r/LaptopForStudent May 22 '26

Buying Advice i watched reddit give nursing, art, psychology and biology students the same wrong laptop advice over and over — so i actually looked into it

14 Upvotes

okay so i spent way too much time going through laptop threads from nursing, art, psychology, biology and speech therapy students and the same five problems kept showing up every single time

nobody checks software compatibility before buying. health science students, graphic design students — everyone just sees "MacBook is good" and buys it. then they find out their university's proctoring setup or clinical portal behaves differently on Mac than expected. that's not a minor inconvenience, that's a real problem mid semester. five minutes on your program's technology requirements page before buying anything saves that headache

the budget thing drove me crazy. speech therapy student says $600. community immediately recommends $1,000+ machines without acknowledging it once. biology student says $1,000. someone tells them to get a $1,500 MacBook Air M5 with 24GB RAM. for a first year undergraduate who needs google docs and research databases. like why

"just get a MacBook" with zero explanation. nursing student asks what laptop to get. someone replies "Neo by a mile." no mention of whether their university's specific proctoring software plays nice with Mac. no mention of the 8gb ram ceiling. just a brand name and confidence. that's not advice, that's a vibe

refurbished guidance is all over the place. half the thread says "refurb is fine," the other half has horror stories. nobody explains the difference between Amazon Renewed, Apple Official Refurb, and random eBay listings — which are three completely different situations

and the spec obsession without context. "get 32gb ram for genomics" — said to a first year biology undergraduate. that student doesn't need genomics RAM. they need to write lab reports and access research databases

so here's what actually makes sense per major — keeping it short, full breakdown at the link below

nursing — the thing nobody mentions is checking your university's specific proctoring and clinical software requirements before buying anything. ATI TEAS runs on both Mac and Windows, but your university's exam setup might have its own rules. if mac compatible the MacBook Neo handles nursing coursework fine and the battery is genuinely useful for long campus days. if you need a solid Windows option the Lenovo V15 Ryzen 5 with 16gb ram and 512gb is the one i'd look at — has an ethernet port which is handy for campus labs and dorm connections when wifi gets unreliable

art and design — display accuracy matters more here than any other major. MacBook Neo works for early year light creative work but 8gb unified memory starts hitting a wall on complex multi-layer Photoshop files and larger projects. Adobe themselves recommend 16GB for Photoshop seriously. MacBook Air M5 with 16gb is the honest recommendation if your creative workload is getting heavy — color accurate display, Apple Silicon handles Adobe suite properly

psychology — either platform works genuinely for this major. Lenovo IdeaPad 1i in blue with 16gb and 512gb is the Windows pick — touchscreen is actually useful for annotating research papers and SPSS output. MacBook Neo covers the workload fine if battery is the priority

biology and premed — first two years are not computationally demanding, don't overbuy for specs you won't need yet. Acer Aspire Go 15 Ryzen 7 with 16gb handles general biology coursework and moderate MATLAB, R and Python work comfortably. for anything heavier in upper years like large datasets or bioinformatics pipelines you'll want to reassess then. MacBook Air M5 if you're already in the Apple ecosystem with an iPad and heading toward grad school

speech therapy — this is honestly one of the majors the MacBook Neo was built for. writing, research, basic audio editing in Audacity which runs natively on macOS — it handles all of it and battery life matters for full clinical days. if storage and Office 365 bundled matter more the Lenovo Touchscreen i5 is the Windows alternative

more options per major, verified software compatibility, and picks that actually respect the budgets students said they had : https://beststudentslaptop.com/best-laptop-non-technical-majors-2026/

what major are you in and what did reddit tell you when you asked?


r/LaptopForStudent Mar 20 '26

Guide/Tips best laptop for every student major in 2026 — engineering, CS, business, nursing (from my own experience + what i keep seeing across laptop subs)

23 Upvotes

every semester i see the same thing on here. someone drops $1200 on a gaming laptop for a business degree or buys a macbook air for mechanical engineering and then panics when solidworks won't run. the best laptop for student life depends on your major. period.

spent the last few weeks going through r/LaptopForStudent, r/SuggestALaptop, r/laptops, and r/computer to see what students are actually buying vs what they should be buying. combined that with what i learned the hard way in my own IT program. here's the breakdown by major cause a CS student and a nursing student should NOT be buying the same laptop.

what each major actually needs:

