1. 13″ MacBook Pro

The most popular laptop among students for years has been the 13″ MacBook and now the 13″ Pro. It is is what I’d consider the perfect middle ground computer. You get the portableness of the 13″ screen size, while maintaining very good performance, while also keeping a large traditional hard drive (500+ GB) with a disk drive. The 13″ Pro gives you what you’d expect out of Mac, a great, well balance machine, for a great price. The 13″ Pro starts at $1199, with student bundles also available at Simply Mac.

2. 13″ MacBook Air

While the Pro is still the standard, and the choice for most students, the Air isn’t far behind. With the changing tech world of everything being digital and online, the need for large hard drives and disk drives are fading into the past. With the Air you still get the nice 13″ screen size, but it is much lighter than the Pro, due to the fact it has lighter and thinner components. It can also prove to be more durable over the long term. With the non-moving solid state hard drive built in, the fact that there are no moving parts in this computer make it ideal for constant movement – such as in and out of a backpack around campus! That hard drive will also make the computer more responsive for boot up, file opening, and general movement around the programs and files of the computer. The Air also starts at $1199 (with student bundles also available at Simply Mac), but be aware that your hard drive size drops from the 500GB of the regular Pro to 128GB of the 13″ Air.

3. 21.5″ iMac

Maybe you don’t need a laptop, or maybe you have an iPad. So instead of going portable, a desktop may be for the grad in your life. When it comes to desktops, it doesn’t get any better than the iMac. With the 21.5″ iMac, you get an awesome bluetooth keyboard and mouse, so everything you’ll need is going to be in one box. If the grad is going to be living in a dorm type space, the iMac saves a ton of space. Also, with the awesome 21.5″ LED screen that the iMac has, in a dorm type environment, this can serve as an awesome TV replacement. Whether it’s Netflix, Hulu, or iTunes, this iMac can also be an all-in-one entertainment/work system.

The great thing about the iMac is you also get great performance. So when it comes to speed, this machine will meet a majority of students needs. The iMac starts at $1299, with student bundles also available at Simply Mac.

4. 13″/15″ MacBook Pro w/ Retina Display 

The above options are the best options for a majority of grads out there. However, if they want the latest and greatest, or if they just need a lot of raw power for something like animation, the Retina Display MacBook Pros are about as good as it gets, especially on the go.

With this version of the Pro series laptops, you get the thin and lightweight design of the MacBook Air, with higher end performance than the traditional MacBook Pro.  You tie all that together with the amazing Retina Display, you have one loaded laptop. The 13″ version starts at $1499, while the 15″ version starts at $2199, with student bundles also available at Simply Mac.