First rule of laptops is you get what you pay for. If your budget is below $1000, you're not likely to get something that will last 4+ years and it won't be that fun to use. If you can spend more than $1000, you can get a very solid Dell XPS unit for under $1500
https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/dell...ps/xps-laptops
Dell stole the laptop crown with the XPS lineup in the last couple of years, we switched to those at work from Microsoft Surface laptops and it was a great decision. For specs, stay with an Intel i3-i5, there's no reason to go higher for a college student. Shoot for at least 16GB of RAM and stick with Windows 10 home. Also don't bother with a touch screen, unless you want to splurge and get a foldable 2-in-1 device