Student Discounts Round Up: Part One

Students have the opportunity to subscribe to Spotify and Hulu for the same monthly fee. 
Photo By Spotify

Let’s face it, college is expensive. Between the costs of tuition, room and board, textbooks, supplies, and the various other expenses associated with a college education, students are often left with very little money in their pockets. Fortunately, a number of businesses have taken pity on the common college student by offering students special discounts and services.

    If you are a college student, you are probably familiar with Amazon. From buying and renting textbooks to stocking up on school supplies and groceries, Amazon is one of the most useful tools for college students trying to save money on their various purchases. Even better, Amazon offers college students and faculty free six-month membership to Amazon Prime Student, which has all of the benefits of a standard Amazon Prime account – access to free two-day shipping, video streaming, music streaming, free books, magazines and audiobooks, and unlimited photo storage – with the added benefit of exclusive college-related deals. Once the six-month trial runs out, Amazon offers students can get the full Prime experience at a 50 percent discount.

    Similarly, popular music-streaming service Spotify has bundled their student discount with Hulu, offering unlimited ad-free music streaming and downloads with Hulu’s unlimited video streaming, for $4.99 a month. However, unlike Spotify premium, you will still have to suffer through some ads while streaming on Hulu.

    If you prefer Apple’s music-streaming service, then you will be happy to hear students can also pick up a discounted subscription to Apple Music for just $4.99 a month. Whether you are listening to music during your commute, playing music during study sessions or tedious homework, or just having a good time with your favorite bands or musicians, either service is perfect for listening to almost any song on any device.

    For students looking to pick up a laptop or tablet for school, several computer retailers offer exclusive discounts to college students. To name a few, Apple offers discounts on all Macs and iPads, Microsoft offers 10% off Windows devices like the new Surface Pro, and Lenovo will knock 15% off your entire cart.

    Being a student can also net you a cheaper cellphone plan, with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon all offering discounts on a many different plans for a variety of devices.

    Students that are working in graphic design, photography, or video production and need software for their classes be happy to hear that Adobe offers students and teachers 60% off the Creative Cloud, which holds all of Adobe’s software from Photoshop to Premiere Pro.

    For students looking to keep up on current events, for classes or personal interest, The Washington Post offers a free digital subscription to students and teachers with a valid .edu email address, providing instant access to every article across any device. Similarly, The New York Times offers college students $1.00 off its weekly, digital subscription, $1.50 for its “All Access” subscription featuring NYTimes crossword puzzles, and $4.95 for its home delivery and online access model. The Wall Street Journal also offers students a discounted $15 for 15 weeks or $49 for a year’s subscription.

    If you are trying to save money on tech, entertainment, or online reading, there are many ways for students to save here and there on common expenses. These discounts will not always be available. Everything will get more expensive after graduation.