I have an Acer Aspire One with the following:
CPU: AMD Dual-Core Processor C-50 (1.0 GHz)
MEMORY: 2 GB DDR3 Memory
BATTERY: 6-cell Li-ion battery
STORAGE: 250 GB HDD
And it's all on a 13 inch screen
It would be great, except the dimwits who made the updates for the computer didn't make them compatible with Windows, which is the only thing I can run on my computer, so since I can't update, my computer has been going downhill fast. Just now, I logged on and was alarmed to see an error message saying the computer could not start up due to corrupted files, yet it couldn't find any corrupted files after half an hour of running diagnostics.
I have an Acer Aspire 5517.. I have the same problem you do, but when that happens I end up finding my way back onto the laptop, taking all of my important files off of my laptop and onto an external hard drive, and then factory resetting it.. However I am saving up for a new laptop.
I'm fairly sure both of you are aware of this already, but with a 1 Ghz CPU there is really nothing you can do other than trashing the whole thing (or set it up as a downloading machine working overnight).
"Upgrading" isn't an option there, not a signle piece of hardware in that list is comparable with anything made in the last 8 years for a desktop pc.
(technically the RAM should be, and the HDD could be a SATA and so it could be supported natively by a new mobo, but it's not a wise decision)
If you are students, consider asking your parents for a decent desktop that you can surely use for more important things other than gaming.
You can also get away with some specific licenses for otherwise expensive software thanks to your "status".