Sorry for the late reply, I've been abroad getting hot ....
I would suggest getting a laptop which will meet her needs. If the 5 year course uses special software that places high demands on the CPU of requires large amounts of data storage then choose a better CPU etc.
If most of its usage will be Word, basic Excel and internet use then any of the cheaper to middle CPUs will do i3 or AMD equivalent. I would avoid basic CPUs such as AMD E series or Intel Celeron.
RAM - Min 4 Gb. RAM is very cheap now and you could get a laptop with a better CPU and add more RAM if necessary
HDD - Min 500 GB unless looking at SSD. SSD is much, much quicker but way more expensive preinstalled and price per GB is poor. I have bought laptops with HDDs and changed them over for SSDs when a customer wants more speed.
Don't ignore AMD CPUs. I've had brand new laptops working side by side where the same windows updates have been much quicker on an AMD based laptop compared to an i5.
Finally, I would be realistic about how long the laptop will last in a student environment. I see plenty of laptops that suffer from drink spills, broken screens, missing keys, damaged HDDs etc and it may be more sensible to buy a cheaper laptop knowing it will last 2/3 years.
If there are Windows 8 deals out there, then buy one as it is a free upgrade to Windows 10.
Macs are very nice, but VERY expensive and unless you have a specific requirement I would not recommend them.
Hope some of this is useful .... and I'm too late and you've already bought one ...
