Unfortunately my S22’s computer just died and it looks like repairing it will not be worth the $$. We were planning on getting him a new computer for college, but it looks like our timeline has just been pushed up. He will be a humanities major at some school (don’t know where) - what should we get for him? I want it to last 4 years if possible!! Any insight would be appreciated.
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Check the schools website. Almost every school I’ve seen has suggestions for what the student will need based on their studies. They also sell laptops at the at the education price and some offer 4 years of coverage. One of my daughters school has coverage for anything including spills, theft, etc and have loaner machines if something goes wrong while it’s being repaired.
One of the schools also give free entry level Macs and PC’s to all athletes, and students who received Merit and Financial Aid or they can use the credit to buy whatever they want.
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What is used to be using for his current laptop? Windows? MacBook?
A couple of questions @Thorsmom66
- what is your budget?
- do you need a Windows laptop or will a MacBook do?
One of the schools also has discounted software and the other offers it for free.
To answer some questions - we are flexible on budget but want something that will last. He is familiar with both Windows computers and Macs - he had an old MacBook Air of mine until it died and most recently an Acer Swift 3 (which only lasted 1.5 years). Each time something has broken the cost of repair has been nearly as much as buying new - there is some planned obsolescence for you. The timing of this is super annoying because I wanted to wait until he decided where he is going, but nooooo
That is great, but since he hasn’t committed anywhere (and is waiting to hear back from 5 more schools) I can’t tap into his future (and, as yet, unknown) school.
I found laptop recommended features and brands on many of the business department websites at schools D22 is considering. (I assume engineering students might get a different set of recommendations.)
In addition, there were sometimes links to specific models available to students at a discount.
I found two of the models recommended on school websites also described in this article:
We ended up buying a Dell that seemed to satisfy all the requirements at all of the schools on D22’s list. It wasn’t the cheapest, nor the most expensive.
You can still take advantage of the Apple Education Store. Big event tomorrow with new products being announced.
The M1 machines are beasts!
So, my top recommendation would be a MacBook Pro if it fits within your budget and is acceptable to your son (sounds like it should be based on his prior experience with the Air). MacBooks are solidly built and will last all 4 years with barely any loss of performance.
If that’s not an option then I’d say look at the HP Elite series. They are pretty well built too, but like all Windows computers will start slowing down over time. There are some good lightweight ones these days.
Another vote for a MacBook if it’s in your budget. Mine is going on 7 years and still working well.
My D didn’t have a great experience with her Dell. It didn’t make it through college. She’s trying an HP now.
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In the absence of gaming, you probably do not need a lot of processor speed. But having lots of memory is useful as programs grow in size with each update.
If storing valuable data (e.g. papers being written for classes) locally, be sure to consider how it will be backed up.
We wanted to go MacBook with D20 but she prefers a PC.
D20 chose a Dell XP 13 2n1 touchscreen with, IIRC, 1T in storage. She still loves her computer and it is going strong in her second year.
We found very good deals via Costco.
My D has been a MB air user, she loves it. Now she’s demanding a new mac (mostly an MBP with fastest core and enough SSD). We are looking at M1s. Any suggestion on typical screen size college kids use? My husband is very much stuck up on getting her a 16" but I feel it’s too heavy.
My daughter had a 13in and 16in MBP. She thinks the new 14in is a perfect fit. You don’t need much of an upgrade on the processor, just make sure they have room for all their photos. 
Apple Event tomorrow may introduce M2 but likely won’t be faster than M1 on last version of MBP.
Personally, I use a 16” MBP too and love it 
But it’s heavy. Since OP’s son is not a STEM major, he won’t need to run processor intensive software. So a MacBook Air might be a better fit.
Both my kids had a MacBook Air and it’s been fine. One was an economics major and the other is political science. Its lightweight and reliable and they really don’t need more than that.
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In our years of experience, the MacBooks are more durable for students. We’ve tried both and the MacBooks, while much more expensive, last way longer. Also from our experience, only some majors will have specific laptop requirements (design, communications, sometimes business requires PCs); I can’t imagine humanities will have any specific laptop requirements).
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Whatever you decide consider some additional warranty (Costco purchase or Apple Care or whatever)
And for what it’s worth, D2s Mac Air got her through undergrad and almost 2 years of grad school .
If your kid has an iPhone, do NOT get them a Mac. DD gets so distracted by the iMessage function on her laptop while doing work that I forced her to disable it.
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