A student CAN get by just fine with a tablet in college (mostly because college libraries have desktop computers), but there are a lot of asterisks.
Battery life is a problem. Many tablets have only 3-4 hours of battery life due to their small form factor.
Multi-tasking is a problem. While you can run 2 apps (like Word and Chrome) splitscreen, tablet screens are often too small to comfortably do that. Performance can also be an issue. While you can have apps in the background, they often refresh. For example, if I am posting on the Blackboard discussion forums and then I want to open G-Mail to check an email, when I return the Blackboard, the page refreshes, I have to login again and what I was writing is deleted. Some apps (like Skype) simply have a problem on certain Androids.
There are many little tasks Mac OSX and Windows 10 can do that you may take for granted until you try to do college with only a tablet. For example, something as simple as converting a file requires going to the Google Play store, downloading the app and close whatever you’re currently doing to use it.
With entry level laptops (which get the job done and have multi-task capabilities) being under $300, a tablet for actual school work is less justified.