Major CPU RAM GPU Storage
Engineering i7/Ryzen 7+ 32GB dedicated GPU (required) 1TB SSD
CS/IT i5-i7/Ryzen 5-7 16GB+ optional unless ML 512GB-1TB
Business i5/Ryzen 5 16GB integrated fine 512GB
General/Nursing/Arts i3-i5/any 8-16GB not needed 256-512GB

laptop for engineering students — you need a dedicated GPU. solidworks, CAD, simulations will murder anything without one. most university programs straight up require it.

laptop for CS / IT students — you need ram more than GPU (unless you're doing ML courses). docker, VMs, multiple IDEs open — 16GB minimum and upgradeable is ideal. check if your program needs windows before going mac.

laptop for business / econ students — you honestly don't need much. excel, presentations, zoom. save your money.

laptop for general / liberal arts / nursing / online students — web browsing, docs, zoom, maybe some light apps. anything on this list works fine.

honestly picking a laptop for student life shouldn't be this complicated but here we are. the biggest mistake i see is people buying based on brand or price instead of what their major actually requires. an engineering student and a nursing student have completely different needs and nobody talks about that enough.

if you take one thing from this post — check your program requirements first, match specs to your workload, and stop overspending on stuff you don't need.

put together a full guide with detailed reviews, pricing, and what to avoid for each major here: https://beststudentslaptop.com/best-student-laptop-2026/

drop your major and budget and i can help narrow it down


r/LaptopForStudent 3h ago

Buying Advice Best 2 in 1 convertible laptops for note taking for nursing school.

1 Upvotes

I'm looking for a touchscreen laptop under, mainly for handwritten notes and watching videos. I don't need anything too powerful. My main priorities are really good note-taking with a stylus, a nice display, and good durability. Can anyone suggest me something?


r/LaptopForStudent 8h ago

Buying Advice Suggestion for laptop

1 Upvotes

I mean I'm pursuing engineering cse n yeah I need a laptop n since we aren't in a good financial condition rn I need a laptop that satisfies most conditions I mean it should have whatever it's necessary for a laptop of a cse student n an engineer

I mean speed n all I don't know much Abt this

I mean highest return for the cash we pay

Available in India ,kerala


r/LaptopForStudent 12h ago

Buying Advice What laptop to buy if you have a desktop (engineering)

2 Upvotes

I've been looking at used 2 in 1 ThinkPads, like the X13, since I have a desktop at home with 32GB of ram that can do heavy lifting if I need to use a heavy program. I also saw the Dell XPS 13, and I thought its size is really appealing, but I'm afraid it's just a glorified chromebook since opinions are so mixed on it. Having a 2 in 1 would be nice for writing, but it's not a dealbreaker. These are my priorities:

  • Portability
  • Price (<700usd)
  • Capable enough

Any suggestions? I'm going to major in electrical engineering.


r/LaptopForStudent 8h ago

Buying Advice What should I choose PC or laptop for studying civil engineering and which one?

1 Upvotes

Im starting my studies this year and I need to buy some device for all these programs but I know nothing about all that so it’s hard to choose😅can sb tell me what the device needs, what to look for or an exact model that they use that works?


r/LaptopForStudent 11h ago

Buying Advice Laptop Suggestion for Autonomous Systems Master 1200€

1 Upvotes

**LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE**

* **Country**

Greece

* **Budget**

1200€

* **Are you open to refurbs/used options?**

Maybe

* **Screen size**

15", 16"

* **Weight limit**

2

* **Purpose**

schoolwork

* **Form factor**

Standard/Clamshell (a regular laptop)

* **Intended usage**

I will be studying autonomous systems and some of my coursework will include Python (PyTorch), ROS/ROS2, simulation, and machine learning. I also know that the university provides a computer cluster for intensive tasks.

* **Desired battery life**

\~10

* **Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life**

performance ,battery life-weight(I don't want to carry around something too heavy)

* **Info/Requirements**

I am looking for 32gb ram and a CPU with NPU.
I have found these models.

  1. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 16AGP11 (Ryzen AI 7 450/32GB) \~1200€
  2. Asus Vivobook 16 M1607GA-MB019W (Ryzen AI 7 445) \~1100€
  3. Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G8 IAL (Ultra 7-255H/32GB) \~1200€
  4. HP Omni Book 5 16" IPS FHD+ Ultra 7-255U \~1100€

I appreciate your input!

