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These days, computers are often essential parts of the learning process, and you want to make sure you have one that can handle the things you need them to do. There are a lot of fantastic laptops out there, and we've already highlighted a few for students of different ages. This time, we're specifically focusing on the best laptops for college students.
College students are likely to be using their laptops for a lot of similar things -- reading, writing documents and assignments, and browsing the web. But even within that context, everyone is different. Some students like to play games, some want an ultraportable machine, and others might want something that's priced reasonably. As such, we have a handful of choices to help you find the perfect match for you.
Best overall: HP Spectre x360 13.5
HP's Spectre lineup has been one of the more popular families of Windows laptops in recent years, and that popularity is wholly deserved. For 2022, HP introduced the new Spectre x360 13.5, the successor to the old x360 14, and it's one of the best laptops you can buy as a college student, though it is a bit on the pricy side.
First off, the performance is as top-notch as it's always been with the Spectre lineup. You can get it with up to an Intel Core i7-1255U, which has 10 cores and 12 threads, and it's capable of boosting up to 4.7GHz. Additionally, the Spectre x360 can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD, so it covers all the basics as far as performance goes. That amount of RAM ensures you can run multiple apps at the same time easily, whether you're doing some research and writing in Word at the same time or whatever the case may be. And 2TB of storage is enough for pretty much any school projects you need to do for a long time.
One of the best things about the original Spectre x360 14 was its screen, and while HP hasn't made a whole lot of changes with this new model, it's still a great experience. It's a 13.5-inch panel and it comes in the 3:2 aspect ratio, which means it's quite a bit taller than a typical 16:9 display. It can be hard to understand how useful that is until you've tried it, but it's a big boon for productivity. The base model comes with a Full HD+ (1920 x 1280) display, but you can also upgrade to a 3K2K (3000 x 2000) OLED panel which is not only very sharp, but also an OLED panel with vibrant colors, pure blacks, and high contrast ratios.
The webcam is one thing that didn't stay the same compared to the previous iteration of the Spectre x360 14. Instead of the small 720p webcam, the new Spectre x360 13.5 now comes with a 5MP camera supporting 1080p video, on top of having smart features like auto framing, backlight adjustments, and even filters to help you look your best during meetings and video calls. It's one of the best webcams you can find on a laptop right now.
HP also changed up quite a bit of the design with the latest Spectre refresh. What used to be completely flat surfaces with diamond-cut edges has made way for a slight curve at the edges with much more subtle accents. The color options available are slightly different - Natural Silver and Nightfall Black are still here, but now we have an option called Nocturne Blue, which uses dark blue surfaces mixed with "celestial blue" accents along the edges. It's a bit more subdued than previous models, but it still looks and feels premium. It weighs 3.01lbs and measures roughly 17mm in thickness, so it's fairly portable for a premium convertible.
Finally, there are the ports, and we get a decent selection of them. Two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, a USB Type-A port, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader make for a solid enough selection for a modern laptop, especially considering its size. Some may prefer having a bit more, but this is still one of the better setups we get in premium laptops these days.
It's not perfect, but the HP Spectre x360 13.5 is definitely one of the best laptops you can buy if you're a college student. It's fast, it has a great display, and it looks stunning. It has some downsides, but if you can overlook those, it's going to give you a great experience.
HP Spectre x360 13.5
The HP Spectre x360 is a beautiful Windows convertible with high-end specs and a 3:2 display, including the option for an OLED panel.
Best clamshell laptop for college students: MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is one of the most popular laptops among college students, and there's definitely good reason for it. They're sleek and very capable laptops, and with the latest model, it's better than ever.
Performance-wise, the 2022 MacBook Air is packing the Apple M2 chip, an Arm-based processor with eight cores in total, four of which are focused on performance, and four focused on efficiency. This new processor offers even more performance than the Apple M1 while being just as efficient, so not only is it fast, it has the best battery life you'll find on any laptop. This model also comes with a more powerful 8-core GPU, or a 10-core GPU if you want even more power. Additionally, you can configure it with up to 24GB of unified memory and 2TB of storage.
