Published: November 27, 2017 by Priscilla Ameneyro

If you’ve already completed your holiday shopping and scored some major deals during the madness of Black Friday, I salute you. If you’re like me, you’ve planned out what you want to get but you haven’t actually bought it yet. Then there’s the third type of shopper: the leave it to the last minute and hope for the best kind. Whatever your style, I’ve compiled a list of awesome discounts that are available for students, from retail stores to saving money on your monthly cell-phone bill, it pays to have a .edu email address.

Before you can access all those juicy savings, you’ll need to get your hands on a Student ID card and/or an sjsu.edu email address. Click here for instructions on how to obtain an ID card, and find more information about SJSU email here.

Let’s start with the perks you get from San José State University. There are various software and apps available for free to make your life easier, like every student’s familiar friend, Microsoft Office 365. Head over to the IT pages to take a look at what’s available. Keep in mind that some of the services have stipulations or might only be for faculty and staff.

Don’t forget the School of Information offers a complimentary one year membership to a professional association for new students. After that, you can take advantage of student pricing to renew your membership. Get in the habit of finding out if there is a special price for students on whatever you’re looking to buy. You may have to do some digging, but it’ll be worth it to save some pennies.

I’ve grouped my favorite discounts into three sections for you: technology, retail and entertainment.

Technology

• Grab yourself a deal on a new computer at Apple. Apple Music is also only $4.99 a month for students.
• If you’re more of a PC person, Microsoft offers students 10 percent off on select products.
• Amazon Prime is half-off if you’re enrolled at a University, and right now they’re offering a six month free trial. Sign up and get your holiday shopping delivered to your door fast!
• Spotify now comes with Hulu (match made in heaven?) and is only $4.99 a month for studious peeps.
• Squarespace offers 50 percent off for college students. It’s time to build that online portfolio you keep saying you’ll get around to!
• You might also be able to save on your cell-phone bill. Check if you’re eligible through your carrier: T-mobile, Sprint, AT&T.

Retail

• So this one was a surprise to me, you could save on a new car! GM has a college discount.
• A couple of my favorite apparel stores: Banana Republic and J Crew.
• Save on some new trousers, as us Brits call them, at Levi’s and Dockers.
• FedEx. This is a good one if you have friends or relatives out of town, you can save 20 percent on shipping their presents!

Entertainment

• Catch a film at a reduced price at a Cinemark or Regal Cinemas movie theater.
• I picked this one because I like art: the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City offers savings for students, $12 instead of the usual $25. Most museums give discounts, and some are even free for students, so don’t forget your student ID card!
• Sometimes bowling alleys or theme parks have special rates for students. Make sure to check before you go; it might only be on certain days or at a specific time of the day.

These are just a sampling of the discounts available, the list goes on to also include restaurants, news publications, flights and just about anything you can think of. As I mentioned earlier, when you reach for your wallet, think student discount! I’ve done my best to ensure the accuracy of these discounts, but of course they are always subject to change and might not be available for all students. Watch out for places that have an age limit. For example, car insurance deals are usually only available to students 25 and under (sadly, not me!). I hope I’ve inspired you to seek out some bargains. Happy shopping!

Image: Discount by Nick Youngson / Alpha Stock Images / CC BY-SA 3.0