Least expensive is Virtualbox or UTM.

Simplest is Parallels.

The easiest is probably, as much as I hate to say it, would be to use VirtualBox. It's certainly the least expensive option.

I am partial to a dedicated throwaway laptop because I have had the displeasure of accidentally blowing away my VM image’s code files on a roll-back, which is harder to do on bare metal. The biggest lesson learned their was to immediately learn how to use a remote server for code repository and push to dev branches often.

Does she need a GUI VM?

If not, multipass from Canonical is pretty great to spin up quick headless Ubuntu VMs on macOS.

Otherwise, UTM is definitely my second choice.

VMWare offers free personal licenses, and it's one of the best VM solutions imo

Does she even need Linux? 99% of things that run on Linux will also run on MacOS (or have a MacOS version). If you need a VM, Virtualbox is good enough. I'd recommend Ubuntu, simply because that's what most people use, ergo you'll find tutorials/information for every little aspect of it.

Virtualbox all the way. That way, she can still run her day to day apps in macOS while only using virtualbox for the class. And here's the best part - once she reaches the point where she knows the setup she likes, she can create a new VM and set it up cleanly and delete the old one. I would only use the boot camp option if she will need to connect to hardware. VirtualBox can be finicky when it comes to USB devices.

Does she actually need Linux or is using a unixoid OS fine? A lot of the time installing homebrew (or whatever the package manager was called) on MacOS can suffice for several use cases.

Other than that, if you're not needing apple exclusive software on it, installing Linux on the Macbook can be a good option.

If you definitely want virtualization, go with VirtualBox

The school may have edu licenses for a macOS hypervisor product that makes it cheap or free. The teachers may recommend something. Ask the school first.

I'm running a Win11 ARM VM on UTM and it's been flawless. Can't imagine it would do worse with a less demanding OS.

I’ve heard utm is pretty good. I’ve used it on iOS and it worked fine. It’s also foss(based on qemu I believe), while parallels is $169, or $59/year for students

Edit: https://mac.getutm.app/

I'd say Virtualbox should be a good fit. I'm using it myself, mainly to quickly set up VMs for trying out new stuff, most recently Kubuntu and Manjaro distros.

I don't know UTM. I've used Parallels before but it's just not worth the cost for what I need it for. Then there's VMware of course, which apparently also has free licenses for personal use. But since I'm happy with Virtualbox, I don't think I'm going to use anything else anytime soon.

Parallels is hardly shiny and new lol - messing around with it on my dad's work mac was my introduction to virtual machines back in 2008!

I would suggest UTM due to ability to run VMs for different CPU architectures. Virtualbox is limited to x86.

Have you asked the school?

Because if it's server side Linux... then Docker is the way to go. It will run Linux inside a very light weight virtual machine that you barely even know is running at all.

If possible, buy an old Thinkpad for 50-100 bucks and install on a real hardware for the best experience.

I have no experience with any Mac hardware, but Virtualbox has improved a lot during the years. It won't have accelerated graphics, but still fast and responsive.

Virtual box, I haven’t used it in many years I know it’s still functioning.

Additionally she could also dual-boot if she wanted to avoid a vm.

If she wants a more curated experience that may be easier to use point her towards Parallels (you will be paying for this solution tho)

VirtualBox, but don't go for Ubuntu, rather go for Zorin. It's way more user friendly :)