Best Laptops For Graduate Students – Top 8 Choice

Over recent years, laptops have become an essential tool for students and even graduates. Having a laptop comes with many benefits when seeking employment, writing CVs, cover letters and so much more. However, not every graduate has access to a laptop and it may be due to financial constraints or they have not found the best one yet. Choosing the best laptop for graduate students can be a very simple task if you know the specs you need within your profession.

Buying a laptop is a very easy process. The only tough part is choosing the best laptop. There are so many things to consider like your budget, the minimum specs needed in your profession, the body built and so many more features. Once you jot down the specs you need and have a budget plan in place, it will be easy to buy a laptop. There are many laptops in the markets and if you ever bought the best laptops for college students under 500, you may have insights on what to choose from.

This article aims to demystify the best laptops for graduate students. We will also look at the red lights when buying the laptops and many more insights. To learn more on the 8 best laptops to choose from, read below!

What are the red alerts when buying a laptop for a graduate student?

Before buying a laptop always lookout for these red flags:

i) Laptop verified

The laptop does not come with a warranty or any refund policy. In such cases, the laptop is either fake or it is a manufacturer reject. Ensure you get a laptop with a valid warranty. You can only do so from verified laptop dealers like Amazon.

ii) Many bad reviews

If the device has many bad reviews on online marketplaces, then that is not something to buy. Make sure the laptop you intend to buy has a 4.0 and above star rating.

iii) Poor body design

The bid design should be of great quality especially for those graduates who tend to travel more often or to work outside the office. Make sure the hinges are well attached and it has no broken display.

iv) Poor packaging

Before buying a laptop, read reviews on the packaging of the device. Bad packaging may damage the laptop and in some cases, the seller may refuse to give a refund.

v) Using an old operating system

The laptop should run either the latest version of the OS that it came pre-installed with. This is to avoid any security issues where malware may be installed on the device.

Where are the best places to buy laptops for graduate students?

If you are looking for a laptop, ensure you buy it from a verified seller, here are our five best options you can consider;

1. Amazon

Amazon is one of the biggest online retailers in the world. All the laptops sold here like the best laptops for Photoshop are tested and certified to be in good condition by Amazon staff. This makes it curb fake products and ensure the customer gets top-notch services.

2. Walmart

Walmart is another big player in the eCommerce industry. You can buy laptops here at an affordable price. Walmart offers dedicated

3. BestBuy

Bestbuy is a great platform to buy a laptop, they offer strict inspections on all their products sold on the platform. You are also assured of reliable customer support but not the best shipping process. These are the best platforms in which you can buy laptops at an affordable price.

Can a graduate student get a free laptop?

If you are in an online college that offers free laptops, then you can get one. However, the terms vary with each institution, so feel free to refer to your administration to see if you can qualify for the devices.

If you can’t get a free laptop but have a small budget in place, you can consider buying a budget laptop like the ones we are going to list here.

IN the long term, buying a laptop is considered the best option when compared to free products which may have some technical issues in both hardware and software build.

See our related article on the Best Laptop for Nursing Students On Budget. These laptops perform well at a reasonable price tag!

The 8 best laptops for graduate students

1) HP 15-dy1036nr 10th Gen

HP 15 is a stunning laptop that comes with an FHD screen and has an appealing natural silver color. The device supports WI-FI 6 (2x) connection and uses Bluetooth® for up to 5 connections. The laptop comes with an Intel Core i5 processor and has 8GB memory.

It comes with a 256 GB SSD which is super fast compared to the HDD. The laptop offers 10 hours of battery life despite lacking fast charging support. It also incorporates a Media Card reader and features a Built-in webCam.  HP also has a stable processor that ensures heavy apps like Adobe photoshop work smoothly.

PROS

• Has BIOS protection feature
• Long battery life
• Easy to update OS
• Webcam quality is commendable

CONS

• Turbo tax is unreliable

2) Lenovo Flex 5 14″ 2-in-1 Laptop

Lenovo Flex comes with many vibrant features that you will love. The laptop comes with a 14.0″ FHD touch display. It uses an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U processor which is super efficient and fast. You also get a stunning keyboard layout which is tactile ensuring you get a smooth typing response.

Battery life is amazing with up to 10 hours and quick charging to 80 % in less than an hour. It also features a 360-degree hinge that lets you switch to whatever mode works for you. It comes with a 30-day refund from Amazon. Warranty is available upon inquiry from the manufacturer.

