IT Network Administrator here.
Dell: If you want cheaper without gaming but reliability
Mac: If you want to waste money, there is no justifiable reason for a student to buy a mac over a PC. Especially for how careless Apple is as a company.
Lenovo: Cheap to get you by
MSI: What I bought myself, powerful machine and even though it's a "gaming laptop" I don't use it for gaming, is decently reliable.
HP: Very reliable computers that are easy to use with a ton of support options, the local hydro company I work for as IT Support is generally an HP shop.
My recommendation assuming you don't want to play any graphically fertile games would be HP or Dell, if anyone advises Mac, please let me convince you otherwise.
Macbook pro is the best , works from essays to gaming Dx
Please be a joke
Do you live near a BestBuy? Go in a take visual and physical look at all the laptops. You might love the way one looks, but the keyboard is terrible. Start from here. Then, find that specific laptop with the specs you desire.
Going to stores is an alright option, but in my experience it very much pays to shop around online.
Also, never buy more than you'd realistically need for a warranty. 1 year warranty is fine, most things above that it would be worth it just to pay to get it fixed or fix it yourself in my opinion