The display has also been upgraded compared to previous MacBook Air models. It's slightly taller now, coming in at 13.6 inches diagonally, with extra pixels to fill in that space without losing any sharpness. That means the resolution is now 2560 x 1664, which is incredibly sharp for a display of this size, and frankly a great deal for the starting price of this machine. More importantly, the screen is brighter now, reaching up to 500 nits, so it's even easier to use it outside.
There are even more upgrades thanks to the new 1080p webcam above the display, or rather, in the middle of it. Indeed, while the screen is taller, there's now a notch in the middle, and that's used to house the upgraded webcam, which means you can look that much better in calls and meetings. There's still no Face ID here, though, and you have to use Touch ID for authentication.
Apple completely redesigned the MacBook Air for the first time in years with the latest generation, and this now model ditches the wedge design for a flat one with even thickness all throughout the chassis, so it feels more balanced. Curved edges make the laptop more comfortable to hold, too, and it comes in new colors, too. Midnight (dark blue) and Starlight (pale gold) join the classic Silver and Space Grey, with the previous gold color option no longer available. Even the ports have been upgraded, with the reintroduction of MagSafe and an amplified headphone jack to support high-impedance headphones. It still has two Thunderbolt ports, though only one display output is supported via this method.
All in all, the latest MacBook Air is an upgrade to an incredibly popular laptop in every way, and it's perfect for a college student. This model is a bit more expensive, however, starting at $1,199. The 2020 MacBook Air is still a great option if you want something cheaper.
Apple MacBook Air (2022)
The 2022 MacBook Air is a sleek and powerful laptop that's easy to take wherever you go. It has an efficient processor that results in fantastic battery life, plus a sharp 13.6-inch screen and a 1080p webcam.
Best premium Windows clamshell: Surface Laptop 5
If you're looking for the Windows equivalent of the MacBook Air, the Surface Laptop 5 is probably the closest you're going to get. This is also a very sleek and modern-feeling laptop with great specs, a lightweight design, and a great display. It comes in two versions, one with a 13.5-inch screen and one with a 15-inch screen, but they're mostly identical.
Let's start with those specs. The Surface Laptop 5 comes with the latest 12th-generation Intel Core processors, with options for a Core i5-1235U or a Core i7-1255U, though only the latter is available in the 15-inch model. It also includes Intel Iris Xe graphics, so it can handle some lighter games if you want to wind down. The laptop can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, so you're not missing out on performance here.
The Surface Laptop 5 also has a great display, which is an IPS panel. The 13.5-inch model has a resolution of 2256 x 1504, while the 15-inch variant has 2496 x 1664 pixels. That means these two panels have exactly the same pixel density and they also have the same 3:2 aspect ratio, which is typical for Surface devices. This taller screen makes the laptop that much better for productivity and school work since it requires less scrolling. The screen also supports touch and the Surface Pen, so it can be more intuitive because of that.
Unfortunately, the webcam above the display hasn't changed, and it's still a 720p camera, though at least there's Windows Hello support. Video quality isn't terrible, but an upgrade to 1080p would be very welcome.
The design of the Surface Laptop 5 is also unchanged from previous models, so it looks just as sleek and clean as before, and it still feels modern. The 13.5-inch model has a new Sage color, which replaces the previous Ice Blue, and this option lacks the Alcantara fabric base cover, but otherwise, not much has changed. This is a fairly light laptop, too, weighing 2.8lbs for the smaller model and 3.44lbs for the larger one.
A benefit of the Surface Laptop 5 is that it keeps some legacy ports we've been losing with modern laptops. It still has USB Type-A and a headphone jack, and now it comes with Thunderbolt 4 support in the USB-C port, too. There's also Surface Connect, a magnetic charging port similar to Apple's MagSafe.
