The Perks of Being a College Student? Lots of DISCOUNTS!

Courtesy of Ana Palma-Gutierrez/The Jibsheet

Being a student can be stressful when you’re trying to balance school work, extracurricular activities and a social life. But one thing that many students don’t know that would probably ease their thoughts is the fact that students can get a ridiculous amount of discounts almost everywhere they go.

From merchandise to food, students are eligible to enjoy items and activities at lower prices than that of the average person.

When it comes to technology, students can receive many discounts from big name companies.

Every year Apple usually offers a ten percent student discount to those going to college as well as a one hundred dollar gift card to the Apple Store. They also give discounts to students from kindergarten throughout high school and to teachers.

Microsoft has similar rewards for students. This past year, they offered every student who bought a computer with Windows 7 a free Xbox 360.

According to The Seattle Times, students can visit AcademicSuperstore.com, JourneyEd.com, and tinyurl.com/3f26ruw for discounts on anything technology related.

Being a student in Seattle specifically has its perks too.

Amazon.com/student gives students a six-month free membership to Amazon Prime, which includes free two-day shipping.

One of the more well-known discounts is the one that students get on tickets at the movie theatre. Not all theatres participate but most do and you often get a dollar or two off, which is great since everything else is way beyond a college kid’s budget.

Very surprising deals that are offered to students are those at well-known food companies like McDonalds, Subway, Burger King, and various pizza chains.

Another hidden, secret benefit students have is getting discounts at clothing stores like Banana Republic, The Limited, and J. Crew. Advice from Wilson in The Seattle Times on getting discounted clothes from stores is that “waiting for a sale might reap bigger savings” so only use being a student to your benefit if there are no other promos.

A deal that all students should take advantage of is auto insurance. Some insurance companies will provide up to a 20 percent discount and even more if you have a certain GPA. When it comes to necessities like this, it is always suggested to see if the company offers any discounts for students or people in general where you fit the criteria.

Students can get discounts not just while being grounded, but also while being miles high.

Statravel.com offers students an International Student ID card for 22 dollars, which allows full-time students from ages 12 to 26 to buy discounted plane tickets with a year of travel insurance, deals to global museums, hotels and train stations.

Unfortunately, a problem that students may face is that many restaurants and stores don’t make it known they provide discounts. That’s why there are websites like GiftCardGranny.com and BradsDeals.com, created by Brad Wilson, which inform students of current deals they can receive for being a student.

In The Seattle Times article “Savings 101: Students get lots of discounts,” Wilson expresses that the main categories students can receive discounts in are on computers, food and clothes.

Before you go after reading this and try to get every discount out there you will need to get one thing, a student ID card.

Not only does having one allow you access to multiple facilities on campus like the computer lab, the library, and gym activities, it allows establishments to verify that you are a student so you can receive the discounts they offer.

ID cards are available in Room C105 (in front of the cafeteria) for only five dollars and are only one dollar to renew every quarter.

If you don’t get anything else from this article, take this one piece of advice: before buying or ordering something, always ask if they offer student discounts.

No longer should our scholarly rank be viewed as a tacking one, but one filled with privilege and exclusive opportunity.