor: Regardless of how you intend to use your laptop, the processor speed is a key consideration. However, it is more important if you intend to use the laptop for graphic design and video editing assignments. As such, a speed of 3.5 to 4 GHz will do just fine.
- RAM. For a college or school laptop, you need just about 4GB RAM. However, there are machines that deliver either 8GB or 16GB RAM. Depending on what you will do with the machine you will choose what you want.
- Webcam: It is rare to find a laptop that doesn’t have a built-in webcam. Only that you will have to pay attention to the quality. If the webcam isn’t good enough, you will have to buy an external one with better quality.
- Connectivity: What kind of connectivity options does the laptop have? For instance, it may have wireless connectivity but lack an Ethernet port. Other important ports to look for include HDMI and USB. These allow you to connect to various display options as well as storage devices.
- Battery Life: If you intend to use your laptop for long periods of time, you should ensure that it has a high-capacity battery. While some laptops have batteries that last for 13 hours or more, others may only last for a few hours. Take that into consideration before buying a laptop.
- Carrier Bag: Does the laptop comes with its own carrier bag or will you need to buy one separately? This is an important consideration, especially if you need a laptop to use on the go.
How Much Is The Laptop?
The cost of a laptop will vary depending on the model, technical specifications, and so on. The cheapest laptops cost at least $140. The most expensive can go up to $2,000. Basically, the choice you make will depend on your budget and the machine’s technical specifications. If it has the technical specifications you are looking for and is affordable, why shouldn’t you buy it? As a student, you may also want to look for laptop sales, where the machines are cheaper.
Conclusion
If you are a college student, then you need to get a good laptop to help you with your coursework. These machines allow you to take notes more efficiently, giving you more options to write and edit. They also facilitate group work by allowing you to organize meetings regardless of any location you are in. When you feel exhausted, you can also take a break and play a game or watch your favorite movies and TV shows right from the laptop. With the machines we have reviewed, you are sure to get quality, speed, and performance! Get yourself one and make your shool work (and time) easy!
