It’s a great time to buy a laptop. Back to school deals are on now, and new models are hitting store shelves. We’ve talked about how to pick the perfect laptop, but if you’re headed to college, or even back to school, and aren’t sure what you’ll need, you have it tougher. Don’t worry, we’ll help you through it.




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Check With Your Campus IT Department for Ideas

Choosing a great laptop for school starts with understanding what your college or university recommends new students have. Check with your campus IT department. They probably have a published set of recommended minimum specs for laptops and desktops, along with some software they think you should have. Also, check with the department you plan to study in. For example, if you’re planning to be a computer science major, you’ll probably have different recommendations than someone studying graphic design.


Keep in mind that department suggestions are a baseline, though. They’re usually underpowered compared to what you can actually buy. Use them as a starting point, and go up from there if you need to. Remember, once you’ve decided on a laptop, you can always run it past a tech in your campus IT department for a second opinion—if you trust their opinion, of course. When I worked in campus IT at my alma mater, talking over specs with new students and pointing out where they could get student discounts, both on and off campus, was one of the best parts of my job.

Consider Your Needs

Once you have some baseline specs, and some suggestions based on the kind of work you’ll be doing, take your own needs into account. What are some of your favorite applications, and what would you like to do with your laptop once you buy it? Here are a couple of questions to consider:

Those are the basics to get you started. If you have specific needs, you’ll have a longer list of questions. In every case, find your own power-to-portability sweet spot. If you don’t expect to tote your laptop around from class to class and prefer to use a tablet (or heaven forbid, take paper notes), then portability may not be a huge factor for you. Taking a laptop from your room to the library and back doesn’t demand the latest in thin, light hardware. However, if you plan to carry your laptop around with you to every class, you won’t want a five-pound brick in your bag.



Spend Where It Matters Most

Even if your budget allows, it’s probably not a good idea to just max out all of the available specs on whatever laptop you’re looking at. You’ll have to make some compromises to save money, but also to avoid buying more than you need. Go back to your list of things you’ll do with your laptop, and put your money into features that make those things easier. If you can find a laptop with 8GB of RAM that’s the same price, or even a little more, than one with 4GB, that’s a good place to stretch your budget. If you can find a laptop with an SSD that’s close to the same price as one with a traditional hard drive, that’s also a worthwhile upgrade. On the other hand, a laptop with a top-end processor or graphics card doesn’t make sense if you don’t use resource-hungry programs or play games.


Similarly, don’t step down too far just to save money. If you’re looking at laptops with last-generation or low-end processors or low-resolution screens, the money you’ve saved will come at the cost of a more frustrating user experience. Remember, it’s always better to have a little too much feature-wise and keep your laptop a year or two longer than too little and need to upgrade too soon.


Pay for Superior Build Quality

Build quality usually includes things like how sturdy the hinges on the screen are, how the keyboard feels when you type on it, how sturdy the chassis is, the type of plastic (or metal) used in its construction, how the trackpad feels under your fingers, and so on. You know flimsy when you feel it. Don’t be afraid to pay for the things you like. If you want a matte screen or a backlit keyboard, look for those features, and spend a little more if they make you happy. You’re buying a device you’ll probably use for a few years, so make sure you’re content with your purchase.


To that point, don’t stick to “student” or other designer laptops when you search. Laptop Magazine explains that “business” laptops often come with solid specs, long battery life, and tons of ports at a wallet-friendly price. Build quality is important, as is the design and feel of the laptop you buy—and you shouldn’t feel bad for those things being part of your purchasing decision.

Even so, make sure you read reviews of the laptops you consider. You don’t want to sacrifice something you actually need for a shiny feature you might want. We have a few Ultrabook suggestions here, and our friends at Gizmodo have great in-depth laptop reviews. The Wirecutter also has reviews and their favorite pick here. Even better, get out to electronics stores like the Apple Store, the Microsoft Store, Best Buy, Micro Center, and Fry’s to get hands-on with them (or similar laptops from the same manufacturer) if you can. There’s really no substitute for actually playing with a laptop before you buy one.


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Make Use of Educational Discounts and Bundles

When you have your specs set and a few candidate laptops to consider, shop smart and save some money. Check back with your campus IT department to see if they have a purchasing program. You’ll also want to check with your campus bookstore to see if they offer special discounts on any of the systems you’re considering (or on anything comparable enough to change your mind.) Some colleges even have a computer showcase where you get the same student discount as you’d get ordering direct, but also a school-branded flash drive, a carrying case for your gear, and some extra goodies for free. If your campus has one, it’s worth checking out.


Also, almost every campus bookstore and IT office has discounted or free software bundles for students. Before you buy your software on the open market, or even from a site like Amazon, make sure it wouldn’t be cheaper directly from your school. Even if they don’t sell the software themselves, you may be able to take advantage of student discounts directly on manufacturer’s web sites. Almost every major PC manufacturer offers student discounts, and many even offer software or peripheral bundles.

We’ve run down a couple of places where you can get student discounts, including deep discounts on software. Make sure you save whenever you can. Trust us, you’ll need the money for textbooks.



Service Plans and Warranties: Don’t Forget the Details

Finally, don’t forget a warranty or service plan. You may never need it, but when you’re taking a laptop off to college, you’ll want at least some kind of purchase protection. We’ve mentioned in the past that extended warranties are rarely worth it, but those rare times usually involve laptops. Considering how difficult modern laptops are to repair and get into, it makes sense to just let someone else handle tricky things like screen replacements and motherboard repairs. Also, remember you can usually buy an extended warranty anytime before the standard warranty ends, so if you want to save your money and wait the decision out a bit, you don’t have to buy an extended warranty at the same time as you buy the laptop.


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If you hate the idea of an extended warranty, at least use a good credit card for your purchase. You’ll get more protection than the standard warranty offers. If you’re the hands-on type, head over to iFixit and see if your laptop is listed. You’ll get an idea of how difficult it is to open up and repair yourself. Then, set aside the money you’d spend on the extended warranty as a “repair fund” in case something does happen. Worst case, something does happen and you have a head start on deciding to fix or replace your laptop.



When In Doubt, Wait It Out

Finally, if you already have a laptop, even if it’s not great, you might want to wait a few months and see how it works for you. We know, the lure of a shiny new machine is strong, and you’ll miss back-to-school deals if you wait. However, you don’t really know what you’ll need in college until you actually get there. Once you find out, you’ll be better equipped to buy the best laptop for you.


For example, you might think right now that you’ll never play video games, but your roommates or floormates might get you into games as a way to relax, and boom—you’ll find yourself wishing you’d bought a machine with a better graphics card. Worst case, you use your old machine for a few months, get your bearings, and hop on holiday sales at the end of the first semester.

For most students, your laptop will pull double duty for work and play. You’ll also need to be able to take it with you to class or to the library. That makes it even more important to be really happy with the one you buy. With a little research, you’ll make sure you have a laptop that’ll meet your needs at school whether you’re writing a paper, studying, or relaxing with music, gamer, or a movie.


Title photo by wazo0p .