Laptops have a habit of evolving pretty quickly, which is why it’s important to always keep a close eye on what the best laptops for college students might be depending on the year your high school senior is graduating to the big leagues. Luckily though, Gadget Review has made it our job to condense everything you need to know about what laptops will make the best grad gift, thanks to the hundreds of hours we’ve spent reviewing the latest models released in 2019. To expand your laptop search, you can also check our best laptops guide.
If you want a full guide on the best college laptops for 2019 make sure to head on over to that link, but if you’re only in it for the latest and greatest college laptops read on in our article here to get to the bottom line quick!
1. ASUS Chromebook Flip C302CA – Best Laptop for College Students Overall
While there are definitely some picks on this list that are better looking, provide more functionality, or have the option to run a greater library of apps, for our money the ASUS C302-CA is the best combination of features that every college student so desperately needs. For one (and most important, depending on who you ask): it’s cheap. At just $469.00 the ASUS C302CA could certainly be called expensive by Chromebook standards, but compared to any Windows laptop in the same tier you’re getting way more bang for your buck, a staple of Google’s mainstream sales strategy.
But cheap laptops don’t last very long, right? Not so in the case of the ASUS C302CA. In our tests the C302 was one of the most durable Chromebooks ever released, thanks in part to the reinforced screen. Last there’s the 2-in-1 touchscreen functionality, which in our opinion is a must-have for any college student on the go. Add all this up, and you’ve got yourself the best laptop for college students in 2019! If you are learning to program, you can find great laptops in the best laptops programming section.
You can buy it on Amazon with Prime Shipping.
2. Thinkpad Carbon X1 – Best Laptop for Business Students
The one, the only: the legend. ThinkPad is one of the oldest names in the laptop game, and the brand is still going just as strong as the day it started after 20 years with dozens of upgrades both on and underneath the hood. The ThinkPad Carbon X1 is an excellent choice for business students who need a lot of power packed into a petite package, and the Carbon X1 is just about as thin and light as they come. With all those textbooks already weighing your backpack down, it’s nice to know that your laptop won’t be slowing you down any more than it has to.
The ThinkPad Carbon X1 is powerful for its small size, and will be able to handle most any major application you need to run that doesn’t require extensive graphics processing capabilities. Not only that, but from a pure professionalism standpoint it certainly doesn’t look bad to get started in your business career with a ThinkPad either! If you are a content creator looking for a light, portable, and efficient laptop, then you need the best 2 in 1 laptops.
You can buy this one from Amazon, with Prime shipping.
3. Lenovo IdeaPad – Best Laptop for College Students on a Budget
Of course, this wouldn’t be a list for the best anything for college students if we didn’t also mention something that could save your prospective student a little money, too. In a world where ramen packets and bottom-barrel beer are all a part of the college experience, some students just need a daily driver that may not be so fancy around the edges, but will still help them ace that next exam in a pinch,
This is where the Lenovo Ideapad 14 comes in. The Ideapad 14 is as basic as they come, with only a 1366×768 screen and 16GB of onboard storage available for your student in need. But, what it lacks in specs it makes up for in pure savings, costing you and your grad only a mere $199.00 brand new, out the door. If you’re trying to save money but still need a Windows-based laptop that can run any application that’s compatible with Windows 10, for less than $200 you won’t find a better deal on shelves today.
You can buy this model from Amazon with Prime Shipping.
