you need to find out what specific things(like programs) he will need for the school he is attending, they put out a list generally.

If he is going to be carrying it a lot I would not go with a big 17" they are very heavy, go with about a 14-15". Some come with a full keyboard including number pad that may be important if he will need a number pad then you want to make sure you buy a laptop that has that aspect.
Stay away from emachines, if you go with any of the big names you should be fine. I prefer AMD processors over Intel but that is just me. I would say at least a dual core processor with minimum 4GB RAM and a hard drive of 500GB or larger. You should be able to find some in that range for under $700.
I have 2 acer laptops that have not given me any problems at all, I like HP a lot too.
What ever he gets will likely come with a ton of extra junk added to it and most of that can be removed because it is not needed and no sense having it take up room. It will probably come with a trial version of some antivirus program I would not even use it I would use App remover program to clean that off and install either MSE free or Avast free instead.
I just this week was working on a toshiba laptop for someone and had to do exactly that cleaned up a ton of junk off of it and removed the old McAfee trial version and put MSE on it. Toshiba puts a LOT of Toshiba junk on their laptops.

Some options and places to look, I buy from walmarts online, if I have any problem at all I can just take it back to any walmart store. I also like Costco and Sams.
Do not buy anything with a celeron processor! these listings will give you some ideas and guidelines to look for.

Asus 15.6" K53U-RBR7 Laptop PC with AMD Dual-Core Processor

HP Midnight Blue 14.5" Pavilion DV5-2135DX Laptop PC

Acer Black 15.6" AS5742-6838 Laptop PC

Now this jumps up to a quad core processor instead of a dual core so much more processing power.

HP Black 15.6" Pavilion Entertainment dv6-6110us Laptop PC with AMD Quad-Core

Acer AS5560-SB609 15.6" Notebook with AMD A6-3400M Quad Core

Hope that helps some and gives some ideas and guidelines.

do be sure and check for the school lists!

While you're shopping, and definitely before the unit goes off to college, please take the time to Google "college security laptop" (sans quotes). A lot of safety information will be made available for you and your student to review and learn.

A college campus is "not Kansas anymore", as they are full of opportunists and desperate people. If the best means of reasonable security is not taken you probably will be sharing with us stories about your former laptop, and that would indeed be unfortunate.

DA

Thank You!

Question about HP (which I have), they are trying to get out of the PC business so do you think that's problem with repairs or any thing else?

In other words, should I avoid them for that reason.

What do you think about build your own Dell's?

The term "build your own" can apply to almost any brand of computer if you go to the web site of the manufacturer and select the components that you want. Then you can order it directly from the manufacturer's store or go to a big box store and match the specs as closely as possible and probably get a much better price.

As for avoiding HP because of their corporate actions, I do not think that will be a problem. HP computers will be around whether the same company continues to produce them or the computer division is sold to someone else. Don't forget, these are nearly all built in China anyway. They will stand behind their products for whatever warranty period you have.

Also, I would not be in too big a hurry to make this purchase for the next school year anytime soon. Electronics change, and upgrades are made so often, you might be better off waiting until after Christmas to make the purchase, and save money also.

".....you need to find out what specific things(like programs) he will need for the school he is attending, they put out a list generally."

Ditto ravencajun....with two additional thoughts....

1) Find out what the other kids are using; what holds up and what doesn't. My friends with college-kid experience have high opinion of Macs especially in terms of longevity and lack of problems compared with the classmates PCs. College administrators will, doubtless, have information about what works and what doesn't at that campus.

2) Let your son do this "homework". Sounds like your going to be the payee, but he's the one that will living with it in the coming years.

Grandms you saw something I completely missed. Unless the student is enrolling for the 2012 Winter term this research is a bit premature. There are way too many alternatives/options/requirements/costs/etc. that can change from now until next Fall. If the system is for Fall I think beginning research in early Summer would be the way to go.

DA

I agree if you wait till closer to the time period it is needed you would get the most recent technology and usually there are good sales at the time when school starts, and of course the big Christmas sales.

I personally, my opinion only, am not a fan of Dell.

I do like custom built as long as who ever is doing the building knows what they are doing and use high end components I have gone that route a few times with very good results.

I do not think HP will leave their customer base in the lurch I would not hesitate to buy an HP myself.

Thank you all for your help.

I think we will wait until he is closer to leaving for school. We don't even know WHERE he is going yet and he doesn't know what he wants to major in so we will take the advice here and wait.

"Remember your computer should last throughout your college career (four or five years). Therefore, it is a good idea to avoid buying an "entry level" computer, and look to purchase computers in the mid to high end range level. By "entry level", we mean computers with options that are typically at the end of the product's life. A higher-end computer should be viable for 4-5 years."

Very nice article at link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: clemson.edu

The school my granddaughter attends requires each student to buy a computer, with this requirement:
Must be purchased from the school because it is pre-loaded with school's preferred software.

So I suggest that, if you know which college student will attend, contact school to learn and understand its requirements.

I have 2 in their last year. Each has had a Wintel laptop. One was a Compaq which had nothing but trouble with the Wifi radio, associated with the mobo. We got a Mac to replace that -- no issues. Before the Mac was purchased, we bought an HP, and it was DOA. I would stear clear of HP. The other is a Gateway that has to be "blown out" on occasion to prevent overheating, but works well besides that. I haved owned nothing but Wintel machines since computers became affordable for general consumers, and I will most likely buy a Mac the next time I need one. Bottom line is Apple products are higher quality, but you DO pay for it.