There’s nothing more frustrating than having difficulties picking out the next best laptops for nursing students 2023. Major for nursing schools advise that laptops, ultrabooks, and even tablets would work. But what’s important more than just a type is the configuration.
However, there’s no reason to make something simple complicated. Of course, if you have experienced it might be simpler than for someone with no experience and knowledge in laptops. Luckily, you’re here with us now.
And that’s why there’s nothing you should worry about, because, in this post, you get to learn how to wisely choose your next laptop. You’ll also find some of the good laptops on the market right now which will make the decision way easier.
The Lineup at a Glance
- ASUS ZenBook 14 – Ultra Thin and Light
- Dell Inspiron 15 – 32 GB RAM
- Dell XPS 13 7390 – Anti-reflective
- Apple MacBook Air – Long Battery Life
- Microsoft Surface Pro 7 – Powerful Convertible
- Samsung 4 – Best Budget Laptop For Nursing Students
- ASUS VivoBook 15 – Powerful i3 CPU
- HP Pavilion 15 – High End DVD Drive
- Acer Aspire 5 – Backlit Keyboard
- Acer Swift 3 – Lightweight and Powerful
Best Laptops For Nursing Students In 2023
ASUS ZenBook 14 – Ultra Thin and Light
This is a 14″ laptop that comes with pre-installed Windows 10 Home, and a powerful configuration hiding inside its thin body. It also comes with a nanoedge display allowing you to maximize its small 14” inch screen.
It features the 10th gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 518GB SSD storage. These are pretty good specs especially for a 14 inch laptop at this price.
The laptop itself is thin and 8 hours will blow your worry of carrying it out, but not too thin which allowed Asus to place enough of ports. That’s really good for students who are looking to connect additional gadgets. There are even 2 different port types available.
Another budget option coming from the same band is Asus chromebook. It is certainly weaker than Asus ZenBook but if your usage is light task, Asus Chromebook can save you more.
Hardware Specifications for ASUS ZenBook 14
CPU: Intel 10th Gen Core i5-10210U Processor (6M Cache up to 4 2 GHz) | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics| RAM: 8 GB RAM | Screen: NanoEdge 14 inch Full HD display with 86% screen-to-body ratio in a 13” chassis | Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 8 hours | Weight: 3.26 lbs
Apple MacBook Air – Long Battery Life
We should start off by saying that the MacBook AIr is the perfect option for people who aren’t sure whether they need the lightness of a MacBook Air or the performance of a MacBook Pro.
MacBook is the ultimate combination of the lightweight laptop design combined with powerful components, which is followed by a smooth Mac OS.
This laptop weighs only about 2/8 lbs and 10 hours no need to charge makes it easy to carry around. You can even place it in your coat pocket and forget about it being there.
A part of the amazing lightweight yet durable design is the beautiful Retina display that features back-lit LED IPS technology that produces breathtaking views no matter what you do.
Now, let’s touch the configuration and power it produces. If you don’t know much about components, trust us that the MacBook AIr still has a lot of power. With a 10th Gen Intel core processor, that can go up to 3.2 GHz, this is a portable laptop that puts a lot of low-end desktops to shame.
With that being said, you will be able to handle even the most demanding tasks. Even better yet, you will be able to take your work with you and handle it on a go.
Hardware Specifications for Apple MacBook Air
CPU: 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i3, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz, with 4MB L3 cache | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics| RAM: 8 GB RAM | Screen: 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit Retina display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch | Storage: 256 GB SSD| Operating System: MAC OS | Battery Life: 10.5 hours | Weight: 2.8 lbs
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 – Powerful Convertible
The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is one of the best versions of Surface models you can get. It’s also one of the top-performing 2 in 1 laptop on the market.
It’s ultrathin, lightweight, and it can be used either as a laptop or as a tablet. However, the best is hidden inside.
Even though this 2 in 1 laptop is so slim, Microsoft still managed to place some of the best components inside, boosting its performance and making it one of the most powerful 2 in 1 laptop. Microsoft Office on Microsoft Surface Pro 7 also helps your school life easier.
It features a 10th gen Intel Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD (solid state drive) storage, 8GB RAM. In just a few seconds, you can switch from using Microsoft Surface Pro 7 as a laptop to a tablet where you can use the Surface Pen.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 still has an extensive port connection. However, you should keep in mind that the cover and pen are sold separately which isn’t something we liked at all.
