I have been in school for a looooong time finishing my MS in CS this summer. The biggest consideration for me and a laptop are the following:
0) Linux Compatible: must run linux
1) Cost: Has to be cheap because I am a poor college student. I purchased my latest notebook from Ebay IBM Thinkpad X23 ~ $600. Purchasing used high quality off lease IBM notebooks you can't go wrong.
1) Weight: 7 pounds doesn't sound like a lot of weight but throw in some text books and it all adds up. Size and weight are very important.
2) Wireless: Wireless AP are all over the modern campus

I am a Computer Science student so I am always attached to my computer, maybe your major is something else so weight is not a big deal. Personally I don't write neatly so I even use my notebook to take notes augmented with paper for equations and drawings. Good luck!


TVR

I will be majoring in Computer Science so I will be in the same boat you are just leaving haha.

Then trust me weight is most important. I bet all of your early CS classes you can complete your projects on low end hardware <= 800 MHZ. In your Junior/Senior year you may tax an 800 MHZ machine but then your college will most likely have a few high end Sun Microsystems that you will have access to. Also make sure you get a nice keyboard. If the computer is too small the keyboard will suck. That is why I like my X23 nice keyboard and great weight < 4 lbs. Good luck.