Being in college can simultaneously be one of the worst and one of the best experiences of your life. On the one hand, school sucks. Unfortunately, you no longer have your mom to kick you out of bed and force you to go. You have to take your education into your own hands, and it’s not all that fun. On the other hand, college can be the time of your life. You make life-long friends, get to learn all sorts of cool things that weren’t available to you while you were in high school, and there are so many boys.
We often forget that we have one special perk of being in college that we carry in our pocket: our student ID. It’s a piece of plastic with a hideous picture of us that gets shoved in our wallet and mainly forgotten about. But it is a highly underrated get-out-of-jail-free card. Or rather, get-into-whatever-I-want-free card. You’d be surprised at how many places offer student discounts.
1. Music Galore
I recently learned about this from a coworker, and I am FURIOUS I didn’t know about it previously. I’ve been a Spotify Premium user for years, and even though I don’t really notice the $10 monthly leave my bank account, wouldn’t it be nice if that price was cut IN HALF? If you’re a student, you can get Spotify premium for $5 a month! Seriously, I’ve never had a happier day than the one where I found out about this.
2. Food & Munchies
There is nothing better than free/cheap food (that’s the only reason we went to Student Orientation, am I right?). If you remember to pull out your student ID at the checkout, you can get 10% off at Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Burger King, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway, TCBY (15% here!), and the Waffle House! And although it’s not quite as nice, Chipotle and Chick-Fil-A give you a free soft drink if you show your ID!
3. Clothes, Clothes & More Clothes
I almost cried when I realized that H&M will give you 15% off your entire purchase with your student ID (in store only). And for everyone with expensive taste and a very not-expensive budget, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Urban Outfitters, J. Crew, and ModCloth all give discounts for struggling students (20%, 20%, 10%, 15%, and 10%, respectively). And for everyone who is a major cheapo, like me, even Goodwill offers a 10% discount.
4. Phone Services & Computers
There are a handful of tech discounts you need to be aware of. With Apple, you can save up to $200 on a new computer. Dell and Microsoft are in on it too, and you can save upwards from 10% with your student discount. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint all offer 10% student discounts. Holy what?! Visit StudentRate.com to get 10% off at T-Mobile. For the other two providers, go to their websites or speak to a representative to see if they’ll offer it to you. You have to have a valid school email in order for those to validate.
5. Movies & Travel
Last, but certainly not least, date night to the movies with bae won’t break your budget. AMC Theaters offer special discounted tickets for students every Thursday. Cinemark and Regal Theaters are among other movie theaters that offer student discounts as well. Want to go home for the holidays but can’t afford a plane ticket? Amtrak and ShortLine/Coach USA offers a variety of discounts for students traveling to and from selected school listed on their site. You can even find discounted plane tickets and travel accommodations, by checking out these sites designed exclusively for students: Student Universe, Smarter Travel, STA Travel, Student Traveler, and Travelosophy.
As a college student (especially a new one), make sure you take advantage of all of these discounts so you’re not stuck in your junior year, just realizing some of these discounts exist, and cursing all the dollars you could’ve saved. Being a student has never been so rewarding!
Featured image via Andrew Neel on Pexels