Hardware Specifications for Microsoft Surface Pro 7
CPU: Intel Core i7 10th-Gen| Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics| RAM: 16GB RAM | Screen: 12.3-Inch 2736×1824 display| Storage: 256GB SSD| Operating System: Windows 10| Battery Life: up to 10.5 hours | Weight: 2.45 lbs
Samsung 4 – Best Budget Laptop For Nursing Students
Even though Samsung Chromebook 4 is a relatively small and very thin laptop that doesn’t weigh a lot – it comes with decent configuration hidden inside its sleek body.
It doesn’t feature the best components with just 4 GB RAM, Intel Celeron, and Intel HD graphics card but considering the price, this one of the is the best you can get – and is even much more than you would actually expect.
For majors for nursing students, this would be a perfect budget laptop.
It also features a simple and secure OS. While Chrome OS might take a few hours for some people to get used to it, you can think of it as a lighter version of the Windows system and it’s perfect for nursing students. You get to install all apps and use all software that you would usually be able to do on other systems.
Another positive thing is that Chrome OS is entirely connected with Google Apps which is useful for every student out there.
Whether you work, play, or entertain yourself with Samsung Chromebook 4, you’ll be able to get from 9 hours to 10.5 hours on a single charge.
When your hours of battery gets low, you’ll benefit from the super-quick charging feature that is something we recommend for every student.
Hardware Specifications for Samsung 4
CPU: Intel Celeron Processor N4000 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics| RAM: 4 GB RAM | Screen: 15.60-inch 1920×1080 pixels | Storage: 32 GB | Operating System: Chrome OS | Battery Life: 10.5 hours | Weight: 3.8 lbs
ASUS VivoBook 15 – Powerful i3 CPU
The ASUS VivoBook 15 offers a wide view display, It offers a perfect screen size of 15.6 inches which is improved by the WideView display technology that includes narrow bezel.
This way, you get to experience the full HD display with one of the best viewing experiences on the market thanks to the 80% screen-to-body ratio.
Asus really went a step further by improving their keyboard and introducing an ergonomic chiclet keyboard with fingerprint reader.
It’s a keyboard that is relatively thin yet has wide keys and is comfortable to type on because of its great key travel. Of course, this laptop also comes with a backlight illumination with fingerprint reader which is always a bonus.
With the latest Gen Intel Core i3 Processor power which is combined with 8GB RAM and a double storage option – you’ll never run out of power or space.
Asus has even introduced its own Asus Splendid software that enhances the performance and makes sure your laptop is as optimized as it can be.
Even though Asus features such powerful configuration and components – they were able to keep the weight relatively light and up to 8 hours which is perfect for students.
Hardware Specifications for ASUS VivoBook 15
CPU: Intel i3-1005G1 CPU | Graphics😐 RAM: 8 GB RAM| Screen: 15.6 inch Full HD (1920×1080) 4-way NanoEdge bezel display with a stunning 88% screen-to-body ratio| Storage: 128 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 8.5 hours | Weight: 3.75 lbs
Dell Inspiron 15 – 32 GB RAM
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The Dell Inspiron 15 is the best laptop for nursing as it is packed with all the essentials any nursing student could possibly need. The display is a wonderful touchscreen LED display that has integrated Widescreen webcam and microphones.
The 10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor helps to make for excellent work. As a nursing student, you will be able to run your tasks smoothly on the device without worry of lagging or blurring. If you decide you need some fun with your work, you can enjoy decent gaming as well.
The only real issue with this laptop is that the battery life isn’t as great as you might like. With only 5 hours of continuous use, you may find that you need to charge between classes to keep up.
You can find other options that come from Dell brand: Dell XPS 13 or Dell XPS 15 and its alternatives which are highly recommended by lots of buyers on Amazon.
Hardware Specifications for Dell Inspiron 15
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G1 Processor(6MB Cache, 1.0GHz up to 3.6GHz, 4-Cores) | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics| RAM: 32 GB RAM | Screen: 15.6 inch LED-Backlit FHD (1920 x1080) Display | Storage: 256 GB SSD | Operating System: | Battery Life: 5 hours| Weight: 4.83lbs
HP Pavilion 15 – High End DVD Drive
The HP Pavilion 15 is a great laptop that has some features that make this laptop a great choice for nursing students.
The processor on this laptop is one of the higher ends. You get an impressive 10th Gen Intel i5 Processor that is packed with power. You will be able to multitask on this laptop with ease without worry about the delay.
This good display is HD quality and allows you to look at it for hours without eye strain or fatigue. The overall display is 15.6 inches that are impressive for screen size and quality. You will have no problems working all day long.
