What is she in school for?
Apples are great computers if you like the operating system. I'd own one if it weren't for the cost. We bought a Toshiba Satellite with touch screen last year after having great luck with out last Toshiba. The new lap top has been great and fulfills our needs. Not much I can offer on this as we bought based on past experience more than anything else. With external hard drives being cheap, no need to get hung up on storage. Unless she is in the tech world, I can't see you need to get too detailed with specs and technical stuff. Brands like Toshiba, HP and Sony have long been reliable brands.