Your first year of college is expensive. You’ll need clothes, textbooks, gadgets, toiletries, food, maybe even furniture and a place to live. Essentially, a ton of crap that your parents paid for your whole life. Luckily, your sweet student discounts can ease that transition.




Stock Up On Cheap Books and School Supplies


Your first year of school means you’re going to need a tractor trailer full of textbooks, pens, paper, notebooks, and who knows what else. These places can give you discounts on the essentials:

Finding textbooks is going to be one of your toughest and most expensive hurdles. You should also check out our guides on how to save money on textbooks, get them cheap or even free, and find the best deals.

Get a New Wardrobe With Clothing Discounts


Whether you’re reinventing your style as a fresh college student or just updating all the clothes that don’t fit anymore, you’re going to need new clothes. Except, clothes are stupid expensive. Fortunately, these stores offer student discounts to ease the pain:

College is a good time to start looking into buying quality clothes that will last where you can. You can shave your budget my making good use of the clothes you have. Find more ways to save money on clothes in our guide here.


Deck Out Your Dorm With Furniture Discounts


Hopefully, you’ll be able to bring along some of the furniture from your parent’s house when you move out to college. If you need to get a few new things to furnish your first place on your own, these discounts can help:

IKEA Family : No student discount program, but IKEA Family offers discounts and promotions on furniture with free loyalty program.

No student discount program, but IKEA Family offers discounts and promotions on furniture with free loyalty program. Overstock : Free Club O Gold Membership for students and teachers with ID.me verification

Free Club O Gold Membership for students and teachers with Pottery Barn : 15% off with .edu email address or college ID.

15% off with .edu email address or college ID. West Elm : 15% off with student ID.

Even if you don’t head to the store, there are lots of ways to furnish your new home on the cheap. With a little handiwork, you can make cheap furniture last a long time, and even customize them to fit your style.


Upgrade Your Gadgets With Discounts on Tech


Moving up to a new school seems like as good a time as any to nab a new laptop and phone before you head to class. If you need new hardware, these stores will cut you a deal just for furthering your education:

Tech companies love giving you deals on gadgets, so you might also want to hunt for non-student ways to save money on tech. Also be sure to check out our guide to picking the perfect back-to-school laptop for your needs.


Get Discounts on Your Bills Because You’re an Adult Now


Congratulations, you’re now an adult with real-world responsibilities! It’s your job to pay for things like Bills®. Make the few dollars you have stretch as far as they can by signing up for student rates on the essentials:

Amazon Prime : 50% discount after a free 6-month trial.

50% discount after a free 6-month trial. AT&T : Discounts on phones and service with email address from a supported school.

Discounts on phones and service with email address from a supported school. Esurance : Up to 10% discount for students 25 or under who maintain a 3.0 GPA or B average.

Up to 10% discount for students 25 or under who maintain a 3.0 GPA or B average. Geico : Up to $200 off if student drivers aged 16-25 maintain a B average.

Up to $200 off if student drivers aged 16-25 maintain a B average. Sprint : Discount on monthly service with email address from a supported school.

Discount on monthly service with email address from a supported school. State Farm : Up to 25% off insurance if you maintain good grades (varying depending on location). Discount continues until age 25, even after graduation.

Up to 25% off insurance if you maintain good grades (varying depending on location). Discount continues until age 25, even after graduation. T-Mobile : Up to $60 device discount on certain hardware for eligible students.

Up to $60 device discount on certain hardware for eligible students. Verizon : Discounts on handsets and service with an email address from a supported school or company.


Now that you’re an adult, you’re going to spend a lot of time reducing your bills so you may as well get good at it. There are tons of ways you can drop your expenses without too many sacrifices. Even just making a regular phone call once in a while can help. The lower your bills are the more you can afford everything else.


Chill Out and Relax With Some Discounts On Entertainment


You’re going to need some down time every once in awhile (if you can find any). Save some cash on your trip to the movies or your next game console with a few of these deals:

AMC Theaters : Get $1 off regular movies ($2 off 3D) on Thursdays.

Get $1 off regular movies ($2 off 3D) on Thursdays. Cinemark Theaters : Get discounted movie tickets (varies by region) with a valid student ID.

Get discounted movie tickets (varies by region) with a valid student ID. Regal Theaters : Save $1 on regular movies ($2 on 3D) on Mondays through Thursdays.

