well hold on. What's her major? It wouldn't be broadcast journalism by any chance would it? Because if it is, she's largely gonna be editing 40 second vosots and minute-twenty packages. And if she's smart she'll edit the vosots on a linear machine so she has the experience she needs to get that first job. . .
If it's news editing in a college environment, where deadlines are usually a week long rather than 5 hours, and stories don't span hours, she'll be just fine with a $1200 laptop as long as you emphasize processor and ram over 3d video card.
If it's for something else, documentary work, etc, the laptop will still be fine though she may need to get extra storage.
We're talkin' college stuff here. It's a LOT easier than real world editing, and she can't afford a real world editor anyway (a bit more than 5 grand for a turnkey Avid system at the bare minimum spec). And if we'd had things like laptops that weighed less than 25 pounds when I was in college, I'd have LOVED to have had a portable editor that i could use anywhere. . . like economics 101
