That's a toughie. For me, the screen quality and 14.2" being just a bit bigger would be MY choice, especially since you will use for content consumption as well. But, take the screen out of the picture, that Air will serve all your needs and more, for a long time, and the added plus is those machines are suuuuper light and portable, great for a college student.
It is a tough one as described, but I agree—I'd go M3 MBA. I'm typing this on one of them now!