Money is scarce for many college students, so finding ways to save is key. Many merchants offer discounts aimed at students, whether on clothes, electronics, textbooks, or even movie tickets, although they're not always easy to find. Here are 40 discounts that can help college students save on the things they need and want while hitting the books — and you can even find those textbooks on the cheap as well.
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Apple offers students discounted prices on a range of Mac computers and iPads for school, in addition to student financing options and discounts on AppleCare protection plans. Apple is also giving students who buy eligible Macs and iPads a free pair of Beats headphones.
Get 10% off your online order by verifying your student details through SheerID.
Amazon offers a student version of its Prime membership (which provides benefits including free two-day shipping on many items) for free for six months and a discount off the annual Amazon Prime subscription fee. Traditionally, the discount is 50%.
Through the free UniDays student discount program, students can get 15% off Levi's apparel when they shop online at us.levi.com.
Adobe offers a 60% discount on monthly plans that include access to all its applications, including Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Illustrator. Additionally, Adobe offers the Photography plan, which consists of Photoshop CC and Lightroom for $10 monthly.
Participating Cinemark movie theaters (there are 549 nationwide, including Century, Tinseltown, Rave, and CinéArts) offer discounted movie tickets to students with valid ID.
AT&T provides monthly cellphone service discounts to students at eligible schools. To check for eligibility, enter a school email address on the AT&T Business Programs web page.
Spotify offers its Premium for Students service and Hulu's Limited Commercials plan together for $5 a month to qualified students attending accredited institutions.
Get up to 25% off your online purchase at Forever 21. Register with Student Beans for student status verification. Get a 10% student discount on your order during regular days.
The casual and professional clothing retailer provides a 15% discount to college students with valid ID on full-price items at J.Crew, J.Crew Factory, and J.Crew Mercantile stores. This offer is not available online.
College students enjoy 15% off Madewell clothing with valid student ID.
Students living off-campus without access to (or a wish to use) a meal plan can take advantage of another kind of meal plan: the delivery kind. Students can get 15% off HelloFresh meal boxes and their 30-minute recipes.
By registering for Best Buy's College Student Deals program, students can save on software, devices, appliances, and more.
Students looking to travel by train can save 15% on Amtrak Value and Flexible rail fares in California, New York, and the Midwest.
Coach USA offers discounted bus trips to students at select schools, with rates for travel anytime, Friday trips, and shuttles that run during school breaks.
Get 10% off your online purchase by verifying your eligibility through SheerID.
Through UniDays, students can get 20% off Reebok items when they shop online at reebok.com.
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Banana Republic gives a 15% discount to students on full-priced attire for men and women in-store only.
Save 20% on your online purchase at ae.com by verifying your student status with UniDays.
College students get a significant 30% off online orders by registering with UniDays.
Get 15% off in-store and online purchases. Verify your student status by showing your school ID at checkout in-store or through signing up with UniDays for orders online. Students can also apply in person for an Express Next Student Credit Card.
Student discounts available in select locations and vary depending on the store. Inquire about special student offers upon checkout, and show proof of enrollment for verification.
Dockers offers a 20% discount to students who shop online using UniDays.
Eligible students get an additional 10% off previously discounted refurbished products, including notebooks, tablets, and desktops, from the HP Business Outlet. The program includes free shipping on orders over $100 and a 10-day return or exchange policy.
Dell says students and faculty are eligible for "additional discounts" and that there are "student exclusive deals" — but the bargains are disguised in the Member Purchase Program and, confusingly, its Dell University items are labeled for "Alumni Members." You might find discounts of only 2% to 5%, though some computers can be up to 10% off depending on market price.
Back to school discounts on laptops and tablets from Lenovo go up to 55% off, and there's another $120 off with the code BACK2SCHOOL.
Microsoft offers students Office 365, which includes Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more for free with a valid school email address.
Many YMCAs across the country feature fitness facilities and programs at a discount for students.
Spend $75 and get a 10% discount with your Student Advantage card.
If you don't have a pair of Dr. Martens at some point during your student years, are you doing it right? Get 15% off this quintessential shoe via Unidays when you shop online.
Sign up or log in with Student Beans and get 10 percent off your online purchase using a unique discount code. NUS codes are acceptable in-store but not online.
Get a 10 percent discount on your order by verifying your student status through ID.me.
Verify your student status with ID.me and get 10% off your online purchase. Offer good for students in college only.
College students can get a 10 percent discount once student status is verified through UniDays.
Many Goodwill stores offer a 10% discount to students who show a valid student ID at checkout, sometimes on specific days of the week.
If you have a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop near you, it's likely you can get 10% off at the counter — and don't be shy about asking at other ice cream shops as well. In Boston, the J.P. Licks ice cream shops match the 10% off.
Students can obtain a discounted subscription to the digital version of The New York Times for $1 a week.
The Economist offers students a discounted rate for subscriptions to print and digital versions of the magazine. The least expensive option is the digital-only subscription, which is available at $12 for the first 12 weeks and $34 every 12 weeks thereafter.
Students can take advantage of reduced rates on the print and digital versions of The Wall Street Journal. Digital-only or digital-plus-print subscriptions are offered at the same semester rate: $15 for 15 weeks, or opt for a year for $49.
Full-time students can enjoy admission to the Museum of Modern Art in New York for $14, or $9 off the regular adult admission price. Admission to MoMA PS1 is $5 for students.
Some 20 schools in Boston from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are signed up as participating institutions at the Institute of Contemporary Art, which means students get free admission with ID, student-rate pricing on tickets to programs, performances, and films, and sometimes even free guided group tours. Other students get in for just $10, or $5 off, and Thursday evenings and the final Saturday of each month are free.
For $10, students can attend select shows at Carnegie Hall in New York. Students can buy up to two tickets when they show a valid ID.
The largest art museum in the western United States, Los Angeles County Museum of Art features nearly 130,000 objects on display. Students eager to take in all the museum has to offer can buy an annual membership for $40 — half off — which provides unlimited general admission. (LACMA also offers free days on the second Tuesday of each month and certain federal holidays.)
Exhibitions at this noted Miami museum focus on modern and contemporary art and "highlight Miami's diverse community and pivotal geographic location." Students can save $4 off the $16 admission with a valid ID (or take advantage of free admission on the second Saturday and the first Thursday of the every month).
The Art Institute of Chicago gives students a discount on admission, starting at $14 for students in Chicago, $14 for students in Illinois, and $19 for all other students, a savings of $6 off regular-priced admission.
An easy walk or trolley ride from the nearby Auraria Campus, Denver Center offers several ways for students to save, including $16 advance tickets through the center's website, student matinees, and $10 night-of-performance tickets. Note: Student discounts typically aren't available for Broadway performances.
Starting two hours before a performance, students can pick up student rush tickets at the Lincoln Center Theater in New York for $30.
College students can buy a Boston Symphony Orchestra College Card and see as many eligible shows as they like throughout the season for $25.
On weekdays, students can attend the Metropolitan Opera in New York for $25. Weekend student tickets are available for $35.
Students can buy discounted rush tickets 90 minutes before the start of Houston Ballet performances for $15 with valid ID.