Electrical Engineering Laptop Help?

I am currently accepted at SDSU majoring in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science for the fall of 2016; I am looking at either HP or Lenovo for a personal and class laptop but that's about all I know. The department head suggested getting a laptop with a SSD and as much speed/memory as possible, but I also don't want to go overboard. I will not be using this for gaming, and I want something that will last AT LEAST 4 years. Please let me know what's being used and what works, including brand/model.

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