Personally, I would get a Windows laptop that has an Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU. I never really liked AMD's mobile APUs since they are not very powerful and the higher end models seem to suffer from overheating issues. Hopefully that will change when AMD releases the Ryzen mobile APUs later this year.
MacBooks are expensive, but they hold their value better than Windows laptop if you plan on selling the Macbook later on... unless it is so "later on" that it is obsolete. You can get a pretty good Windows laptop for a reasonable amount of money. Of course, the more you spend the better it generally will be in terms of build quality and performance.
Here is an example of a laptop that might be suitable is the 13.3" Dell Inspiron 13 5000 2-in-1 for $700. It has a new 8th generation quad core i5-8250u CPU and a 1080p touchscreen. It weighs in at 3.44lbs. The small size and light weight means it is easier to carry around school. However, the 13.3" screen means smaller text.
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/www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-13-3-inch-Processor-i5379-5043GRY-PUS/dp/B075KPJBNK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1506974264&sr=8-5&keywords=i5-8250u
On the other hand, if you want a good 15.6" laptop that offers better performance and the ability to play games, then there is the Dell XPS 15 9560 series. It has an "Infinity Screen" which means this 15.6" laptop has very thin bezels around the 15.6" screen which makes it about the size and weight of a typical 14" laptop. It has a GTX 1050 that is pretty good for games; it is considered the minimum GPU for a laptop to be considered as a "gaming laptop". It has a 7th generation i5-7300HQ (more powerful than the i5-8250u), the GTX 1050 GPU and a 1080p screen (non-touch) all for $1,270. This laptop has been around for several months and has gotten a lot of good reviews. Battery life based on average daily usage (no games) is around 8 or 9 hours.
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/www.amazon.com/Dell-XPS-9560-Laptop-Thunderbolt/dp/B06X9DC28B/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1506974926&sr=1-6&keywords=dell+xps+15+9560
The Dell XPS 15 is more expensive than the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 2-in-1, but it is less expensive than a MacBook Pro which may have an 8th generation quad core Intel CPU similar to the i5-8250u, but the MacBook Pro will definitely not have a dedicated GPU unless you look at the $2,300 / $2,700 models.