The best laptops for college students 2018: all the best options for school work

While we patiently await the Surface Laptop 2, there are still plenty of amazing laptops for college students to decorate their dorms with. The best laptops for college students are going to be elegantly designed, powerful enough to handle anything in a semester  and is is affordable enough for even the most frugal students to justify.

Money can be hard to come by for college students, so the best laptops for student’s don’t feature the latest AMD Ryzen or Coffee Lake processors and Nvidia graphics. Still, a lot has changed in the last few years – tiny netbooks with frustrating performance and noisy fans are in the past where they belong. Instead, the best laptops for college students in 2018 are slim, powerful and quiet. There’s been a deluge of advances in recent years that have made the best laptops for students a seamless component of your learning – rather than distracting you from it.

And, now that Windows 10 allows you to toggle off Windows 10 S, and a new Windows 10 Lean mode is on the way . The best laptops for students will be flexible enough to do whatever you need them to do.

The next few years are going to be stressful, but the right tool is worth the expense if it’ll help you earn that degree. To alleviate some of the frustration, we’ve listed the best laptops for college students below so that you can buy one for yourself or a loved one. You won’t have to limit to yourself to an old clunker any more.

1. Dell XPS 13

CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 4GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080; non-touch) – UHD (3,840 x 2,160; touchscreen) | Storage: 128GB – 1TB SSD

What’s the XPS 13 if not the best? For three years in the running, we’ve been unable to answer this question due to Dell’s stunning flagship Ultrabook, well, being the best. Thin, light and ready to rumble once again, the Dell XPS 13 is more powerful than ever, albeit at a higher starting cost than before. Then again, the slight bump in cost means you can expect an 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor at the very least, paired with a gorgeous (and bezel-less) InfinityEdge anti-glare display as well as an Alpine White-woven-into-Rose Gold color option. It’s a bit more expensive than the traditional Platinum Silver version, but it’s worth it for the cred.

Read the full review: Dell XPS 13

2. Samsung Notebook 9 Pro

CPU: 7th generation Intel Core i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 – AMD Radeon Graphics (2GB GDDR5) | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch – 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) LED display with Touch Screen Panel | Storage: 256GB SSD

The Samsung Notebook 9 is what other 2-in-1 laptops have aspired to be since their conception. It hones in on the S-Pen, Samsung’s own proprietary stylus with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity (the same as Microsoft’s new Surface Pen), a nifty little accessory that conveniently doesn’t require charging. Although the touchscreen display is only 1080p, at between 350 and 450 nits of brightness, you won’t be paying any mind to the pixels, or lack thereof. Plus, the lengthy battery life more than makes up for this hybrids few setbacks.

Read the full review: Samsung Notebook 9 Pro

3. Asus Chromebook Flip

CPU: Intel Core m3 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 515 | RAM: 4GB | Screen: 12.5-inch, Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) LED backlit anti-glare | Storage: 64GB eMMC + TPM

The Asus Chromebook Flip C302 could be seen as an apology for Google’s own missteps with the Chromebook Pixel that preceded it. Rather than costing over a grand for unnecessarily high performance that would put a lot of Windows notebooks to shame, Asus has cut the price in half while adding a 360-degree hinge that effectively makes it a 2-in-1 laptop, but with Android apps from the Google Play Store that only sweeten the deal.Now you can experience a Chromebook whose style rivals that of the MacBook Pro without spending even remotely what you would on one of Apple’s machines.

Read the full review: Asus Chromebook Flip

4. Samsung Notebook 9 (2018)

CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i7 | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce MX150 | RAM: 16GB DDR4 | Screen: 15-inch FHD LED | Storage: 256GB SSD

It should come as no surprise that the Samsung Notebook 9 has a gorgeous display, considering who made it. But, even beyond the screen, this laptop just breathes quality, from its useful fingerprint scanner, insane portability to its bleeding-edge, 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processor. Sure, its keyboard is a bit lackluster, and you’ll fill up the storage quickly but even those flaws are serviceable. Finally, thanks to its insane battery life, this is hands down one of the best laptops students can buy in 2018.

Read the full review: Samsung Notebook 9 (2018)

5. Microsoft Surface Pro

CPU: 7th generation Intel Core m3 – i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 615 – Iris Plus Graphics 640 | RAM: 4GB – 16GB | Screen: 12.3-inch, 2,736 x 1,824 PixelSense display | Storage: 128GB – 1TB SSD

As we wait for the Surface Pro 5, the 2017 Surface pro is still the most advanced Windows tablet on the market. Everything from its rounded edges to its refined accessories all but screams that it’s the next generation of the Redmond hardware lineage. There’s also the fact that the Surface Pro draws inspiration from all-in-one PCs in the way it can bend back 165 degrees. The only real compromise here is that only the i7 version of the Surface Pro can give Apple’s cheaper, entry-level iPad Pro a run for its money.

Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Pro

6. Acer Aspire E15

CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i5-8250U | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce MX150 | RAM: 8GB DDR4 | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080; non-touch) | Storage: 256GB SSD

While it might not win any beauty contests, the Acer Aspire e15 does one thing, and it does it well: work. If you need a laptop that you can carry with you between classes and get some work done, without needing to break open the piggy bank, this laptop will go a long way. Rocking one of the new 8th-generation Coffee Lake U-series CPUs, you’ll never have to worry about your laptop holding back your studying. Just don’t expect a chassis you can proudly display in the coffee shop.

Read the full review: Acer Aspire e15

7. Samsung Notebook 7 Spin

CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i5 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB | Screen: 13.3-inch full HD (1,920 x 1,080) LED with touch panel | Storage: 256GB SSD

While we still adore the Samsung Notebook 7 Spin, we have to admit that it’s not quite the same device it used to be. Instead, it’s a 13-inch convertible laptop that literally bends over backwards to suit your creative needs. And, while you won’t find an included stylus in sight, nor are discrete graphics present in this year’s model, the lengthy battery life and punchy processor nearly makes up for any concessions.

Read the full review: Samsung Notebook 7 Spin

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