Have you looked at a chromebook? It should do everything you want sans minecraft. If you want more then it's better to buy something much better. And honestly I've been super impressed with the performance of the chromebooks. If you want to game, then spend 1200-1500 on a desktop later and it will be top of the line and will last you years. The Chromebook will get you through college and they're only $200. They use google drive to do everything, so it won't have proprietary office and things like that on it. But Drive can handle word and powerpoint files no problem. Everything gets stored in the cloud which means you can even access your files from your phone.
Just my thought. At your budget, it's your best bet...