do I need a Mac or could I use a chrome book
I do not know what your major is, but non of your school will require an expensive MacBook purchase.
only think I would say you might need a mac is graphic design or production art.
you can use chrome book. pc or mac.
I wish I knew your major. If you are doing engineering or CS or anything that involves running more complex, get something with an i5 processor and nothing less. If you are just using this as a word processing computer and emailing then a chromebook will do the job gladly.