By Devin J. Lewis
Students know college comes with more than just books and deadlines; it comes with bills, subscriptions, and constant “how do I afford this?” moments. Luckily, there are tons of discounts out there just for students. Whether you need tech, food, clothes, or entertainment, many brands and services are ready to help lighten the load. Here’s a roundup of some of the best, plus tips for making the most of them.
Let’s kick this off with my personal favorite, and the one that inspired me to research and write this article in the first place: YouTube Premium. It currently stands as my number one source for both entertainment and information. And if you’re an avid YouTube watcher like me, those constant commercials become extremely annoying and inconvenient. Most students should already know that YouTube acts as one of the best sources for tutorials and walkthroughs on the web. And if you try to rewind a portion of the video to get a clearer understanding of the clip, it could trigger YouTube to show another god-awful commercial. YouTube Premium eliminates all those inconvenient and cringeworthy commercials. A standard YouTube individual plan costs $13.99 per month. But as a student, your cost is only $7.99. Other premium features include background playback, video downloads for offline viewing, and access to YouTube Music Premium.
While individual brands like YouTube, Apple, and Amazon offer their own student discounts, the real game-changers are the dedicated student discount platforms. Sites like UNiDAYS and Student Beans verify your student status once and then unlock a world of savings across hundreds of brands. Once signed up to UNiDAYS using your PSC email, you’ll get instant access to tech, fashion, and lifestyle discounts. One of their best bargains includes the Adobe Creative Cloud. The standard price for this suite is $59.99 per month, but we students get it for a mere $19.99 per month. Other popular brands that UNiDAYS partners with include Foot Locker, Apple, Microsoft, Coach, Dell, and Disney. UNiDAYS has over 800 brands globally participating.
Meanwhile, Student Beans focuses mainly on everyday essentials, food, and trendy brands, and offers great discounts for students’ daily necessities. Creating a Student Beans account slashes the price in half on DoorDash’s’ DashPass plan that offers free delivery from eligible restaurants and reduced service fees. The Standard price is $9.99; the student price is $4.99. Here is a list of other great brands that Student Beans collaborates with: Gymshark, American Eagle (10% off full-price items), H&M (Usually 10% off), Spotify Premium ($5.99 per month vs $10.99 standard), and HelloFresh (55% off your first box plus free shipping). Student Beans partners with over a thousand brands globally, giving you a wide range of awesome selections.
Student discount platforms help students stretch their budget further while also allowing them to enjoy quality products and services at reduced cost. Here are several more popular student discount sites: SheerID, Amazon Prime Student, and Apple Education/Student Discounts.
With those types of savings, students can ease the burden of everyday expenses, reduce the strain of student debt, and enjoy more freedom to focus on their education and college experience.