If you like the clean look of Apple's laptops but not macOS, the Surface Laptop 5 is the perfect replacement, and it's a fantastic laptop for students and for everyday use in general.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5
The Surface Laptop 5 is a sleek Windows laptop with 12th-gen Intel Core processors and other premium specs. It comes in a clean and modern-feeling chassis that's also lightweight and easy to carry.
Also great: Dell XPS 13 Plus
Dell's XPS lineup is another iconic presence in the Windows laptop space, and for this year, we got a bit of a surprise with the XPS 13 Plus. There are quite a few big changes with this year's model, starting with a radical redesign, but also including some upgraded specs.
Let's start with the latter. The Dell XPS 13 Plus comes with Intel's 12th-generation processors, as you'd probably expect, but instead of U-series processors, it has the new P series. These processors are more powerful than the ones in the Surface Laptop 5, but they also use more battery, so it's a matter of what you prefer. The Dell XPS 13 Plus can be configured with up to an Intel Core i7-1280P, which is a 14-core, 20-thread CPU capable of boosting up to 4.8GHz, and it also has Iris Xe graphics. Aside from that, it can be configured with up to 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 2TB of SSD storage.
The display is one of the few things Dell hasn't changed with the XPS 13 Plus, but it's still fantastic. It's a 13.4-inch panel and it comes with a 16:10 aspect ratio, and the base configuration starts with a Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) panel, which is already pretty good for a laptop of this size. From there, you can add touch support to that panel, or upgrade to the two more premium options: One is an OLED display with 3.5K (3456 x 2160) resolution, while the other is an Ultra HD+ (3840 x 2400) IPS panel, giving you extra sharpness and color accuracy if you need to do color-sensitive work. Both are fantastic options.
Unfortunately, the webcam also hasn't changed, or at least not as much as it should have. Dell is sticking with a 720p camera, but it least it has separated the main RGB camera (that you actually use for calls) from the IR camera that's used for Windows Hello. Having these sensors separated from each other should result in a higher quality image, but we would have liked to see a 1080p webcam in line with what other premium laptops are offering in 2022.
If what you want is one of the coolest-looking laptops around, though, then the XPS 13 Plus is for you. This is a futuristic-looking laptop, starting with the fact that the touchpad is invisible and blends seamlessly into the chassis. That does mean it doesn't have proper buttons, but it simulates the feel of a click using haptic motors. Dell has also replaced the function row at the top of the keyboard with capacitive touch buttons, and the keyboard itself has a modern look with a zero-lattice design and dished keycaps making for a more comfortable typing experience.
This ultra-modern design and the more powerful CPUs do come with a downside, which is the ports. The Dell XPS 13 Plus has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and that's it. You get a USB Type-C to Type-A adapter and the option for a USB Type-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter, too, but that's it. Yes, you don't even get a headphone jack built into the laptop. Of course, Thunderbolt docks can add tons of ports, but it's not the most convenient setup.
While it's not a perfect laptop, the Dell XPS 13 Plus has enough going for it to make for one of the best laptops you can buy today. Its modern design is a good enough reason to like it, and you get fantastic performance and a great display, too. Whether you're a college student or not, this is one of the best laptops you can buy right now.
Dell XPS 13 Plus
The Dell XPS 13 Plus is a futuristic-looking laptop with high-end Intel processors and fantastic display options.
Best mainstream laptop for college: HP Pavilion Aero 13
Premium laptops are great, but they can also be very expensive, and many times, they're out of the reach of many college students. Thankfully, the HP Pavilion Aero brings a lot of what makes a premium laptop to a much more reasonable price point. This is a fantastic laptop for a college student without a huge budget, and at first glance, it almost seems too good to be true.
Starting with performance, you can get the Pavilion Aero with up to an AMD Ryzen 7 5825U processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage if you're willing to spend that kind of money (which is still cheaper than most of the premium laptops above). With the base model, you get a Ryzen 5 5625U, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD storage - already a great combination. And while it officially starts at $749, you can often find it discounted well below that - at writing time, it costs just $550, which is an insane deal for what you're getting here.
