What laptop do most students use?

just graduated last may with my IT degree and spent 4 years looking around lecture halls and the library so I can tell you what I actually saw

the honest answer: macbook

like it or not, macbook air is everywhere on campus. I'd say probably 40-50% of students I saw had one. the M1/M2/M3 models especially. now the M4 is out and its even better apparently

why? battery life is insane (like 15+ hours), its thin and light so easy to carry around, and it just works. no random crashes or updates in the middle of class. plus the resale value is good so people keep buying them

that said, a lot of students have them because their parents bought it for them. if you're paying yourself its a different story because they're not cheap

windows laptops I saw a lot

• dell xps 13 - the "I have money but don't want a mac" choice
• lenovo thinkpad - business and finance majors love these. also pre-med for some reason
• hp pavilion/envy - solid mid-range options
• asus zenbook - good value, I had one sophomore year
• surface laptop - the microsoft fans
• acer aspire - budget pick, gets the job done

chromebooks

more common than you'd think especially for gen ed classes. if all you do is google docs, research, and watch lectures it honestly works fine. I had a friend who used a $300 chromebook all 4 years and it never let her down

gaming laptops

the CS and engineering kids usually had something like asus rog, acer nitro, or msi. heavy as hell but they needed them for coding, CAD, or just gaming between classes. you could always spot them because they're the ones sitting near outlets

what it really depends on

honestly your major matters more than anything

• business/finance → thinkpad or macbook
• CS/engineering → windows with decent specs, you need specific software that doesn't run on mac
• liberal arts/communications → macbook air or chromebook, you're mostly writing papers
• graphic design/video → macbook pro or windows with good GPU
• nursing/pre-med → doesn't really matter, whatever's portable

also some departments require specific stuff. my friend's architecture program basically said "get a windows laptop with these specs or good luck"

what I actually recommend

if you can afford it: macbook air m4. it'll last you all 4 years, battery is amazing, and you can sell it after for decent money

if you're on a budget: lenovo ideapad or acer aspire. around $400-600 and handles everything you need

if you need power: look at the dell xps or lenovo yoga with dedicated graphics

if you're broke broke: chromebook. no shame in it, I know people who graduated with them

one thing I learned

don't buy the cheapest option just because its cheap. I had a $350 hp freshman year and it died halfway through sophomore year. ended up spending more money replacing it. sometimes paying a bit more upfront saves you in the long run

also check if your school has student discounts. most of us didn't know about this until too late. apple, dell, hp, lenovo all have education pricing

anyone else can share what they see on their campus? curious if its different at other schools..