[chimbosonic]

I graduated in 2017 in Computer Science using a Thinkpad x210 that cost me £50 (~70$). And never had a issue. I haven't used a chromebook in a while but back then they where less powerful than a x210. Nowadays, if I have to recommend a laptop for coding or CS course I would recommend whichever Thinkpad X-series you can afford.

[chimbosonic]

if ram is required DDR2 or DDR3 sodimm ram is cheap. And any SSD for storage works (I used the HDD that came with it until the 3rd year where I got a Samsung Evo SSD).