The display also adds to this enticing package. It's a 13.3-inch display, but it comes in a 16:10 aspect ratio. We've seen taller screens on a few premium laptops, but the Pavilion Aero brings that to a much more reasonable price point, and it's great to see. The base configuration uses a Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) display, but you can even upgrade to Quad HD+ (2560 x 1600), which is something else that's very rarely seen in a mainstream laptop like this. This all adds up to making this a great value proposition.
As you might have expected, the webcam is a simple 720p camera, so it could be better. It also doesn't have Windows Hello facial recognition, which isn't entirely surprising at this price point. You do get a fingerprint reader on the keyboard base, though.
The HP Pavilion Aero is the first laptop on this list to use a magnesium alloy chassis, a material that's often reserved for more premium laptops. Magnesium is light, and that means the HP Pavilion Aero weighs just 2.2lbs, which helps it be one of the lightest laptops on the market. It also measures just 17.02mm in thickness, so this is a very portable machine, especially considering its price range. Another great thing about it is that it comes in four colors: Natural Silver, Ceramic White, Warm Gold, and Pale Rose Gold. They're fairly subdued colors, but it does allow you to get something that suits your personal style a bit better.
The ports on the HP Pavilion Aero also cover most of the basics. You get one USB Type-C port, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader, so you can connect just about anything to it. The USB Type-C port supports charging, but the Pavilion Aero also has a proprietary barrel charging port, which is what's used by default. You also don't get Thunderbolt support, and that's because this is an AMD laptop and Thunderbolt is an Intel technology with high certification requirements.
No matter how you slice it, the HP Pavilion Aero is a fantastic value proposition. If you don't have the budget for a premium laptop, this is the closest you can get at a reasonable price, and it's easily one of the best laptops you can buy for a college student.
HP Pavilion Aero 13
The HP Pavilion Aero is an affordable laptop that offers high-end AMD Ryzen processors and a great display for a surprisingly low price. Plus, it's one of the lightest laptops on the market.
Best laptop for college gamers: Razer Blade 14
One thing that many college students like to do is gaming - or at least I hope that wasn't just me. It used to be pretty hard to find a laptop that could handle demanding games and was still easy to carry around, but today, things have gotten a lot better. The Razer Blade 14 is a powerful gaming laptop, but it's still portable enough that you can carry it around at school without too much of a hassle.
Let's talk performance first: The Razer Blade 14 is powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, which is a powerful 45W processor with 8 cores, 16 threads, and boost speeds up to 4.9GHz. The Blade 14 also comes with NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics up to an RTX 3080 Ti, and that's a version with 100W of power - a very impressive number for a laptop this small - though you will need to spend a lot of money if you want that configuration. You also get 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage, though that storage is upgradeable down the line. Unfortunately, that's not the case for the RAM.
The display on the Razer Blade 14 offers a great balance of quality and smoothness. It's a 14-inch panel with a 16:9 aspect ratio, fairly typical of gaming laptops, and the base model comes in Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. If you want to get an even better experience, you can upgrade to a higher tier with a Quad HD (2560 x 1440) panel and 165Hz refresh rate, ideal for taking advantage of the powerful GPU options you can get. Combining the powerful specs and GPU gets a bit pricy, but this is a laptop you can use for a long time to come.
The 2022 edition of the Razer Blade 14 upgrades the webcam to a 1080p sensor. This jump in quality should mean you look great during calls or online classes, plus the camera supports Windows Hello facial recognition, making it easier than ever to unlock your PC. This is actually not that common among gaming laptops, so it's great to see here.
The design of the Razer Blade 14 does have hints of that classic gamer aesthetic, with a glowing Razer logo on the lid and an RGB backlit keyboard, but it also looks very clean. It's an all-black laptop, and even the RGB lighting on the keyboard only comes through the key labels, so it's not obnoxious. What's most surprising about this laptop is that it measures 16.8mm in thickness, which is very impressive very a laptop with this kind of power. And weighing 3.92lbs, it's also fairly light for what it offers.
