I don't think Asus offers any student discounts but their laptops are solid. The G1S is a great 15.4' laptop, great for mobile gaming. Their C90 model is another great one. G2 is an okay 17' screen but you can get more for your money if you step up to that screen size. Im in your boat and heading off to college, I was thinking portability. I went with the G1s, and can't be happier...Asus gives you a free backpack and mouse (at least with their Ensemble packages). The backpack is made by Targus, and the mouse is an MX518, just with an Asus logo on it...very good buy for just under 2k.