Student Discounts

Since a large population of the members here at TE are students I decided to start compiling a list of helpful discounts, most are certification related but some are general discounts helpful for any student.

These all require a school issued student ID and/or a .edu email address to receive the discounts.

Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate Edition $59.95 (MSRP $679.95)
This is a great deal, over $600 dollars off. You will need to provide a student email address (.edu) for them to send you the link to purchase this.

VMWare Workstation $113.40 (MSRP $189)
Students can also upgrade existing versions of VMWare at a discounted rate.

Microsoft Certification Exams $60 (normally $125)
You will have to call prometric to schedule the exams, they will not show up on their website. MS does not offer all of their exams at this rate but they do offer a wide selection. The exams are a part of the 72 series which is no different than the 70 series other than pricing. When calling to schedule remember to request 72-XXX and not 70-XXX for your exam.

Microsoft Second Shot for academic series exams (72-XXX)
This offer is the same as the standard Second Shot that most of us are already familiar with, the only difference is this applies to the academic discount exams mentioned above. For those that are not familar with Second Shot it is an offer good through the end of June 09 that will allow you to take a free retest on an exam if you do not pass on your first try.

You will need to request your voucher code from Microsoft BEFORE scheduling your exam with Prometric, then give them your voucher number at the time of scheduling your exam.

MSDN Academic Alliance
This is not available to all students but check with your school and see if they are a member. This different from the normal MSDN program. If your school is a member and they find you eligible (typically reserved for students enrolled in an computer related degree program) your instructor will forward your information to MS and they will set you up with an account.

Once you have an account you can download full versions of MS operating systems and select software to use for training purposes, similar to that of a TechNet Plus subscription without the membership fees.

Testout training software $89 (normally about $495)
This offer is not shown on their website but you can get more information via their live chat or by calling. For this discount you will need to provide proof of enrollment via email to the Testout rep in your district and they will then provide you with a promotional code to use at checkout. From what I am told this code will be good for any purchases made in a year.

The discounted price per course is $89 plus tax and shipping which comes out to about $101 total.

DreamSpark
Free for students: Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition, Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition, XNA Game Studio 2.0, Expression Studio 2, IT Academy Student Pass for Free Training, Windows Server 2003, SQL Server 2008 Developer, Windows Server 2008 Standard.

JourneyEd
This is a great site for discounted software, most are atleast a 50% discount.

Sams Club membership
College students receive a $15 gift card when joining. If you have a roommate they can also be put on the account at no additional charge.

If you know of any other student discounts please post them.

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Comments

meadIT

Why did I not know about the MS student exam pricing. So much money gone

Thanks for the consolidated list!

dynamik

Nice list

Nobylspoon

meadIT wrote: »

Why did I not know about the MS student exam pricing. So much money gone

Thanks for the consolidated list!

Yeah its a great deal, over 50% off. I just recently called Prometric and scheduled 72-620 with second shot for this weekend. It just took a minute over the phone and I was only billed $60.

meadIT

What do you have to provide Prometric with to get the discount? Just an .edu email address or do you have to send in a copy of your Student ID?

Nobylspoon

dynamik wrote: »

Nice list

Thanks. I am always looking for ways of saving a couple of bucks. If I come across any others I will add them to the list.

One thing I suggest people doing is just taking a class at their community college. Here in Austin tuition for a 3 credit class is only about $120 for a semester. Thats a small price to pay for access to all those discounts and to further your education.

Nobylspoon

meadIT wrote: »

What do you have to provide Prometric with to get the discount? Just an .edu email address or do you have to send in a copy of your Student ID?