Despite its powerful specs and compact design, the Razer Blade 14 still makes room for a decent amount of ports. You get two USB Type-C ports with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, and a headphone jack. There's no Thunderbolt support (remember, this is an AMD laptop), but there are enough ports here to cover just about any basic need you might have. Plus, the USB ports are distributed evenly on both sides, so you can plug in the charger and peripherals in the way that's most convenient to you.
The Razer Blade 14 is a very impressive laptop in more ways than one, and if you're a college student who likes to game, it's easily one of the best laptops out there. It's a personal favorite of mine among the laptops on this list. You can buy the top-tier model below to check out the other configurations on Razer's website.
Razer Blade 14
The Razer Blade 14 packs a top-tier AMD Ryzen 9 processor and powerful Nvidia RTX graphics, but it comes in a surprisingly lightweight and thin package. It also has a great display and a 1080p webcam, which is rare for gaming laptops.
Best 17-inch laptop for college: LG gram 17
Not everyone is going to like laptops with small screens, but when you're going to school, you don't want to give up portability. Thankfully, the LG gram 17 is a fantastic laptop that gives you the best of both worlds.
On the performance side, the LG gram 17 is powered by 12th-generation Intel Core P-series processors, up to a Core i7-1260P with 12 cores and 16 threads. That's a very powerful CPU already, and it also includes Intel Iriss Xe graphics for some lighter GPU workloads. You can also go up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD, so this laptop has all the performance you could ask for.
As the name suggests, the LG gram 17 has a 17.3-inch display, and it comes in a tall 16:10 aspect ratio that helps it feel that much bigger. It's a very sharp screen, too, with a resolution of 2560 x 1600, so it's perfect for productivity. To make it even better, the display covers 99% of DCI-P3, so this is a great laptop for photo editing and other color-sensitive work. Above that display, there's a 1080p webcam with Windows Hello support, adding up to the overall great experience on this machine.
What really helps the LG gram 17 stand out is its design and the fact that it's so light for its size, all thanks to the magnesium chassis. At 2.98lbs, this is a 17-inch laptop that only weighs slightly more than the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 5, which is incredibly impressive. It's also just 17.7mm thin, so portability is great even with this huge screen. It also doesn't sacrifice ports for that lightness, and you get two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD card reader.
There aren't many laptops like the LG gram 17, and this balance of a huge screen with a lightweight design is perfect for a student. You can't find another laptop like this anywhere else.
LG gram 17 (2022)
The LG gram 17 is a very capable laptop with a huge 17-inch screen, but it doesn't sacrifice portability, coming in at under 3lbs of weight.
Best for portability: Surface Go 3
Almost on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of power is the Surface Go 3. This may not be the most powerful PC out there by any means, but it is meant to be light, thin, and affordable. And it does that while still delivering a premium experience, making it one of the best laptops to buy if you just want to take notes in college classes.
The Surface Go 3 is a notable upgrade from its predecessor, even if it's not impressive compared to the most premium laptops. It comes with up to an Intel Core i3-10100Y, and that's a dual-core processor with four threads, capable of boosting up to 3.9GHz. That's not going to compete with the premium laptops on this list, for basic tasks like taking notes, writing up assignments, and participating in online meetings, it's still a serviceable option. It also comes with up to 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD for storage, which is a solid combination for basic work and multi-tasking.
The display on the Surface Go 3 is also quite good considering it's price. It's a 10.5-inch display, and it comes in a 3:2 aspect ratio, a feature that's very often reserved for premium devices. That means you get extra surface area on the display, making it ideal for browsing the web and reading documents. The resolution is Full HD+ (1920 x 1280), and for a display of this size, that's going to look pretty sharp. And, of course, since it's a tablet, it supports touch and the Surface Pen.
That's not all the good news, either. The Surface Go 3 has arguably the best webcam of any laptop on this list, so if you have college classes or meetings online, it's a fantastic device. The front-facing webcam is a 5MP sensor, and it supports 1080p video, and you also get an 8MP rear camera, which also supports 1080p video.
