Depending upon how much you game, that's how much you should spend on a GPU.

Solidworks, Simio they work better with a GPU - BUT that doesn't mean they need a RtX 3090/3050.

Solidworks has a list of approved GPU on its website with which it works. Simio isn't that GPU hungry. Another software tool which you might come across is Analogic and the animations can be GPU intensive, but even there a RTX1090 would be solid.

Instead of spending too much money on a GPU, I'd suggest you get one of those new ARM based windows laptop with a Snapdragon CPU. They have excellent battery life, and that's what ultimately will be the greatest boom for you.

The Dell XPS 13, 1TB/2TB SSD, and 16gb of LPDDR5 RAM should be good enough, as it's integrated Adreno GPU is powerful enough to run any programs in your coursework.

$1399 tax, so let's say $1550.

Now, obviously that is about twice as much as the one from Costco you have mentioned in other comments.

Now, as I see - assuming you wouldn't want to spend over $1000, tax included in your school computer, you should ditch the Snapdragon CPU, as they are top of the line and currently expensive. Their i5/i7 version equivalent may come out in next 6 months or so.

If $ efficiency is your motive, Dell Inspiron 13/15 is good enough, cheaper than your current selection, has a good enough graphics to not have any issues.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-computer-laptops/inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3520-laptop/nn3520gskhs?ref=variantstack