The 2013 mbp still has some years left in it. I just sold my 2013 13' retina and it is still very fast, especially if you're just using it for college.
I'd wipe the disk and reinstall Mac OS, as well as keep from updating to the latest major version, and you'll be fine. I had to sell mine because I do a whole lot of pro work and needed more power but you should be fine. If you really want to upgrade, I suggest the new MBP air as it's lighter. It's less specced and less powerful, but, assuming you are just using it for school, it should be enough. Plus I believe you can get it cheaper. Again, wiping the internal storage and reinstalling macOS would help in this situation, as well as reseting SMC and PRAM. And if you have to downgrade to El Capitan that is possible.
![Book Book](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125447318/932165304.png)
You can also buy a replacement battery, as it's quite easy to replace it yourself. Reseting your Mac to factory settings (wiping the SSD) will help with both speed and battery performance because it gets rid of entirely old apps and files that aren't in use but weren't fully uninstalled.
![Students Students](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2fOr4oiYwSIfnMGy9ncpP8JbmAI=/1400x1400/filters:format(jpeg)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9867191/jbareham_171213_2180_0163.jpg)
This week I'm giving you my top 10 apps for university and college students! I hope you enjoy, be sure to like & subscribe if you haven't already! No more do you have to compromise on modern features if you want an “affordable Mac”, and that makes the MacBook Air one of the best laptops for college students. Read the full review: MacBook Air.
Some processes are probably still running in the background without you ever being aware. While I don't pretend to know what you do regularly with your laptop, there are several things you can do to keep it running and use it throughout college and save a few hundred bucks. Apple will replace the battery for $199 if you have the 8GB of RAM a fresh OS install will do wonders. The 2013 with 8GB of RAM and a good battery can compete with the current AIR and non touch Macbook Pro. If you are looking new I would suggest 2018 MB Air however what are you going to school for? That may change my suggestion. PS: a bad battery could effect performance not getting sufficent power to the CPU or it over heats a bit causing the CPU to thermal throttle my old 2008 did that in 2017 right before it died.