As we said at the start, being thin and light is the focus of the Surface Go 3. It's just 8.3mm thin, and it weighs just 1.2lbs, making this an extremely portable machine you can take anywhere. The crux of it is that it's a tablet, and you also have to take into account the Surface Go Type Cover, which adds 4.6mm in thickness and 0.54lbs of weight. Even with that, though, it's the most portable device on this list, and you can detach the keyboard when you don't need it to make it even easier to carry.
The Surface Go 3 includes a decent supply of ports, including one USB Type-C port, a headphone jack, a microSD card reader, and a Surface Connect port. With how thin the device is, the lack of USB Type-A or HDMI is more understandable, plus, it's a very affordable device. You'll need to use a Surface Dock or a USB Type-C hub to connect these types of peripherals, and while that's to be expected with a tablet, it's not so much with a typical laptop.
All in all, while the Surface Go 3 isn't the best choice for those who need the most performance, it's a fantastic tablet and laptop for college students who need portability above all else. It offers many elements of a premium experience and with a starting price of $399, it's very good. However, you'll definitely want to upgrade to 8GB of RAM and SSD storage, and then you have to pay extra for the Surface Go Type Cover and the Surface Pen if you want them. That adds up, and you have to keep that in mind if you want the Surface Go 3.
Microsoft Surface Go 3
The Surface Go 3 is an ultra-portable Windows tablet that can be used as a laptop. It's not the most powerful, but it has a great display and it's perfect for taking notes.
Best Chromebook: Acer Chromebook Spin 714
Chromebooks are increasingly popular among students, and if you want one too, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is the one to get. It packs more powerful specs than almost every other Chromebook, it has a solid display, and it looks and feels premium.
Starting with specs, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 comes with a 12th-generation Intel Core i5-1235U processor, a CPU with 10 cores and 12 threads. Most Chromebooks on the market still have older processors, oftentimes Celeron or Pentium, but this CPU is on a completely different level in terms of performance. On top of that, it comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, more than enough to get a great experience with Chrome OS. For the price, this is absolutely fantastic.
On top of that, the laptop also has a very good display. It's a 14-inch panel and it comes in the 16:10 aspect ratio, which is ideal for productivity. That's something you also don't see on a ton of Chromebooks, so it's great to see it here. It comes in Full HD+ resolution (1920 x 1200), and it covers 100% of sRGB, so the visual experience on this laptop is quite good for this price point. You even get a Full HD 1080p MIPI webcam for online classes or other video calls.
Adding even more value to this package, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 comes with an all-metal aluminum chassis, and it meets MIL-STD-810H standards for durability. This is a laptop that looks and feels premium despite its affordable price tag. It comes in a Slate Blue colorway that's subdued but still fairly unique, so you can take it with you without unwanted attention. As for ports, you get two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB Type-A port, HDMI, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a nice selection that covers all the basics, and Thunderbolt support is a nice bonus for a laptop this cheap.
There really aren't many laptops that offer what this one offers for such a low price, so this is a fantastic choice, even if you're not necessarily committed to Chrome OS.
Acer Chromebook Spin 714
The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is a premium-feeling convertible with an aluminum chassis and high-performance specs, plus a 14-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio.
Those are our top laptop recommendations for college students, and they should be good enough for almost any workload a student might have. There are various options for different target audiences here, so you're sure to find something you like. Not only is it at the top of this list, but the HP Spectre x360 13.5 would also be my personal pick if I was buying a laptop today. I find the versatility of a convertible extremely appealing, and the beautiful design of the Spectre x360 makes it that much more compelling.
However, back when I was entering college, I probably would have wanted the Razer Blade 14 instead. I was much more into PC gaming at the time, and the Razer Blade 14 is perfect for that while still being very compact and portable. If you feel the same way, that would be my recommendation. With that being said, every option on this list is great, and it could be the perfect one for you.