Save $1 on regular movies ($2 on 3D) on Mondays through Thursdays. Most Museums: Discounts vary by region, but most museums offer student discounts (if not free admission) for students.

Discounts vary by region, but most museums offer student discounts (if not free admission) for students. Xbox : Microsoft runs occasional promotions for Xbox consoles. Currently, get $300 off an Xbox if you’re buying a Surface Pro 4 tablet or Surface Book.


Even without student discounts, there are a ton of ways to save money on everything from movie theaters, to gaming PCs, to everything else that’s fun.

Travel Around Town or Around the World On the Cheap


Whether you’re trying to bum a ride across town to a friend’s house or need to hitch a ride on a train across state lines, travel can get expensive. Many companies are willing to subsidize your soul-searching in exchange for a getting a new customer. Here are some of the best travel discounts you can find:

AmTrak : 15% discount year round for students aged 13-25.

15% discount year round for students aged 13-25. Budget Truck Rentals : 20% of local moves, 15% off one-way moves with discount code TRUKU for students.

20% of local moves, 15% off one-way moves with discount code TRUKU for students. Eurail : 35% off adult pricing for students 25 years old or younger.

35% off adult pricing for students 25 years old or younger. General Motors : Various discounts and financing deals for current students or recent grads.

Various discounts and financing deals for current students or recent grads. Greyhound : 20% off unrestricted tickets and 40% off package shipping with Greyhound Student Advantage card


Transportation expenses can skyrocket if you’re not careful, so check out our guides for ways to save on everything from those long-distance trips to everyday car repairs. You might even want to get started planning that spring break getaway.


Refuel With Grocery and Fast Food Discounts


In an ideal world, you’ll be able to go grocery shopping to save what cash you have, but let’s be real. You’re going to need to know how to eat out on the cheap just as often as you’ll need coupons for Ramen. Many places that sell food don’t advertise their discounts, since rules can vary based on local franchise owners, but sites like RetailMeNot are great for finding offers in your area:

Arby’s: 10% off entire meal at some locations with student ID.

10% off entire meal at some locations with student ID. Burger King: 10% discount at some locations with student ID.

10% discount at some locations with student ID. Chick-Fil-A: Free small drink with any purchase at some locations with student ID.

Free small drink with any purchase at some locations with student ID. Chipotle: Some locations reportedly give out a free soda with your meal

Some locations reportedly give out a Dairy Queen: 10% discount on entire meal at certain locations with valid student ID.

10% discount on entire meal at certain locations with valid student ID. McDonald’s : Free hamburger, cheeseburger, or McFlurry with purchase at select locations.

Free hamburger, cheeseburger, or McFlurry with purchase at select locations. Sam’s Club : $15 gift card and periodic student promotions when you sign up for a membership with a .edu email address.

$15 gift card and periodic student promotions when you sign up for a membership with a .edu email address. Subway: 10% off subs, salads, and snacks at certain locations with valid student ID.

10% off subs, salads, and snacks at certain locations with valid student ID. Waffle House: 10% discount at some locations with your student ID.

Nothing’s better than free food, so score what you can on your birthday or while you’re out networking. Don’t forget to buy food in bulk where possible.


Score Some Savings On Everything Else You Can

Who knows what else you’re going to need in this crazy world called adulthood. In no particular order, here are the other student discounts we found that didn’t fit into any category. Who knows when you might need them!


International Student Identity Card : For $25-200 (depending on tier), provides discounts on a variety of services. Note: Many that accept ISIC cards will accept any student ID. Explore the ISIC site

For $25-200 (depending on tier), provides discounts on a variety of services. Note: Many that accept ISIC cards will accept any student ID. Explore Moo : 15% off an order of business cards with university email address.

15% off an order of business cards with university email address. Spotify : 50% off Spotify Premium subscription for students at qualifying institutions.

50% off Spotify Premium subscription for students at qualifying institutions. UNiDAYS : Free discount service used to verify student status with some companies like Apple. Register to find more discounts at many other places.


If you’ve gone through the whole list here and you still haven’t found a discount that you need, try the best tool in your arsenal: just ask. Some places might be willing to offer a discount to students even if their website doesn’t advertise it. The worst they can say is no. Just make sure to have your .edu email address or your student ID handy.



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