<p>Mu daughter got a MacBook Pro for graduation and I got her a Vera Bradley case- it is softsided -</p>
<p>My kids have soft case to put their Macs in, and then they put it in their tote bag. One thing to be careful about is many college students like to put thier water bottle in their backpack, and if it spills it could damage the laptop. You may want to look into a water proof case, instead of just a jacket.</p>
<p>The best case is the one she will use. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks is best… I have a nice soft ‘In Case’ case for my Mac Air- and I like it because it is soft and fluffy inside, so when I reach in it is not all sticky or hard!</p>
<p>I should also point out that no cover makes a lick of difference if you back up your car over your backpack that has your MB in it, as my son learned. </p>
<p>The Air is really flimsy. I am actually on my second Air. The MacBook is much sturdier, luckily.</p>