As college students, we get many discounts. Movie tickets, food and clothes can be had for cheaper prices with a valid student ID. Did you know that with a valid student email address you can get discounts for merchandise and services online as well? Take a look at this list of some cool discounts you can get with your Heelmail address:
Free Amazon Prime account:
Amazon.com is a great online retail store. It offers many products in a safe marketplace, but most of all, it’s quick. And you can make it quicker. Amazon Student (which is essentially a free version of Amazon Prime) grants free two-day shipping and really cheap one-day shipping. This service is clutch. For example, I found out I needed a voice recorder three days before the semester began. Being without a car, I ordered it with Amazon Student and got it the day before I needed it. If I didn’t have this benefit, the recorder would have come after two classes had past. For a Tuesday/Thursday class, it’s a lot of time not having that tool. Another cool feature: you can get Blu Rays, Videogames and CDs on the same day they come out in stores. I just got Horrible Bosses AND a $5 credit to Amazon this week. You can sign up for this great service here.
Apple discounts:
You may know that you can get the same student discounts for Apple products from the Apple Store at the RAM Shop. But did you know you can also do this online? If you live really far away from an Apple Store (or just don’t feel like going), you can still get the same rates online with a valid UNC email address. Even better, during tax-free weekend (they have these in a few states) you can order online and also get the student discount. With free, one-to-two-day shipping, this saves you from waiting in line at six in the morning during the tax-free weekend rush.
Cellphone carrier discounts:
Need money for a new smartphone? Save a little extra cash by getting a discount on your cellphone carrier bills. It’s as easy as entering your info and applying it to your current wireless plan. AT&T offers a ten percent discount for UNC students, and Sprint and Verizon also have various deals. Your new smartphone could be yours sooner than you thought it would be.
Microsoft Dreamspark:
For computer science majors, this site is a must. Microsoft Dreamspark offers full programs of design and coding programs (like Visual Basic, Visual C, Kodu and others) for free. With a student email address, you can download more than 20 programs that will get you started on programming code, creating a videogame or running a server. Also included is the Kinect for Windows SDK, which lets you program for the camera-based Xbox 360 controller.
We need to save every penny we can. Discounts like these allow us to enjoy great services at low prices. Got any good websites or other student discounts? Let me know in the comments.
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