The 6 best laptops for college students at school this fall

Mashable has released its guide to the best laptops for college students for the fall 2026 semester. The recommendations are based on an analysis of hardware requirements from top public universities and real-world performance testing. The guide categorizes laptops by major, suggesting the 13-inch MacBook Air for humanities, the Acer Swift Edge 14 AI or Dell 14S for business, and the MacBook Pro for creative fields. The article emphasizes the importance of future-proofing, recommending at least 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for most students, while engineering and design majors may require up to 32GB of RAM. The author advises against ARM-based Windows laptops for certain technical majors due to software compatibility issues, suggesting students stick with Intel or AMD processors. Additionally, the report highlights the necessity of accidental damage protection and student discounts to manage costs effectively.