Which is better for a college atmosphere? Top of the line system. In my personal case I plan on being a graphic designer, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Laptop is the only way to go. And you can always get a docking station if you want to use it like a desktop. But there is no way to use a desktop like a laptop. Btw, I am outside in my back yard, completely wireless, right now.
Shop around, I bought my mother and 15 year old, both a Acer brand and they are very nice and I think came in around 700$. But I would recommend them to anyone. If you just want a flashier type, I have a HP dv 6000 loaded up, and it is awesome. But allot of people really like their Dells.
The general rule is to buy the best one you can afford. I know it seems obvious but you would be surprised. Be sure to check the return policy (no restocking fees) I like Best buy because there are no rebates and they are good about returns. Staples and office depot are also good with returns but not so good about the rebates. Stay away from Circuit City, it's just not a customer friendly place. Trust me you will regret it if you get a desktop. The best time to buy is on Sun. because that is when the sales start and they will run out quickly. The processors are really just a matter of preference either will work great as long as it is dual-core.

If price is not an object, then yes a laptop is better. Many universities are installing WiFi networks on campus so you can connect anywhere. You can still use a fullsize keyboard and monitor with a laptop.

However, for a graphics designer, you might not find the type of graphics card you need in a laptop (unless it's a Mac). Desktops will also be less expensive.

A laptop is the way to go for college nowadays. Even being a graphic designer you will still be able to get a graphics card capable of running any program in a laptop. The Hp 6000 dv is very customizable and cheap for the add ons. If you still need more power and can spare the extra money, you can go for something like an Alienware. The Alienware laptops can come equipped with the new GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card which is the top of line right now.

If you are going into graphics you must have a Mac. That is the industry standard. I don't think it really matters if you have a PC or laptop when it comes to graphics, just make sure you have at least the CS3 Photoshop. If I were you I'd prefer a laptop in the college scene.

Since you want top of the line, I'd suggest a Macbook Pro, loaded with a high-end graphics card. If you need to run Windows programs you can purchase Parallels which lets you run them in parallel (hence the name) with your Mac OS. I'd get 2Gb of RAM since you're going into graphic design work. Karent23 is right, Macs have for years been the standard for graphics work so you're likely to run into them when you go out looking for a job (BTW, I've been a Mac user since circa 1985 and a Windows user since circa 1992 so I'm quite familiar with both systems - if you *have* to go Windows, the Alienware machines mentioned are nice).

Vasily