Laptops for Students

The most essential tech item students of all ages require nowadays is a laptop, and it’s important to choose the right one to meet their needs.

The best types of laptops for students

The best types of laptops for students will be compatible with programs they need to access and use at school as well as for homework and research. It will be lightweight, powerful, and rugged, especially when you’re considering younger kids with slippery fingers.

Seek out value for money, especially considering the child will likely want to upgrade to a new model as their needs progress and they move from grade school to secondary, or even into post-secondary education. A laptop that can be upgraded in memory and storage will offer good bang for the buck; or opt for more than you think they’ll need to future-proof the investment.

The laptop should be easy to use with a familiar interface, like Windows or Mac. Many come loaded with the latest OS, but the student might need word processing and other software via subscription, download, or disc if they aren’t exclusively using cloud services.

Features to consider when choosing a laptop for students

There are a few key features when it comes to laptops for students. The first is battery life. A student will be using the laptop in class, on the go, and while working on projects away from home, which means they’ll need it to last all day.

A touchscreen is useful though not essential, depending on the tasks. Post-secondary students might appreciate convertible laptops they can flip over to take notes on tablet-style using a stylus. Screen size should be large enough to accommodate multi-tasking, but, for the average student, a compact and lightweight computer might be more valuable than an extra few inches of screen.

Arguably most important feature consideration is performance. The laptop should have ample RAM (at the very least, 4GB, ideally more), plenty of storage (cloud storage is also an option, but they’ll still need storage for local files, apps, and software), a bright and high-res screen, and fast processor.

Getting the most out of and protecting a new laptop

To get the most out of the laptop for students in specialized classes and programs, look for models that come or work with the software programs they need for creativity, engineering, science, finance, coding, or whatever the course material. Features like higher-res touchscreens, multitasking split-screen support, widescreens, and extra RAM, will play into the decision depending on their program needs.

Once you have decided on the perfect laptop, it's important to keep the investment protected. Buy a protective fitted shell for the computer, or at the very least, a protective sleeve or backpack with padded laptop compartment so they can easily and safely transport it from one place to another.

Don’t forget useful accessories like a mouse, monitor and wireless keyboard to use at home, privacy screen, stylus (for touch screen convertible laptops), screen cleaner and cloth, and compressed air for digging crumbs and debris out from between the keys. This will help keep it in tip-top shape for years to come.