What do I need in a laptop for Uni?

I am starting my accounting and finance degree at Cardiff University in 2024 and so I'm beginning to look at a device that can handle all of my needs and wants.
What sort of tasks are done while studying accounting and finance? No doubt there will be general note-taking.

Will I be answering short questions with a few sentences?
Will I be writing essays?
Will I need to draw diagrams, charts, graphs etc?
Will I be often expected to use Microsoft Excel for number spreadsheets (and on a side note do I need to learn to use Excel spreadsheet functions and stuff)
Any further information to questions I haven't thought to ask would be greatly appreciated as well

I haven't done a degree from Cardiff, but I have done a similar degree so I think I can opine what is required.

The following is the link to Cardiff's accounting and finance course:
https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/course/accounting-and-finance-bsc
At the time of writing, the links to the information on the modules are broken, so I can't look into what the specific modules are about.

All I can do is infer the contents of the modules based on the titles.

Cardiff's modules are not like Swansea's where you would be covering material that involve a lot of Python programming and handling huge amounts of data, and require very specific code editing software that eats up a lot of hard disk space. Looking through most of the modules, a lot of them are straightforward and involves very little data i.e. a standard laptop should be more than enough for your needs; that is unless you pick the data analysis and modelling modules in Year 3 (I don't know enough about these modules, but they sound very data heavy).

What sort of tasks are done while studying accounting and finance?
Note taking, some calculations, reports, presentations, group work.

Will I be answering short questions with a few sentences?
The short questions that I have come across tend to either require multiple choices or simple calculations. Any short question that involves writing tend to be about 1-2 paragraphs long. They're not 80k word theses.

Will I be writing essays?
More likely reports, since you're doing a business related degree. However, yes you would be doing essays. I don't know of any degree that don't involve essays; even math and computer science degrees would require you to write essays.

Will I need to draw diagrams, charts, graphs etc?
I hope so, otherwise it's a very very bad degree.
Accounting requires calculations, and it's very difficult to see what the numbers mean without diagrams, charts, and graphs.
At the very least, you would be covering stats, economics, finance, security analysis, portfolio management. These would all involve graphs of some sort.
Having said that, these are not complicated graphs e.g. you're not being asked to use vector analysis to draw out trajectories in 3 dimensions for example. These can often be done on Excel and under 5 minutes if you know what you're doing. It's straightforward and usually simple.
The first year economic modules will require you to draw out economic diagrams. These are simple shapes on 2D axes. It's like Key Stage 3 level maths.

Will I be often expected to use Microsoft Excel for number spreadsheets (and on a side note do I need to learn to use Excel spreadsheet functions and stuff)
It would not be an accounting or finance degree if you don't use Excel at all. Excel is a pretty straightfoward and user friendly software.
The number of functions that you need to know on Excel isn't that extensive. When I did my degree, it's usually some formatting functions (e.g. word wrap) and simple sum functions. Having said that, it pays to learn about:
In terms of formulas, you would primarily be using most of those under AutoSum, and ironically not a lot under Financial. You might use a few under Date & Time and Statistical. For stats, you will likely be using a statistical software (I hope it's SPSS or R Studio, as a lot of them are archaic and a complete pain to use). If my any chance your lecturer is funny and wants you to use Excel to analyse data, you would be asked to use the Data Analysis ToolPak (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B60rozw34Sc)


It's helpful to master and learn the whole of Excel (as I consider it to be a life skill), but even in accounting jobs you don't really use it that often since a lot of the calculations you do aren't that mathematical. Unless you're going into something like financial advisory, investment management, investment analysis, and investment banking, you're not even remotely likely to use any of the more advanced functions in Excel.

Any further information to questions I haven't thought to ask would be greatly appreciated as well
I don't know what sort of thing you want to know. It's not that complicated of a degree, especially if you have done A Level Maths. According to the entry requirements, you don't even need that to do the course, so the level of maths you need is equivalent of GCSE or less,
The things that I would recommend any student entering uni to do include:

Wow, thanks for all the help and advice. The key thing for me is that I want to get a 2 in 1 laptop to use as both a tablet with digital pen and a laptop.

I will also learn excel as that's something I've always wanted to do and I agree that's a good life skill.
One thing I don't look forward to so much but I will follow your advice is reading Peter Levin's book on how to write great essays.