Over the phone I did not have to provide any student information but it is my understanding that you will have to show your student ID at the testing center before you take the exam.

nasu

great work man !!! God bless u

nevolved

Wow, Awesome post. I can definitely use some of those discounts.

skrpune

OMG I think I love you. Nobylspoon, you've already saved me hundreds of dollars on TestOut software, I definitely owe ya one (or seventeen) for compiling this list and for the FYI on MS test discount instructions. You totally rock.

darkerosxx

https://www.dreamspark.com/default.aspx

Free for students:

Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
XNA Game Studio 2.0
Expression Studio 2
IT Academy Student Pass for Free Training
Windows Server 2003
SQL Server 2008 Developer
Windows Server 2008 Standard

Nobylspoon

skrpune wrote: »

OMG I think I love you. Nobylspoon, you've already saved me hundreds of dollars on TestOut software, I definitely owe ya one (or seventeen) for compiling this list and for the FYI on MS test discount instructions. You totally rock.

Glad I could help. We already pay enough on tuition and books so its nice getting a break on things from time to time.

Nobylspoon

darkerosxx wrote: »

https://www.dreamspark.com/default.aspx

Free for students:

Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
XNA Game Studio 2.0
Expression Studio 2
IT Academy Student Pass for Free Training
Windows Server 2003
SQL Server 2008 Developer
Windows Server 2008 Standard

Great find, I will add that to the list. Thanks.

Talic

Wow I didn't know about the $60 MS exams, that's a pretty good deal.

It sucks that Cisco isn't as generous as MS. You need to take the whole Network Academy series of classes to get a 50% discount on their certification. Their classes are also more expensive then regular classes but only offer 1 more credit then regular classes.

If MS does a much better job at taking care of students then Cisco does. All Cisco really gave me that was helpful was Packet Tracer compared to Vista Business and all those other discounts that are part of the MSDN program.

brad-

IDK about your school...but where I was at, the Macromedia suite was available in the bookstore for $100. Might find some deals in there.

vCole

Nobylspoon wrote: »

Yeah its a great deal, over 50% off. I just recently called Prometric and scheduled 72-620 with second shot for this weekend. It just took a minute over the phone and I was only billed $60.

Wow! I may just finish up my MCDST for that reason alone!

skrpune

FYI, came across this by accident yesterday: if you join up with ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) for the piddly student annual membership rate of $19USD/year, you get free access to 500+ books on Books 24x7 & also to online courses/exam prep from SkillSoft & access to MSDN Academic Alliance (still waiting for my membership to fully process but apparently I get free access to 100+ software packages...I'm dorkily excited to find out what they are!). You also can get hooked up with a mentor for advice if you want.

You generally have to pay out the nose for subscriptions to SkillSoft & Books 24x7. I'm pretty sure that the Books 24x7 & SkillSoft access you get is equivalent to the IT Pro version ($499 just for Books 24x7, not sure what the SkillSoft part costs) so it's a pretty durn good deal!

vCole

skrpune wrote: »

FYI, came across this by accident yesterday: if you join up with ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) for the piddly student annual membership rate of $19USD/year, you get free access to 500+ books on Books 24x7 & also to online courses/exam prep from SkillSoft & access to MSDN Academic Alliance (still waiting for my membership to fully process but apparently I get free access to 100+ software packages...I'm dorkily excited to find out what they are!). You also can get hooked up with a mentor for advice if you want.

You generally have to pay out the nose for subscriptions to SkillSoft & Books 24x7. I'm pretty sure that the Books 24x7 & SkillSoft access you get is equivalent to the IT Pro version ($499 just for Books 24x7, not sure what the SkillSoft part costs) so it's a pretty durn good deal!

Just signed up for this

skrpune

Got a slight update on the ACM MSDN Academic Alliance thing - I attached a PDF of the screenshots of my account info, showing where/how to sign up for the MSDN AA program. That yellow highlighted area on the left menu shows up after your payment has been confirmed (takes a day or two) and brings you to the screen shown in the attachment. Just click the checkbox for "YES" & then then "OPT IN" and voila, you're signed up. I'm just waiting for my confirmation email and then I am set. The attachment also shows a partial list of the software available (Vista, XP, Server 2008, & at least some Office 2007 components, just to name a few). Killer deal!!!!

