Student discounts on clothes, dorm decor and more

Gabriella DePinho and Zoe Malin

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With a new school year approaching, college students have to start thinking about what they’ll spend their money on, from supplies like backpacks and planners, dorm room essentials like sheets to decor, and other amenities, like fitness programs and entertainment options. They’ll also start thinking about how to save in the face of inflation. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 68% of shoppers have seen higher prices on back-to-class items this year, so discount programs and discounts are especially important. 37% of back-to-college shoppers told NRF that they’re looking for sales now more than ever, too.

SKIP AHEAD How to find student discounts | Best student discounts programs | Best student discounts

Numerous brands and retailers offer college student discount programs and discounts, and gaining access to savings is often as simple as showing your student ID or sharing your school email address. As a student, you may have access to some discounts for the full duration of your schooling, while others are available for a limited time this year. We rounded up those up below.

Keep in mind that you can often save even more by using a credit card for back to school shopping, some of which offer cash back bonuses and the ability to earn credits to use towards future purchases.

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How to find student discounts

Instead of looking through individual brands’ and retailers’ websites, we consulted sites like UNiDAYS, Student Beans, SheerID and ID.me to find student discounts. You can do this, too, by searching for specific brands and retailers or by browsing discounts by category like office supplies or fashion, for example. You also can see if savings are available in-person, online or both.

Additionally, some brands and retailers use these student discount finders to verify your student status so you can get your student discount online — in stores, you can usually just show a cashier your ID. When you make an account with UNiDAYS, Student Beans or ID.me, for example, you have to use your school email address, your college or university name and your graduation year. Then, when you click on a student discount on a specific brand or retailer’s website that uses the student ID verification platform , you can quickly receive your unique discount code.

DePinho has used most of these services to look for discounts — she noted that UNiDAYS and Student Beans sends email newsletters with highlighted discounts and deals, too, Though she hasn’t used as many as DePinho, Malin has saved on everything from area rugs to backpacks using UNiDAYS. (She’s also taken advantage of discounts on platforms like Hulu and Disney+ during college.)

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Best student discount programs

Some retailers run student membership programs, where you can enroll through their websites, while others only offer them in-store and others still offer both. Through our research, we found that membership programs usually offer perks like rewards, exclusive deals, free returns and more, while student discounts solely offer savings on purchases. Below, we included some programs you may be interested in.

  • Amazon Prime Student: Students can get a Prime account discounted to $69 a year, roughly half off a standard membership ($139 a year). The membership comes with offers like Amazon Music Unlimited for $1, discounts on textbooks, a free monthly Grubhub+ Student membership with unlimited delivery and up to 10% off flights and hotels through StudentUniverse. Prime Student members also get six months of LinkedIn Premium for free.

  • Bed Bath & Beyond College Savings Pass: Once you sign up, the College Savings Pass gets you 20% off your entire purchase every time you shop at Bed Bath & Beyond online and in-stores for a limited time — this year, it’s through Sept. 30. Malin said the Bed Bath & Beyond College Savings Pass has helped her save hundreds of dollars on dorm essentials. Additionally, College Savings Pass customers who sign up for the retailer’s Welcome Rewards program will receive three times the amount of rewards points when they use their Savings Pass to make a purchase through Sept. 30.

  • Overstock Club O: Students can sign up for Overstock’s Club O for free, which gives them access to earning rewards on every purchase, free returns, a price match guarantee, double rewards when you leave reviews on purchases and more.

  • Target Circle: Now through Sept. 3, Target Circle members can get 20% off a one-time purchase.

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Best student discounts

In addition to the retailer programs we think you should know about, we put together a list of student discounts. A warning: This list is by no means exhaustive. We chose these student discounts because we’ve previously featured the brand in our coverage or because the brand offers products or services we think you’ll want to know about. Some discounts are for a single offer — like a discounted membership to a delivery or streaming service — while other discounts are category-specific or sitewide offers. We listed discounts under categories below to help guide your shopping.

Student discounts on dorm essentials

Student discounts on clothes, shoes and accessories

Student discounts on school supplies

Student discounts for tech

  • Adobe: Over 60% off Creative Cloud All Apps plan for students and teachers

  • HP: Up to 40% off everyday savings and up to 77% off during HP’s Back to School sale

  • Codecademy: 35% off full price for the Codecademy Pro Student Membership which offers access to an interactive curriculum

  • Samsung: Up to 30% off select items with the Education Offers Program

  • Razer: 20% off Razer gear, PC parts and accessories, 10% off gaming chairs and 5% off laptops

  • Lenovo: 10% off when students verify status through ID.me and up to an extra $100 off with code BTS2022

  • Microsoft: Up to 10% off select tech for students and parents

  • Adorama: Get varying discounts on brands like SONY, Fujifilm and more after verifying your student status through SheerID

  • Apple: College students can get a discount on select tech starting at $50 off, 20% off AppleCare+, credit with Apple Trade In and more

Student discounts on fitness memberships and self care

  • Aaptiv: Up to 50% off a monthly or yearly subscription

  • Peloton: 50% off monthly membership on the Peloton app, after getting the first 30 days free

  • Pvolve: 30% off sitewide, including digital memberships and equipment

  • Philips: 25% off personal care, household items and more for students

  • Every Man Jack: 25% off on orders $35 or greater

  • Lens Direct: 20% off and free shipping on orders over $49 for students

  • Manscaped: 20% off sets, tools and more sitewide

  • Discount Contact Lenses: 20% off for students

  • Gainful: 20% off your first six orders

  • TRX Training: 20% off full-priced products

  • Soul Cycle: Existing or new members can register with SheerID to unlock student pricing.

Student discounts on food and entertainment

  • Babbel: 65% off your first three months of Babbel lessons

  • Pandora: 50% off Pandora’s Premium streaming membership

  • Groupon: Get an extra 25% off local deals for six months, then an extra 15% off local deals as long as you are a student

  • EveryPlate: Students can get up to 20% off their first four boxes through UNiDAYS

  • Vitacost: Students get an extra 15% off on each purchase

  • HelloFresh: Students get 15% off for a whole year of deliveries and free shipping on the first box

  • Kind Snacks: 15% off all snacks and other food products

  • Quest Nutrition: 10% off through UNiDAYS

  • Blue Apron: $110 off and free shipping off your first order

  • Spotify: $4.99/month with free limited access to Hulu and SHOWTIME. Students are eligible for 4 years of access.

  • DoorDash:$4.99 a month and $0 delivery fees on eligible orders after 30 days of a free trial

  • AMC: Discounts offered by presenting a student ID at participating theaters

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