macbook

That's a subjective question, but it seems to be generally agreed on that the Apple Silicon Macs are much better than the old Intel Macs.

You can compare different MacBook models here - Mac - Compare Models - Apple

If you're a student, you may qualify for an education discount through UNiDAYS. See here for details - Education Pricing and Student Discounts - Education - Apple

It depends on your needs. Are you going to do heavy video editing?

For simple students work or browsing I would advise a MacBook Air , the M1 and M2 versions are both very good

MacBooks are no longer made. You can get a baseline entry level MacBook Air for $999. For general computer use, surfing, emailing, light office, work this will be fine. It's also the least expensive.