I am currently looking for a good laptop to take with me to college next year. I looked at some Dell laptops and like what I see except for the poor battery life

Hi there!  Congratulations on the next journey of your life.  I have found some great laptops with longer battery life.  Here is what I have found for you.

The ASUS UL30A-X5 has an all day batter life of 12 hours.  It has a high-gloss 13.3 inch LED-backlit HD display.  It comes with Windows 7 Home Premium installed which you can easily upgrade.  It has a chiclet style keyboard and multi-touch trackpad and ASUS IceCool Technology for a cool palm rest.
The Exclusive Express Gate feature allows you to connect to the internet in 10 seconds or less.

If the Asus UL30A-X5 isn't exactly what you need, try the Toshiba T135 laptop.  This ultrathin 13.3 inch laptop has over 9 hours of battery life.  It also has the high-gloss 13.3 inch LED-backlit HD display.  It comes with Windows 7 Home Premium installed which you are able to upgrade easily.  It has a full keyboard with a 10 key pad.

Now for my last recommendation.  The Acer Timeline AS4810TZ-4508 has over 8 hours of battery life.  It has a 14 inch LED-backlit widescreen display.  Windows 7 Home Premium also comes with this Acer.  It has a multi-gesture touchpad and a 5-in-1 memory card reader. 

Please take a look at the following pictures and prices of the laptops below.  I hope I have helped you find the perfect laptop for your college years.

Thank you for allowing IM Shopping to help you find a lap top for college. 

I realize how crucial a good battery life can be for school. In my experience I would suggest something with no less than a 6 hour active battery life, but as always the longer the better. Attached are several suggestions that should provide you the bare minimum, or better.

I hope you find what you need. Don't hesitate to ask if you need further assistance. I am looking forward to assisting you further in the future.