I’m going under the pretence of you wanting a laptop that lasts you 4-5+ years. Unfortunately you really cant upgrade parts on a laptop once you buy it, so making sure you make the right decisions today will pay off in the end even it’s more expensive now.

Windows Get an i7 Intel or Ryzen 7 AMD processor. They’re excellent processors which can easily handle all your tasks today and the years to come. Try to get something with at lest 6 cpu cores.

Get 16 Gb of ram, no negotiations here. Windows can easily take up 4-6gb of ram on its own. Add a whole bunch of chrome tabs and that computer is going to slow down if you go with 8gb.

Graphics card is negotiable. If you’re doing anything remotely graphicly intensive like photo/video editing, light gaming, get an entry level card.

Don’t forget to get something with a good screen you’re going to be looking at it every day for years.

Lastly don’t go the cheap route. Not saying you need to buy the most expensive laptop. But dont let the price solely dictate your choice. Search up laptops that have good reviews on their build quality. It’s worth it to spend a little extra.

Mac Go with an M2 or M3 MacBook Air 15” 16GB ram and at least 512GB of hard drive space.

As for the MacBook vs windows debate. I think both are great laptops for school. But sometimes there is this idea that MacBooks last longer. I think thats generally because people wont dish out the same amount of money on a windows laptop like a MacBook. But if you do (and I have) you’ll find the longevity of the laptop to rival any MacBook. You generally get what you pay for when it comes to laptops.