Any student or parent with a student in college will tell you that college can be a stressful time on a family's budget. For both students and parents, balancing tuition expenses, grocery bills, rent, and transportation costs can be a juggling act. Here are a few ways to ease the financial stress of a college education.
While some savvy student shoppers are familiar with showing a student ID to receive in-store discounts, many people are unaware of this little trick until after graduation! Our advice to college (and even high school students) is to bring your student ID with you when you shop, and to ALWAYS ask a sales associate if that store provides a student discount. Most stores do not publicly advertise their student discount, and the discount is often spread through word-of-mouth. By asking the sale associate, students can be confident that they will get the best discount possible. Here is a student discount list that offers deals just for students:
- Academic Superstore: Provides student discounts on computers, electronics, software, and other college necessities
- Amazon Student: Free Amazon Prime trial for 6 months; includes unlimited free 2-day shipping with all orders and one-day shipping upgrade $3.99 per item, and after the trial is up, you can get Prime for 50% off.
- AMC Theatres: Student discounted movie tickets every Thursday
- Amtrak: Save 15% with your Student Advantage card or your International Student Identity Card.
- Ann Taylor LOFT: 15% off when you use your student ID in-store, or register with UNiDAYS to use it online
- Ann Taylor: 20% off
- Apple: 8% off (online and in-store)
- The Art Institute of Chicago: $50 annual student membership, plus other various discounts within the Art Institute
- Banana Republic: 15% off
- Broadway in Chicago: Ticket prices as low as $14.50 for select performances
- Burger King: 10% off (varies by location)
- Charlotte Russe: 10% off in-store with ID
- Club Monaco: 20% off regular-priced items
- Dairy Queen: 10% off (varies by location)
- Dell University: Savings vary by college
- Dominos Pizza: various student discounts based on location
- Eddie Bauer: 15% off on regular priced merchandise in-store with valid student ID
- Goodwill: 10% off in-store purchases with a student ID
- The GM College Discount: offers savings on Chevrolet, Buick or GMC cars
- HP Academy Store: offers exclusive student discounts on laptops and desktop computers
- J. Crew: 15% off regular-priced items
- JoAnn: 10% for Student Discount Program members
- JourneyEd: provides student discounts on computers, electronics, software, and other college necessities
- Kroger: 5% off at select locations
- The Limited: 15% off
- Metropolitan Museum of Art: $10 admission for students or $8 admission for students outside New York City, $2 for students within New York City with groups of $10 or more
- Papa John’s: various student discounts based on location
- Pizza Hut: 10%-20% off (varies by location)
- Qdoba: student burrito meals $5
- Regal Theaters: Up to 25% off tickets for select shows and dates
- Sam’s Club: Collegiate Annual Membership $40 plus FREE $15 Sam’s Club gift card
- SmartStop Self Storage: $1 first month's rent, up to 15% off monthly rent after that.
- Subway: 10% off
- T-Mobile - $48 off select smartphones and tablets
- Taco Cabana: 20% off (varies by location)
- ThinkEDU: student discounts on software, textbooks, dorm supplies, Apple products, collegiate apparel and more
- Topshop: 10% off
- Urban Outfitters: 10% off (on select dates only)
- Waffle House: 10% off
- Western Digital Store: 20% off all products when you create an account with a school email address.
Choosing your student discount strategy is up to you, but students should be aware that there are always discounts to take advantage of. After all, our college years fly by, and "real world" prices can wait until after graduation.
This piece originally appeared in Brad’s Deals. Read more at Brad’s Deals:
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