Best Laptops for College Students 2016

With summer in full swing but fall just around the corner, now is a better time than ever to start your search for the best laptop for college in 2016.

But which style of college laptop is right for your degree and what your classes will demand? Your laptop is an essential part of school work, and will be used in a variety of ways including writing papers, taking online exams, collaborating with other students, reviewing the class syllabus and enrolling in courses. So whether you’re a student that just needs something basic to get you through the day or a parent that requires something a little more powerful, there’s no need to look further than our guide on the best college laptops in the business.

Top Laptop Overall

The best laptop is now even better. Dell has given the XPS 13 ($799 to start, $1,399 with touch) a brighter screen, longer battery life, a new USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3 and your choice of Intel's latest 6th-generation Core Series CPUs. Dell also kept all the features we liked on the previous model, including the sexy aluminum and carbon-fiber body, optional quad-HD infinity display, and comfy backlit keyboard. While the location of the webcam still feels out of place, this latest XPS 13 continues to reign supreme.

When you open the lid, you're treated to Dell's infinity display (pictured above), which features an almost nonexistent bezel that seems to just disappear into the background. It's intimate and engaging, and when you watch movies, it's feels like the video player is just hovering in midair.

The Infinity display isn't just for looks either, as the smaller lid means the XPS 13 also has a small footprint. Measuring 12 x 7.9 x 0.33-0.6-inches and weighing 2.7 pounds (2.9 pounds for the touch-screen version) this notebook is even smaller than some of the tiniest 13-inch systems, including the MacBook Air 13 (12.8 x 8.9 x 0.11-0.68-inches, 2.96 pounds) and the Lenovo Yoga 900 (12.75 x 8.86 x 0.59 inches, 2.8 pounds).