Surface Pro 4 is perfect for college. I took a Surface Pro 2 through medical school. My undergrad was microbiology and molecular genetics with a minor in computer science. I wish I had the SP2 in undergrad. It's fast. I threw everything at it. I wish the SP4 was out back then because the larger screen would've helped (even though the SP4 is thinner and lighter than the SP2, I think the width and height of the SP4 actually makes it more unwieldy in certain situations than the SP2).
It's a perfect notetaking machine. Everything in lecture is now PDF or Powerpoint (or some alternative like Prezi). You can write directly on the PDF or the Powerpoint. PowerPoint also has that notes box underneath the slide so that you can type your notes into the Powerpoint. You can tag audio directly to the page so that you don't have to figure out what audio goes to what slide or page. OneNote indexes everything so it's very easy to move from topic to topic and find what you need to find. It also allows video, audio, etc. If you're going to be doing software engineering, you're going to be doing a #*%& ton of math. It's so easy to mix typing and writing with the Surface machines.
And for those that say "you can just type everything." Well, it's be documented in numerous studies and is well known in cognitive sciences and neurosciences how learning is much more powerful when you have extensive writing versus solely typing. It is much more efficient to transfer knowledge from short term to long term when you incorporate writing.
Sure, I saw a lot of people beside me slide by using their laptops for Google Docs and Facebook. And if you're one of those, you can get a good $500 laptop. And it really depends on the person and the true commitment. I see a $2500 MBP that some parent bought their kid and they only do web browsing, iWork, and social stuff like FB.
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