Most of the new devices I see are using the hard to find components (DDR5) while refurbished devices from a few years ago have more than enough RAM for school. Also capacity matters more than generation for RAM, assuming we’re talking DDR4 vs DDR5
I wish I learned this sooner, but the best device for school is a generic laptop that you can easily find guides and replacement parts for. That way you can fix things quickly in the middle of a term instead of needing to wait months for the manufacturer to deal with it