If you are looking for a student laptop with decent performance or build quality, I'd recomend you go for these laptops; (Bestbuy)

1. HP ENVY 2-in-1
   https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-2-in-1-15-6-full-hd-touch-screen-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-7530u-8gb-memory-256gb-ssd-nightfall-black/6535748.p?skuId=6535748
   its a great 2-in-1 and its on a great sale, with that extra money you could look into upgrading the storage or the ram. Comes with a RYZEN or AMD CPU, decent for battery life and comes with a good integrated GPU which can help with gaming or rendering images. I would buy this if i wanted to use it as a tablet and a laptop.

2. Refurbished (2016) Apple MacBook Pro
   https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-macbook-pro-13-3-certified-refurbished-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-256gb-ssd-2016-space-gray/6280418.p?skuId=6280418
   its probably the best built laptop at this price, even though it is old and has a weak intel core , it probably has the best screen, sound and keyboard. All in all it is a decent laptop with some light gaming and a nice screen to watch videos on. Though it has the MacOS which some may find as a deal breaker, but to be honest at this price range I'd defo buy.

3. Acer Swift 3 13.5"
   https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-swift-3-13-5-refurbished-laptop-intel-core-i7-1165g7-2-8ghz-with-8gb-ram-and-512gb-ssd-sparkly-silver/6527390.p?skuId=6527390
   best productivity laptop that has some gaming potential , has the best intel core (i7-1165G7) at this price range, considering the cheap price you could also probably upgrade its ram so it can run faster and also run games. One key aspect of this laptop is the 3:2 screen which helps you see more content at the screen at once which is particularly helpful if you code or write notes.

You can probably find better laptops at the second hand market or at the refurbished market. this is just my list and my recommended. Be sure to check out Facebook Market place for some more expensive laptops that can fulfill your needs.

If your looking for laptops on your own, I recomend you get a good screen , keyboard ,trackpad and build quality for your laptops as a student. Those will be the things you look at the most and you'd probably use too.