The battery life on this laptop is decent for a nursing student. It will provide you 6 hours of straight forward working. You will be able to focus on your schoolwork without worry that you will need to find a spot for charging any time soon.
Hardware specifications for Hp Pavilion
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G1, quad-core, 1.0 GHz Base frequency, up to 3.6 GHz | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics | RAM: 16 GB RAM| Screen: 15.6-Inch diagonal HD SVA bright View micro-edge WLED-backlit touchscreen display (1366 x 768) | Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: 6 hours| Weight: 3.74 lbs
Acer Aspire 5 – Backlit Keyboard
Thanks to the 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, it’s easy to find that Acer Aspire 5 offers powerful processing. 8 GB RAM is plenty for multitasking. This is the most comprehensive choice for almost any sort of nursing tasks.
Acer Aspire 5 weighs 5.74 pounds which is quite heavy and not easy to carry on the go. Bringing it to your college may be a little bit of inconvenience. However, multiple connections with USB 3.1 Type C Gen 1 port, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port, and 1 HDMI Port with HDCP support can make compensation.
In addition, you will find its battery life surprising, up to 9 hours of regular use. It’s definitely enough for the whole day at school or night shift at the hospital. And speaking on night shift, the Acer Aspire 5 features a backlit keyboard which works well at low lighting environment or for nurses during night shift.
Hardware specifications for Acer Aspire 5
CPU: 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U Processor | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620| RAM: 8 GB RAM | Screen: 15 6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display | Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 9 hours | Weight: 5.74 pounds
Dell XPS 13 7390 – Anti-reflective
Dell hasn’t done much to change the design from other XPS laptops. However, a change is not necessary. Aesthetically, the design is sleek and modern looking as it is made of aluminum silver and rose gold.
You are not lacking in ports when it comes to this XPS 13. You get USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, a Noble lock slot along with a thunderbolt 3 port,The ports on this system are just what you would want.
The XPS 13 display offers you a rich colored screen that is in full HD. You get wide viewing angles as well as vivid and clear images that are breathtaking. The infinity edge touch screen makes it even better when it comes to image quality and overall display.
With a 10th generation i7 processors and 16 GB of RAM, you are getting a high-powered system that will outperform many other nursing student laptops. The display and the processor combined gives you an intel computer that is going to perform remarkably.
The life of the battery on this system is ideal for a student as it will last for many hours before needing a charge. You will get up to 9 hours with multiple tabs open and complex software running. If you are just using simple documents, you can squeeze up to 12 hours of life from this system.
Hardware Specifications for Dell XPS 13 7390
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10710U processor | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics| RAM: 16 GB RAM | Screen: 13.3” FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge Touch Display | Storage: 256 GB SSD| Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 12 hours | Weight: 5.69 pounds lbs
Acer Swift 3 – Lightweight and Powerful
The nursing student wants a good display to be able to read their work with ease. As far as laptops go, this one doesn’t have a strong display, but it is definitely decent enough for students. The resolution is 1920 X 1080 making it really good for your viewing and working pleasure.
Nursing students who are looking for an elegant laptop rather than a useful one, its a good thing that the Acer Swift is the best of both worlds. It does have a deceptively premium appearance.The best thing about the design is that it is thin and very portable.
The battery life on this laptop can take you a good part of the day when you are a nursing student. It sets a longevity record on this list since the battery life on this system will last for up to 12 hours of continuous use.
Running an 8th Gen intel core i7, you are getting great performance for a relatively cheaper laptop. These laptops do hold their own when it comes to programs and multiple tabs in use. Overall, when in nursing school, this computer can’t keep up.
The keyboard is comfortable for typing on and they key don’t have far to travel. The number pad is full-sized which is good for those who prefer that and the keys are well spaced.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Swift 3
CPU: 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor| Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX150| RAM: 8GB RAM | Screen: 14-inch Full HD IPS display| Storage: 256GB HDD| Operating System: Windows 10| Battery Life: up to 12 hours | Weight: 2.97 lbs
Picking the best Laptop For Nursing Students 2023
Performance
Even though nursing students don’t require a high-end laptop, they definitely require reliability which comes as a perk of a decent or even high-end laptop configuration.
While graphics card definitely isn’t important, we find the RAM, processor, and even storage to play a very important role and that’s exactly what every nursing student should look for. I suggest choosing a Core i5 or Core i7 rather than Core i3.
Having a quick processing power that can handle any type of work no matter where you are will offer the most reliability which is often combined with versatility.
If you find a laptop that offers all of that and even includes great connectivity – you’ll never regret your choice.