PROS

• Sleek design
• Stunning body BUILD
• Long battery life
• Has a powerful processor

CONS

• Radeon graphics is not reliable

3) Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch)

The Apple MacBook Pro is a great device to buy if you are looking for flagship specs. It has a 13″ LED-backlit display with IPS technology and a native resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. It comes with a 2.0 GHz Quad-core 10th-Gen Intel Core i5 processor.

The storage option starts at 256 GB SSD and goes up to 1 TB.  It uses the Intel Iris Plus Graphics delivering high performance if you want to play games or use heavy software. The Laptop supports 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports and has a headphone jack.  The WebCam has HD capabilities.

PROS

• Stunning Retina display
• Long battery life
• Comes with 2 thunderbolt ports
• Uses Ultra Fast SSD

CONS

• Not the best eco-system

Read More: How to Rent-to-Own a Macbook (NO Credit Check!). Here’s how you can rent to own your favorite electronics.

4) ASUS VivoBook S15

ASUS VivoBook S15 may be the best laptop for graduate students in computer science. The laptop features a 15.6″ HD display with bright and ambient colors. It runs on Intel Core i5-10210U CPU and uses 8 GB DDR4 RAM with 512 GB SSD.

The SSD is super fast and with that ample internal memory eliminating the need to buy external storage. It runs on Windows 10 Home and you can easily install software updates. It comes with a 1-year warranty and a 30-day refund.

PROS

• Clean look and design
• Well optimized and updated OS
• Uses a powerful processor
• The keyboard is well-spaced

CONS

• Fingerprint sensors are slow

5) Lenovo Chromebook Duet

If you are a designer graduate and are looking to get a laptop with high graphics quality, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is the best option. It has a 10.1″ WUXGA 1920 X 1080P display. The screen also supports the USI pen but it is sold separately.

The device features 4 GB LPDDR4X RAM and internal memory is 128 GB SSD. It runs on MediaTek P60T chipset and uses the mighty ARM G72 MP3 graphics. The keyboard design is super efficient for those who love typing for a long time.

PROS

• Friendly user interface
• Uses powerful graphics
• The design is stunning
• Good quality FHD display

CONS

• The MediaTek chipset is not reliable

6) New Microsoft Surface Pro 7

The new Microsoft Surface Pro 7 offers flagship specs when compared to some free government internet and laptop program. The device comes with a 12.3″ FHD display which has ambient colors. Surface Pro 7 offers Intel Core i3 which offers greater performance and graphics than its predecessor.

The laptop offers 128 GB memory and you can upgrade to the 512 GB variant if you need more memory. You can also buy one with 16 GB RAM. Webcam quality is super impressive and offers bright colors. Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is sold in Platinum and Matte black colors.

PROS

• Sleek design
• Strong body quality
• Ample battery life
• Stunning display

CONS

• Docking does not work on some stations

7) 2020 ASUS S15

Asus S15 is a great device with its ductile keyboard giving you the best experience when writing a report. It has a ductile keyboard and a 15.6″ Full HD display. The laptop runs on Intel Quad-core i7 8 GB RAM. The internal memory is 512 GB SSD.

The touchpad is a screen pad 2.0 giving you a smooth navigation process. You also get a stunning webcam with HD quality to make all your online calls easily. The Asus S15 weighs 1.8kg and is 18 nm thick. Warranty and refund policies can be found on Amazon.

PROS

• NanoEdge display is amazing
• Comes with long battery life
• Sleek design
• Color blends with the device perfectly

CONS

• Unreliable processor

8) Acer Aspire 5

If you are looking for a laptop with a great body build and long battery life, this is the right option. The laptop comes with a 15.6″ FHD display of 1920 x 1080 in terms of resolution. It uses an AMD Ryzen 3200U dual-core processor.

RAM is 4GB DDR4 memory and uses 128 GB SSD memory. It has a good Webcam camera though it lacks HD quality. The device comes with 1 USB 3.1 port, HDMI port, and 2 USB 2.0 ports. Warranty and refund are available on Amazon.

PROS

• Has FHD display
• Comes with long battery life
• Powerful CPU
• Supports fast charging

CONS

• Has only 1 USB 3.1 port

Bottom line

A graduate having a laptop comes with many benefits. It will be easier for you to write your reports, CV and many other benefits. You should however consider a laptop made of high quality and must have a warranty or refund policy in place. The laptops mentioned here offer great value and are sold in the most reliable vendors across the US.