Top 5 Laptops for 2012 College Freshmen

If you’re going to be heading off to school this fall, you may be wondering what kind of laptop you should take with you. Figuring out which laptop to buy for college is tough. There are so many choices, and you want to pick a laptop that will meet all your needs as a student and still work when you’re a senior. To help you narrow down your options, here are some of the best laptops for college students this year:

1. Apple MacBook Pro – If you want to be like all the other cool kids on campus, you’re going to want to get yourself a new, sleek MacBook Pro with a stunning Retina display. Let’s face it. College kids love Macs. Why? They’re easy-to-use, work well, hardly ever break down, and just look good. The MacBook Pro will cost you between $2,189.99 and $2,199. So, let’s hope it lasts you all four years of college.

2. HP Folio 13 – This 13-inch ultrabook is thin, attractive, and gets the job done. If you’re going to be using your laptop a lot for school, the HP Folio 13 is an excellent choice. Since it is super light and thin, you can take it with you everywhere. Plus, its powerful battery and efficient processor ensure that you won’t have to worry about any malfunctions when it’s time to turn in that important paper. The HP Folio 13 costs $1,349, which makes it one of the more affordable ultrabooks on the market.

3. Maingear EX-L 15 – If you want a midsize laptop that gives you everything a desktop computer can, you’ll love this laptop from Maingear. It’s just 15-inches, but its processors and graphics cards make it comparable to just about any top-of-the-line desktop computer that’s used for gaming. If you want to be able to play all your favorite games in your dorm room without any interruptions, this laptop’s $1,499 price tag won’t seem unreasonable at all.

4. Dell Inspiron 14z – If you don’t want to spend over a thousand dollars on your laptop, you might be interested in something like the Dell Inspiron 14z. The starting price of this budget-friendly laptop is around $600, which means you won’t have to take out extra loans to pay for it. The Dell Inspiron 14z is pretty dull in terms of appearance, but it works just fine. A good battery life and respectable 2.3GHz processor make the 14z a practical choice for a student who just wants the basics.

5. Lenovo Essential G570 – If you really want to save money and still go to school with a good quality laptop, consider the Lenovo Essential G570, which will only cost you around $400. This laptop includes an attractive 15-inch screen, impressive Intel HD3000 graphics card, and a 2.3GHz processor that makes multi-tasking easy. Like the Dell Inspiron 14z, the Lenovo Essential G570 is a practical computer that will meet your basic needs. If you want cutting-edge specs and groundbreaking performance, the first three laptops on this list are better options.

So, consider taking one of the laptops above to college with you, and remember to read online reviews before you settle on any particular laptop. Picking the wrong computer to take with you to school can mean a lot of extra stress for you as you adjust to the new academic expectations of college. So, choose your laptop wisely, and enjoy your freshman year!

A born writer, Angelita Williams loves to write short stories. Her second passion is education, a topic that she covers incessantly as a freelance blogger. Though she has an allegiance to online education, she’s dedicated to depicting all forms of education equally, and she writes impartially about college courses online and offline. Angelita can be found at angelita.williams7@gmail.com.

Tags: apple, Dell, HP, lenovo