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7 best budget laptops for college students

There's a thin line between price, quality, and transportability — and these laptops check all the boxes, great for today's virtual learning environment

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Whether you're heading out to college or about to start school virtually, a new laptop is almost a necessary school supply this year. Whether required or not, laptops certainly cost far more than a set of pencils and a notebook. But there are solid budget options that can certainly do the job of getting you online to attend class, finish a paper — and far more.

These laptops are all available now, and you can pick them up immediately without having to wait for pre-ordering. They start at $300 and go up from there, but not one of them will cost more than $1,000. Here are our picks then for some of the best budget laptops for any student.

Macbook Air — $999

Apple MacBook Air

Apple

The new Apple MacBook Air has TouchID for logging in and making purchases

The new MacBook Air is easily the most expensive option on our list, a laptop from Apple that still rings in below $1,000? That's pretty grand. (Okay, okay.) Apple released the new device in March, which starts with 256G of storage, 2TB SSD, and a 13-inch display. There's TouchID for logging in, and making purchases.

The computer boasts that 10th Gen Intel Are, with a 1.2 GHz quad-core i7 and Intel Iris Plus Graphics. You also get the Magic Keyboard, which trust us is a huge improvement over past keyboards. There's a three-mic array, which Apple says is great for voice clarity over FaceTime calls, and Thunderbolt 3 ports.

This is obviously an Apple computer, so you're using macOS and other Apple software programs including Pages and Sheets.

Students actually get $100 off the new MacBook Air, making it just $899, plus you get a free pair of Apple AirPods and one year of Apple TV+ for free.

Available on Best Buy for $100.



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