If there’s one thing students love, it’s discounts and free things. And lucky for you, being a student makes you eligible for tons of them. Photo courtesy of www.creditdebitpro.com
As the new school year rolls around, you might be in the market for some new clothes, shoes, dorm necessities or school supplies. You’ve probably already spent a pretty penny on tuition, so of course you’ll want to save money on what you can. A lot of stores and brands offer discounts and deals to college students, so you should take advantage of them while you can. Make sure you always bring your college ID with you when you shop: If you ask, a lot of places offer student discounts that you may have no idea about. Here are some of the most popular discounts offered.
UConn services
We’ll get to deals offered to all college students, but as a public university, UConn offers a lot of academic resources like software and licenses for free or at a discounted price with your NetID. Adobe Creative Cloud Suite can be purchased at a discount, Microsoft Office can be accessed for free and license keys for some popular research software, such as NVivo, are available. Here is a full list, but updates can be added so be sure to look up the software with the UConn Software Catalog to see if the university already has a license key available for students to use before you purchase for your research or work.
With UConn’s library website, you have access to many research papers and databases that you otherwise would have to purchase. Be sure to check it out for your next research paper.
Be sure to sign up for U-Pass so you can ride buses and trains in the state for free. As long as you have your U-Pass and student ID on the listed transit systems, you’re covered. It’s super convenient if you don’t have a car on campus and want to go home or take a trip somewhere on the weekend.
Sign-up with UNiDAYS
A lot of the college discounts that brands offer can be accessed through UNiDAYS, an app that verifies your student status with your college email and generates a unique code for you to use in-store or online with your purchase. Here are some popular offers, and you can find the full list here:
Adidas: 25 percent off your purchase and free shipping (limited time)
Aerie and American Eagle: 20 percent off your purchase
ASOS: 20 percent off your purchase (limited time)
Calvin Klein: Extra 15 percent off your purchase (online)
Clinique: 15 percent off your purchase (online)
Dr. Martens: 20 percent off your purchase (limited time)
Forever 21: 30 percent off your purchase
Grubhub: 20 percent off orders of $10 or more
H&M: 15 percent off your purchase (stackable, online)
Kate Spade: 15 percent off your purchase (online)
Some of these may only be offered for a limited time, in-store, online or may not be able to be combined with other offers, so make sure to check the fine print before trying to use a discount.
Student memberships and subscriptions
In the generation of streaming services and online shopping, more and more brands are adapting to cater to the younger demographic, especially students who can’t drive to the store to shop. Some services that include exclusive student memberships include:
Apple Music: $4.99/month (through UNiDAYS)
Spotify Premium: $5/ month, includes Hulu and Showtime and ad-free, offline music
Evernote Premium: 50 percent off one year, for $4/month
Amazon Prime Student: free six-month trial, then $59/ year (50 percent off) for free two-day shipping, Prime Video, Prime Music and unlimited online photo storage with Prime Photos
The Washington Post: $1 for first four weeks, then $5/month (50 percent off)
The New York Times: $1/week for digital access
The Wall Street Journal: $4/month for digital access (compared to $38.99/month) or $10/month for print and digital (compared to $44.99/month)
Technology
If you’re in the market for a new laptop or any new hardware, here are some deals to check out:
Apple: save up to $200 on a new Mac or iPad with Apple Education pricing. In the months before school starts, they also offer a free pair of Beats headphones or earphones with your Mac/iPad purchase
Dell: discounts on laptops, desktops and more with Dell University
Lenovo: extra five percent off with ID.me
Other places that often include student discounts are museums, movie theaters, sporting events and local businesses. As mentioned, make sure to always have your student ID on you, and don’t be afraid to ask or look up if a place offers a discount. Now get out there and start saving!
Hollie Lao is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at hollianne.lao@uconn.edu.
