I can't my college is full practical I had to use wine for something's as well.
Dotdev
You do know that college students use heavy dev apps right
I don't plan on an HP or Dell. I have had the worst experiences with them. ThinkPad even if refurbished come for a higher price than $ 600 here.
Well can't get them in my area. Those would be my first pick if I could.
It looks like it runs in wine. https://www.reddit.com/r/scrivener/comments/102pvtk/scrivener_on_linux_abandoned/
Mint is easiest for old windows users.
Its usually the distro which create it like in ubuntu its prime-select.
It is possible and for backup use timeshift
Well there is lightly-qt which changes the buttons for a more rounded theme.
You could use pavucontrol,since discord mainly uses pulseaudio controls
Before asking maybe check the archwiki since most problems usually have solution there.
No Dell pls. I do know that but I would like something a bit more updated.