With modern technology and even the ability to upgrade laptops, finding laptops with such performance aspects isn’t a hard thing to do and you’ll find every laptop in this post meets the same requirements.
Screen Size & Resolution
Depending on the portability levels you’re looking to achieve, you’ll either want to stick with a very small, medium, or a large laptop. We recommend either sticking with a very small or a medium laptop – so anything between 11″ and 15″ is acceptable.
This will allow you to get great portability and versatility, have as powerful components as you can wish, and even a great display that you shouldn’t forget to check.
With the modern technology involving, we recommend you to go for at least full HD display, LED if not even IPS. You’ll be working and studying for hours using the laptop student so ensuring you get a great vision and rested eyes.
Also, if you plan to get a high-end laptop, getting a great screen will be important since you are most likely going to be able to achieve 4K resolution. In such a case, we highly recommend going for the IPS OLED type of display.
Touchpad
Not everyone loves to use an external mouse, and if you’re investing your money in a laptop – better make sure that the touchpad is very responsive, feels smooth, and that it even features an ability of multi-gestures.
In some cases, you’d want to make sure that the touchpad can recognize more than one touch at the same time.
Having a touchpad which will feel great and won’t be a problem is important since you’re most likely going to study and do your homework on a go – and even if you like using an external mouse, you won’t have the time or space to constantly carry it with you.
What we would also like to recommend you to pay attention to is the placement of the touchpad area, so you get the best of both keyboard and touchpad use.
Connectivity
While you’ll be working most of the time from your school library, at home, and even outside – you’ll want to have a laptop that is full of ports and has increase connectivity.
You’ll most of the time be required to connect your laptops to school devices such as a printer, scanner, or even a projector (since you’ll be doing a lot of presentations), so you’ll need a laptop that doesn’t sacrifice the connectivity.
Yes, of course, you can aim for both versatility and connectivity, but be aware that some laptop manufacturers sacrifice the number of ports for versatility or weight. We recommend you stick with a laptop that has great connectivity and at least a few USB ports of both versions USB 3.0 and USB 3.1, HDMI, card reader, and even ethernet port (if you find it necessary).
Storage
Just school files and documents can build up over time and fill up the laptop’s hard drive pretty quickly, and the thing about that is, you won’t be able to delete important files and documents.
Therefore, you’ll need to find a laptop that comes with pretty large storage space. We recommend going for at least 256GB if not larger drives. The fastest type of HDD (hard disk drive) will do well, but if you aren’t on a limited budget – we highly recommend going for the SSD drive version.
SSD (solid state drive) will still give the same amount of space, but it will be more efficient, speed up, and increase your laptop’s performance by a notch – which is highly noticeable.
If you’re going to combine a laptop for college students with your entertainment in the free time – you better get twice storage space than you think is enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you get a laptop for nursing school?
Is 256 GB of storage enough for nursing majors?
Is a touchscreen useful for nursing students?
Are Chromebooks good for nursing students?
Additionally, Chromebooks are laptops or tablets running on Chrome OS, a Linux-based operating system. Because of this Chromebooks tend to lack the features and compatibility of other laptops with programs that work well with MAC OS or Windows.
But this isn’t entirely a negative because chromebooks generally run smoother and better than Windows. This is because Chrome OS is lighter and has less features than Windows 10, so despite their lower specs Chromebooks tend to run as smooth as other Windows laptops that are more powerful.
In short, Chromebooks are ideal for nursing students who want to be light on their feet. They may not be powerful but they are just as efficient as other laptops that run on Windows.
Should I buy a tablet or a laptop as a nursing student?
If you’re a serious nursing student who only plans to use their gadget for studying, taking down notes, and contacting your colleagues, then a tablet is a good choice for you.
Tablets are lightweight, portable, and they can do all of the things mentioned above. Of course they’re usually cheaper than most laptops which is a big plus for students!
Laptops on the other hand are the exact opposite. They’re usually heavier and more bulky than your typical tablets. What they do have is power though. They can be used to run resource intensive software so if your school requires you to operate medical software, then a laptop might be a better option.
There’s also a third choice here which is both. There are tons of convertible laptops out there that can function both as a laptop and a tablet. So if you have the cash to spare, then you can experience the best of both worlds.
First things first! Make sure you’re even allowed to have it in class. I’ve done 2 of 4 semesters so far where we would get kicked out class or clinical for the day if we had so much as a Fitbit on our wrists. Not sure why but some professors are very much still paper and pen professors. Check first!
I personally use the iPad mini but only because I work at the hospital that we do clinical at, was given an iPad for free, and everything there is on Mac.
Several people I know use the surface pro and love it.