I was able to buy your powerful laptop refurbished on eBay for 1300 I think more importantly though it depends on what major you are looking at and most likely in your first two years you won’t be needing those specs.
If you go the desktop/basic laptop way what will you be using the laptop for?
What do you plan to use the computer for? Unless you’re doing hard-core gaming or really serious graphics work, those laptop specs are overkill. (And even for gaming, the advantage of the i7 over an i5 is minimal at best and not worth the cost.)
The best option I think depends on what you plan to use the computer(s) for and your personal working style. I would find two computers annoying, for example, and prefer a setup of a workhorse laptop with an external keyboard/monitor/mouse in my room.
First thing: Laptop all the way. Nearly every campus has wifi everywhere, and most laptops function nicely as desktop replacements nowadays anyway.
Second thing: Invest in a good laptop cable lock.
Third thing: You should find out whether the college you’re going to supports Macs, PCs, Chromebooks, and Linux boxes equally well, and if one is seen as better than another for your intended field of study (if you have one). If you went to my college, for example, IT Services would happily help you with Mac, PC, and Chromebook issues, but they see Linux machines as a security risk(!) and refuse to offer any support. Following on to that, if you were planning on majoring in, say, English here I’d suggest you get a Mac, but if you were majoring in history I’d say to get a PC, since those are what most of the faculty use in those disciplines use, and so they’d be able to give advice on things like good software and stuff more easily for those. (Of course, that’s not as big an issue until you’re a full year or two in.)