Things to consider when getting a laptop:
For general productivity and surfing and a few games you will need the following:
1. NO LESS than 1gb of ram. Max the ram on your laptop when buying. RAM also helps save battery life as the HD is less accessed. Almost all laptops use integrated graphics which "borrow" ram from the main board this is also why you need more.
2. 7200 rpm hd. Anything less like 5200 or (egad) 4100 etc will run excruciatingly slow. 60gb of space is plenty. If you plan to store movies, get a humungous external drive.
3. wireless card MUST be part of the laptop. Most new ones do. ensure you have a/b/g protocol. "N" is not standardized yet, DO NOT buy version N until the standard is ratified. DRAFT N is proprietary and NOT standard.
4. must have a dual core CPU. anything else is a waste of time. For intel this means a CORE 2 DUO or better or for AMD an ATHLON 4000 or better. DO NOT buy a low end CPU like a centrino or any single core CPU. These are rapidly becoming obsolete.
5. Don't bother with a gaming laptop. If you intend on playing high end games, buy a desktop. Laptops get hot, also less than 2% have upgradable graphics boards. By the time you want to play a newer game, your system will be obsolete.
6. Consider battery life. If you are more mobile, ensure you can run on at least 2 hours of battery life at normal cpu settings.
7. consider weight. If you are lugging it around campus, you'll want it to be realtively lightweight.