How we picked the best student discounts Best retailer-wide student discounts Best student discounts on dorm and school supplies Best student discounts on streaming services and entertainment Best student discounts on groceries and meal delivery services Best student discounts on flights, hotels and travel Best student discounts on clothes, shoes and accessories Best student discounts on tech and software Best student discounts on fitness and wellness Meet our experts Why trust NBC Select? Back-to-school season is here, and if you’re a college student, you’re probably starting to think about how exactly you’ll spend your money this year. Whether you’re on the hunt for dorm room essentials, amenities like fitness programs or school supplies like backpacks, all that shopping may require a great deal of budgeting.
Taking advantage of student discounts is one of the best ways to make the most of your back-to-school budget. Numerous brands and retailers offer savings exclusive to college students, and gaining access to them is often as simple as showing your student ID in stores or verifying your school email address online. You can save even more by using a cash back app or credit card while shopping, some of which let you earn credits to use toward future purchases.
To help you survive on a student budget, we rounded up over 50 student discount programs you can take advantage of this year. We also consulted shopping experts about how and where to find these offerings while you shop.
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How we picked the best student discounts To recommend the best student discounts, we consulted sites like UNiDAYS, Student Beans, SheerID and ID.me, which aggregate student discount offerings from brands and retailers across shopping categories. Some also act as a third-party verification service to confirm your student status. I rounded up a handful of student discounts below from brands and retailers we’ve previously covered, in addition to a few others I think you should know about.
Keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive. Thousands of companies offer student discounts in stores and online, so check if the brand or retailer you’re shopping from offers a student discount program before you make a purchase and how you can take advantage of it.
Best retailer-wide student discounts Amazon : Students (or young adults from ages 18-24) can get a free six-month trial of Amazon Prime Young Adult, which is usually limited to one month. Once the trial ends, students can continue their subscription for $69 annually, rather than the usual $139. The membership comes with offers like a free monthly Grubhub+ Student membership with unlimited delivery and up to 10% off flights and hotels through StudentUniverse.Target : Students with a Target Circle membership can get 20% off one qualifying store purchase now through Sept. 27, and 50% off an upgraded Target Circle 360 membership. Target Circle is a free loyalty program through which you get exclusive coupons year round.Walmart : Students can get a Walmart+ membership for $6.47 per month or $49 per year, roughly half off a standard membership ($98 a year). The membership comes with free delivery on orders $35 or more, free shipping with no order minimum, an included Paramount Plus subscription, savings on fuel and more.Groupon : Groupon’s Select Student Program gets you up to 25% off every time you shop a local deal, and up to 10% off travel, tickets and events and more.Best student discounts on dorm and school supplies Muji : 10% off your purchaseChegg : Get subscriptions to Max, Adobe Acrobat, Tinder Gold and more through Chegg Student Perks, available with a Chegg Study Pack subscriptionMattress Firm : Up to 20% off your purchase online or in storesBrooklyn Bedding : Additional 5% off your purchase plus free shippingCorkcicle : 20% off your purchaseStanley : 20% off your purchaseFedEx : Up to 30% off select shipping and packing services with a valid student IDThe Happy Planner : 15% off your purchaseRedbubble : 24% off your purchaseBest student discounts on streaming services and entertainment Peacock : Peacock Premium for $2.99 a monthHulu : Hulu with ads for $1.99 per monthSpotify : Spotify Premium for $5.99 per month, which includes one month free and access to Hulu (with ads)Apple Music : $5.99 per month, plus free access to Apple TV+ for a limited timeAMC : Discounts offered by presenting a student ID at participating theatersYouTube : Ad-free subscriptions to YouTube and YouTube Music for $7.99 per month, plus one month freeParamount Plus : 50% off any Paramount Plus planPandora : Pandora Premium Student for $5.99 per month, plus 60 days freeTidal : Ad-free subscription for $5.49 a month, with the option to include add-ons for additional feesHeadspace : Headspace Student Plan for $9.99 a yearSoundcloud : Soundcloud Go+ for $5.49 per monthBest student discounts on groceries and meal delivery services Doordash : DashPass membership for $4.99 a month, which includes $0 delivery fees, 5% DoorDash credits on pickup orders and moreBlue Apron : Get 30% off your first five weeks through Student BeansHelloFresh : 55% off your first box with free shipping, plus 15% off one year of deliveriesEveryPlate : 75% off your first box with free shipping, plus 15% off one year of deliveriesShipt : $4.99 a month for a Shipt Student Membership, which includes discounted same-day delivery from participating storesBest student discounts on flights, hotels and travel StudentUniverse : Find discounted flights, hotels and other travel bookings through StudentUniverseAmtrak : 15% off purchases made one day in advanceGetaway : 15% off your bookingUnited Airlines : 18 to 23 year olds get 5% off flights if you book through United app and sign up for a free MileagePlus accountBest student discounts on clothes, shoes and accessories Girlfriend Collective : 20% off your purchaseMadewell : 15% off your purchase online and in storesJ.Crew : Save up to 15% off your purchase in-store and online with student IDNike : 10% off your purchase online and in the Nike AppReebok : Up to 60% off your purchaseAdidas : 15% off your purchase online and in storesH&M : Save up to 10% off your order online with UnidaysAmerican Eagle : Up to 20% off online with a Unidays accountMeshki : Up to 15% off your purchaseBest student discounts on tech and software Apple : College students can get a discount on select tech starting at $50 off, 20% off AppleCare+, credit with Apple Trade In and moreAT&T : Save $10 per month for up to five phone lines through the AT&T Signature ProgramMicrosoft : 10% off select products from the Microsoft storeMicrosoft Office : Microsoft 365 Personal for $4.99 per monthAdobe Creative Cloud : Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan for $29.99 per monthHP : Up to 40% off tech once you join the HP Education Store ProgramLenovo : Get access to exclusive savings on select products once you verify your student status during the checkout processLogitech : 25% off your purchaseEvernote : 40% off Evernote ProfessionalSamsung : Up to 30% off your purchase through the Education Offers Program using an eligible school emailSquarespace : 50% off your first full year of membershipVerizon : Save up to $12 a line on mobile plans and up to $20 a month on Fios home internetBest student discounts on fitness and wellness Alo Moves : Get 60% off a monthly or yearly membershipAaptiv : 50% off a monthly or yearly subscriptionPeloton App : $6.99 per monthPvolve : 20% off sitewide, including digital memberships and equipmentThe Sculpt Society : 30% off monthly membershipsTalkspace : Take $100 off your first monthHeadspace : Get an annual plan for 9.99 (85% off the regular price)Frequently asked questions Student discounts are available to undergraduate and graduate students with proof of enrollment at a college or university, which is often in the form of a .edu email address. Sometimes, student discounts also extend to high school students if they have a school-issued ID or a .edu email address, but the majority of discounts are for college students.
If a brand or retailer offers a student discount program, you’ll likely have to prove that you’re a student before gaining access to the promo code, says Kristin McGrath, a shopping expert at RetailMeNot, a deal-finding and cash back site.
In stores, you can usually just show a cashier your ID. But if you’re shopping online, some brands and retailers use third-party verification services like UNiDAYS, Student Beans, SheerID and ID.me to verify your student status. These services may require you to make a free account with them by inputting your .edu email address, college or university name and graduation year. Once you’re a verified student, the service saves your information and automatically applies the discount when you purchase from the student discount page on an affiliated retailer’s site.
Time frames on student discounts vary, so it’s important to read the fine print before using a promo code online or checking out in-person. Some student discounts are available year round, while others have expiration dates, says McGrath. A handful of brands and retailers, for example, only offer student discounts around the back-to-school season.
It’s also important to understand whether the student discount applies to your entire cart or a single item, says McGrath. Some merchants offer a deep, one-time discount on your entire cart, so shoppers can stock up on everything they need and apply the promo code to a pricier transaction, says Vipin Porwal, CEO and consumer savings expert at Smarty. Other merchants, however, allow you to take advantage of their student discounts multiple times, whether it’s on every purchase you make or one item every month or so.
If you’re shopping from a site that offers a student discount year round but you can only take advantage of it once, strategize before using the promo code, says McGrath. She recommends using bigger, non-student specific promo codes while they’re live and saving your student discount for a time when no better discount is available.
In addition to acting as third-party verification sites, UNiDAYS, Student Beans, SheerID and ID.me also aggregate student discounts offered by brands and retailers, making it easy for you to learn which companies offer savings opportunities. All of these websites allow you to search for specific brands and retailers, or you can browse discounts by category like office supplies or fashion. You can also see if savings are available in-person, online or both.
Beyond browsing the student discounts brands and retailers offer, be sure to check with your school to see if it offers its own exclusive discounts, says Porwal. “Often schools negotiate excellent deals with manufacturers that compete, or exceed, what retailers can provide,” he says.
Meet our experts At NBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
Kristin McGrath is a shopping expert at RetailMeNot, a deal-finding and cash back site.Vipin Porwal is the CEO and a consumer savings expert at Smarty.Why trust NBC Select? Zoe Malin is a reporter at NBC Select, where she’s written a variety of articles for sales events including Amazon Prime Day and Labor Day. Ashley Morris is an associate SEO reporter for NBC Select, covering topics like weekly sales and gift guides. For this article, Malin spoke with two retail experts about how to find the best student discounts, and rounded up options based on their guidance.
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How we picked the best student discounts Best retailer-wide student discounts Best student discounts on dorm and school supplies Best student discounts on streaming services and entertainment Best student discounts on groceries and meal delivery services Best student discounts on flights, hotels and travel Best student discounts on clothes, shoes and accessories Best student discounts on tech and software Best student discounts on fitness and wellness Meet our experts Why trust NBC Select?
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