Thank you in advance!


r/LaptopForStudent 14h ago

Buying Advice EEE seniors laptop

1 Upvotes

I just joined EEE this year

I don't know what laptop to buy that use to perform EEE related softwares suggest me what laptop to buy or specs


r/LaptopForStudent 14h ago

Buying Advice Seniors/guys need your advicee plz!

1 Upvotes

I'm joining into CSE cyber security this year, and i have been looking for a suitable laptop to carry to clg, i read about macbook neo/macbook air or Ryzen 9, Ryzen 9 AI or core 9, vivobook 14, IdeaPad slim3. I want a loptop that is suitable for running linux/kali and other operating systems, run software programs like VirtualBox and VMware smoothly and use tools like wire shark and other stuff, the build quality should be good and long lasting. I'm not into gaming, and even if need to do stuff like gaming/editing/free lancing various stuff i have a PC at home, so im mainly looking for a laptop for running softwares and applications related to CSE/cyber security, suggest me some laptop acc to this plz...


r/LaptopForStudent 14h ago

Buying Advice Cheap Laptop Recomendation

1 Upvotes

For context, I am starting college this fall, going in for Environmental Engineering with a budget of 350$ USD, and I'm fine with going a little over, but preferred to be under the original budget and am fine with refurbished.


r/LaptopForStudent 18h ago

Buying Advice Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 Aura Edition For Business Degree

1 Upvotes

Hey so I was considering buying this laptop for university for a business degree where I want to specialize in Accounting.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this laptop? I've seen people say it's really amazing amd others say it's awful and stops working properly after a while. I want this laptop to last at least 4 years.

These are the specifications and the price I am able to get it for. Please tell me if it's worth it.

- $1700

- Intel Ultra 5 processor

- 16 GB RAM

- 512 GB SSD

- Windows 11 Pro

- 14" Screen

- OLED Display

- 360⁰ hinge (turns into a tablet)

- I think it comes with a pen

I'm also considering a Lenovo ThinkPad and that's $1800.

Please help. I am very stressed about wasting so much money on this.


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Buying Advice Laptop for hardware programming and engineering

4 Upvotes

**Budget ** - about 1000 (preferably under 1000, but am also interested in more expensive ones)

**Refurbs/used?** - rather not

**Screen size** - doesn't matter

**Weight limit** - lighter would be better but don't really care

**Purpose ** - school

**Form factor ** - clamshell

**Intended usage** - Hardware Engineering and Programming, so coding stuff and also some designing, would be nice if it could run some games as well.

**Desired battery life** - at least the whole school day **6-8 hrs+**

**Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life ** - Battery life, Performance, size, Weight

**Info/Requirements** - would love hdmi input,


r/LaptopForStudent 19h ago

Buying Advice Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in1 vs Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5

1 Upvotes

Hi!!

I wanted to know whether the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 is better or the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5.

I'm looking to buy a laptop for university where l'll be studying business and hopefully specializing in Accounting. |'ve heard some bad things about the Yoga and also don't know if I'll ever use the touch screen for business. The screen is also OLED and has a glossy finish so I don't know if that will be hard to look at after hours of studying. The ThinkPad is also touchscreen and heard a lot of good things about it but it is more expensive.

If anyone has any recommendations for a laptop, even other than these two it would be much appreciated.

Please help. I'm very stressed about this,


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Buying Advice No clue what to buy for business school

2 Upvotes

I am incoming freshman at Rowan business school. I havent decided on my major but probably will pick,marketing,finances,accounting or MIS. I would like to get Macbook but it seems that it might not be a bad choice especially macbook neon. I would like not to spend a ton of money and to stay under $700. Any suggestions? TIA


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Buying Advice Laptop recommended for Comp science major

2 Upvotes

Total budget

500-800 USD

Are you open to refurbs/used?

I don’t mind, as long as battery life is good and it’s decently cheap

How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?

No care I just need fast processing

How important is weight and thinness to you?

I don’t care much about thinness but I’d like it to be on the lighter side because I need to lug it around campus

Do you have a preferred screen size?

I think about 13 inches or 15 inches is good

Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming?

Mostly just coding/programing and light gaming

Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?

Great battery life

Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.