ACM screenshot.jpg

vCole

skrpune wrote: »

Got a slight update on the ACM MSDN Academic Alliance thing - I attached a PDF of the screenshots of my account info, showing where/how to sign up for the MSDN AA program. That yellow highlighted area on the left menu shows up after your payment has been confirmed (takes a day or two) and brings you to the screen shown in the attachment. Just click the checkbox for "YES" & then then "OPT IN" and voila, you're signed up. I'm just waiting for my confirmation email and then I am set. The attachment also shows a partial list of the software available (Vista, XP, Server 2008, & at least some Office 2007 components, just to name a few). Killer deal!!!!

I have the ACM sub. but how do I get there

Nvm found it!

msteinhilber

skrpune wrote: »

FYI, came across this by accident yesterday: if you join up with ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) for the piddly student annual membership rate of $19USD/year, you get free access to 500+ books on Books 24x7 & also to online courses/exam prep from SkillSoft & access to MSDN Academic Alliance (still waiting for my membership to fully process but apparently I get free access to 100+ software packages...I'm dorkily excited to find out what they are!). You also can get hooked up with a mentor for advice if you want.

You generally have to pay out the nose for subscriptions to SkillSoft & Books 24x7. I'm pretty sure that the Books 24x7 & SkillSoft access you get is equivalent to the IT Pro version ($499 just for Books 24x7, not sure what the SkillSoft part costs) so it's a pretty durn good deal!

Very nice find, I found their site some time ago and checked it out but I never knew about the MSDN Academic Alliance. My school doesn't provide that, so I just signed up for the student membership with ACM - what a bargain!

msteinhilber

Just wanted to update. I had my MSDN Academic Alliance subscription approved a day or two ago and it's certainly a worthwhile investment! I haven't gone through much of the CBT resources yet, but I looked through some of the available books and it's a decent selection. I was mostly after the MSDN AA subscription as my school doesn't offer that program, been on a downloading spree the past couple of days before my ISP (Charter) imposes the 100GB limit starting next month

Many thanks to skrpune for linking it

darkerosxx

They're now offering ONE free Technology Specialist Exam voucher (for any of the MCTS exams) on Dreamspark. Must be used by June 30, 2009.

https://www.dreamspark.com/Products/Product.aspx?productid=24

rfult001

Sweeet! Passed it out to my whole office...the joys of working in an academic institution. Lots of very happy techies and n00bs.

Megadeth4168

darkerosxx wrote: »

They're now offering ONE free Technology Specialist Exam voucher (for any of the MCTS exams) on Dreamspark. Must be used by June 30, 2009.

https://www.dreamspark.com/Products/Product.aspx?productid=24

Good find! Thanks!

Xcluziv

Thanks for this....Just registered for the 72-721. appreciate you letting me know about this FTB

7lowe

Wow, this is quite a coincidence. I just read about the ACM in one of my classes last week and was thinking of looking in to joining. Seeing the price and all these deals makes it a no brainer and I'm now a member.

JDMurray

Many colleges have discounted software for students. Check your bookstore's Web site. There are also numerous retailer that sell discount software to students and teachers. I've bought stuff from www.academicsuperstore.com. The prices on hardware are not anything special, but the software prices are superb.

nel

I used to get discounted exams at my old uni but not my new one.

Are these OK to use in the UK? Or is it US only? i cant seem to see anything re that.

Xcluziv

7lowe wrote: »

Wow, this is quite a coincidence. I just read about the ACM in one of my classes last week and was thinking of looking in to joining. Seeing the price and all these deals makes it a no brainer and I'm now a member.

7

Yea, its a great organization. I joined last year

7lowe

I had to go tell the administrators at my school about it. I mean the MSDN AA, 24x7 Books, and Element K courses and Brain Bench exams for $19 a year is a great deal.

7