Mint.
You're working to his requirements, not yours.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Mint.
You're working to his requirements, not yours.
From your post:
laptop he uses for university. He’s not a tinkerer and wants something that just works.
Mint:
Linux Mint is known for being very user-friendly and stable. Also easy to get help online.
Fedora:
have to install media codecs via terminal
university wifi eduroam doesn’t work on Fedora
less help on the web for Fedora than Mint.
Unless you're sure that screen stuttering is going to be a major annoyance, you know what I am going to suggest.