Some qualifications for it are:
-Under $500
-Webcam included
-Backlight keyboard
-Optical Drive
-Long battery life
-(if possible) Touch screen
-Two or more USB drives
-Overall reliable and sufficient
This would be for college and life after that I suppose.
Lenovo's are the most reliable laptops other than Apples.
HP, Asus and Samsung follow closely behind.
http://blog.laptopmag.com/best-worst-laptop-brands-2014/3
Reliable - Sony, Samsung and Apple.
Dell and Acer are OK.
For a decent spec, look at refurbished.
This is really good for the money, it's a quite a powerful laptop.
http://www.walmart.com/...ductDetail
15.6" touchscreen display
AMD Radeon HD 8650G Graphics with HDMI capabilities
AMD A10-5757M Quad-Core processor
2.50GHz
8GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 12GB)
You can buy an external USB CD-DVD RW for a few bucks.
http://www.walmart.com/...e/33791200
This is better.
http://www.walmart.com/...ductDetail