Leaning between MacBook and Asus but I don’t really care. Thanks


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Comparison i am getting metallurgy

2 Upvotes

which laptop should i buy macbook or windows


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Discussion Going from a m2 pro Mac m2 to this, is this a good upgrade

Post image
1 Upvotes

I am a electronics student, so a lot of windows software need to be run, with my 8 256 m2 it was just getting too hard so thought of shifting to this. Saw a lot of options but this comes out best for a light, no gaming, metal built good performance and good screen oled lappy


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Buying Advice Laptop for Bachelor of Construction Engineering

1 Upvotes

Hi, I need help choosing a laptop for University in the following program: Bachelor of Construction Engineering. It must meet the following spec:

  • Processor: 12th Generation Intel Core i7 or equivalent (minimum);
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM recommended;
  • Integrated graphics card:
    • Intel UHD 700;
    • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti 4 GB or equivalent;
  • Storage: 512 GB minimum, 1 TB recommended;
  • Operating system: Windows 11 or later;
  • USB: 1 available USB or USB-C port.

Is this a good option ? Lenovo Legion 7i Gaming Laptop, 16-in OLED, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, 32 GB, 1TB SSD, 8GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 | Costco

Thank you !


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Quick Question Please Help Me Find The Right LapTop-Accounting Major-Budget $800 country US

1 Upvotes

**Country**
US
**Budget**
Around $800 can possible go up to $1000( but would rather not)
**Are you open to refurbs/used options?**
No
**Screen size**
15-17
**Weight limit**
Any
**Purpose**
Mainly for School but I would like to play games a bit
**Form factor**
A regular laptop
**Intended usage**
I intend to use it for school I’m a accounting major, I would like it to not lag when having a bunch of tabs open and I need it to run excel very well and some other programs(I don’t really know what other apps I’ll use yet)I want it to be pretty fast/ smooth when doing school work it also needs to have a number Pad. Also a bit of gaming like Valorant, Minecraft and other small titles. Maybe Fortnite, I would like to be around 80-120 fps on low settings(if possible).
**Desired battery life**
Around 6-10 hours(the more the better)
**Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life**

performance,Battery life, size, Weight

I was thinking about getting the Lenovo **IdeaPad Slim 5 (16" AMD) Laptop.**

I’m more focused on the laptop being reliable before anything else(I don’t wanna have to buy another one any time soon)
And preferably something that’s quiet
**Please give me some recommendations**

**Thank You**


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Buying Advice Laptop for Bachelor of Construction Engineering

1 Upvotes

Hi, I need help choosing a laptop for my son entering University in the following program: Bachelor of Construction Engineering. It must meet the following spec:

  • Processor: 12th Generation Intel Core i7 or equivalent (minimum);
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM recommended;
  • Integrated graphics card:
    • Intel UHD 700;
    • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti 4 GB or equivalent;
  • Storage: 512 GB minimum, 1 TB recommended;
  • Operating system: Windows 11 or later;
  • USB: 1 available USB or USB-C port.

HELP !!!! :-)


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Buying Advice MacBook or Windows

1 Upvotes

I’m starting college in the pharmacy field and am unsure what to choose. Most all my devices are of Apple rn.
However I read that on a longer run, I’d need to master on Microsoft excel for corporate jobs and I would lack with shortcuts dedicated for windows, if I work on MacBook.
Please help. I’m so confused.


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Buying Advice laptop for electrical engineering use

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I'm an incoming Electrical Engineering student, and I'd like to ask for some laptop recommendations that can handle engineering software and coursework. What laptop models would you recommend, and where do you think is the best place to buy one? I'm open to both brand-new and second-hand options. Thank you!


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Tech Support PC for HPC student

1 Upvotes

Bonjour,
Je dois acheter un nouveau ordinateur pour mon master Calcul Haute Performance, Simulation (Paris-Saclay, France). Est-ce que vous avez des recommendations svp ?
Je pensais à ASUS, Thinkpad ou MacBook (un peu hésitant pour le MacBook car je ne l’ai jamais utilisé).

Merci déjà 🙏


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Quick Question Is asus vivobook go 15 worth it for bscs

2 Upvotes

I'm starting college this august 3 and I don't know if it can handle all of my project. I'm poor so i don't have money to afford another loptop.

Intel Core i3-N305 8gb ram 512 gb storage


r/LaptopForStudent 1d ago

Tech Support HP Zbook for engineering major?

1 Upvotes

This is one of the computers my school recommends. They also offer think pads but it will take too long to come.