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Back-to-school season is here, and college students are likely starting to think about what they’ll spend their money on for the rest of the year, including dorm room essentials, amenities like fitness programs and school supplies like backpacks. All that shopping may mean students have budgeting on their minds, especially as inflation continues to drive up consumer prices.
SKIP AHEAD Best student discounts | How to find student discounts | How do student discounts work?
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.
Below, 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.
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. We rounded up a handful of student discounts below from brands and retailers we’ve previously covered, in addition to a few others we 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.
Amazon: Students can get a Prime account for $69 a year, roughly half off a standard membership ($139 a year). The membership comes with offers like Amazon Music Unlimited for $1, discounts on textbooks, 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 Aug. 26. Target Circle is a free loyalty program through which you get exclusive coupons year round.
Walmart: Now through Sept. 7, 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 $20 off every time you shop a local deal.
Muji: 10% off your purchase
Chegg: 25% off your first month of a Chegg Study Pack subscription
Mattress Firm: Up to 20% off your purchase online or in stores
Brooklyn Bedding: 30% off your purchase plus free shipping
Corkcicle: 20% off your purchase
Stanley: 20% off your purchase
FedEx: Up to 30% off select shipping and packing services with a valid student ID
The Happy Planner: 15% off your purchase
Redbubble: 23% off your purchase
Peacock: Peacock Premium for $1.99 a month
Hulu: Hulu with ads for $1.99 per month
Spotify: Spotify Premium for $5.99 per month, which includes one month free and access to Hulu
Apple Music: $5.99 per month, plus free access to Apple TV+ for a limited time
AMC: Discounts offered by presenting a student ID at participating theaters
YouTube: YouTube and YouTube Music for $7.99 per month, plus one month free
Paramount Plus: Paramount Plus Essential Plan for $4.50 per month
Pandora: Pandora Premium Student for $4.99 per month, plus 60 days free
Headspace: Headspace Student Plan for $9.99 a year
Soundcloud: Soundcloud Go+ for $4.99 per month
Doordash: DashPass membership for $4.99 a month, which includes $0 delivery fees, 5% DoorDash credits on pickup orders and more
HelloFresh: 55% off your first box with free shipping, plus 15% off one year of deliveries
EveryPlate: 75% off your first box with free shipping, plus 15% off one year of deliveries
Shipt: $4.99 a month for a Shipt Student Membership, which includes discounted same-day delivery from participating stores
Home Chef: 50% off your first four meal boxes
StudentUniverse: Find discounted flights, hotels and other travel bookings through StudentUniverse
Amtrak: 15% off purchases made one day in advance
Getaway: 15% off your booking
United Airlines: 18 to 23 year olds get 5% off flights if you book through United app and sign up for a free MileagePlus account
Girlfriend Collective: 20% off your purchase
Madewell: 15% off your purchase online and in stores
J. Crew: 20% off your purchase online and in stores now through August 20
Nike: 10% off your purchase
Reebok: 50% off your purchase
Adidas: 30% off your purchase online and in stores
New Balance: 15% off your purchase plus free shipping
Outdoor Voices: 20% off your purchase
Apple: College students can get a discount on select tech starting at $50 off, 20% off AppleCare+, credit with Apple Trade In and more
Microsoft: 5 to 10% off select products from the Microsoft store
Microsoft Office: Microsoft 365 Personal for $2.99 per month
Adobe Creative Cloud: Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan for $19.99 per month
HP: Up to 40% off tech once you join the HP Education Store Program
Lenovo: Get access to exclusive savings on select products once you verify your student status during the checkout process
Logitech: 25% off your purchase
Evernote: 40% off Evernote Professional
Samsung: Up to 30% off your purchase through the Education Offers Program using an eligible school email
Alo Moves: One month free and then pay $5 per month or $50 per year
Aaptiv: 50% off a monthly or yearly subscription
Peloton App: $6.99 per month
Pvolve: 20% off sitewide, including digital memberships and equipment
The Sculpt Society: 30% off monthly memberships
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, McGrath says. 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, McGrath says. 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, Porwal says. 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, McGrath says. 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 or your student’s school to see if it offers its own exclusive discounts, says Vipin Porwal, CEO and consumer savings expert at Smarty. “Often schools negotiate excellent deals with manufacturers that compete, or exceed, what retailers can provide,” he says.
At 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.
Catch up on Select’s in-depth coverage of personal finance, tech and tools, wellness and more, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok to stay up to date.
Zoe Malin is an associate updates editor for Select on NBC News.
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