If you're a student or a teacher, you should know that Apple offers educational discounts on a variety of Apple products, along with cheaper Apple Music subscriptions and more.
This guide provides details on the educational benefits that you can get from Apple as a student or a teacher along with eligibility requirements.
Apple's Educational Site
Apple has an entire separate site that's dedicated to students and teachers who are interested in buying Apple products at a discount, with the products listed at their educational pricing.
The EDU store offers a discount on all Mac and all iPad models. With the EDU discount, for example, the entry-level MacBook Air is available for $999 instead of $1099, a discount of $100, and the iPad is available for $309 instead of $329.
Discounts available vary based on price point, but are right around the 10 percent mark. You'll see the biggest discounts on Apple's most expensive items, such as the iMac Pro, which is marked down by $400.
Apple does not offer educational discounts on the iPhone, Apple Watch, HomePod, Apple TV, AirPods, or Apple accessories.
Eligibility
According to Apple's EDU sales policies in the United States, the following people are eligible to make a purchase from the EDU store:
- Students attending a higher education institution, such as a university.
- Faculty and staff of higher education institutions.
- Any employee of a public or private K-12 institution in the United States, including school board members or appointed members (like PTA or PTO executives).
- Homeschool teachers.
- Parents who have a student attending a public or private higher education institution.
In reality, in the United States, there is no hard check for making a purchase from the educational store. There's no need to verify school attendance or place of employment, so technically, anyone can make a purchase from the EDU store.
Apple does, however, require customers to check a box that confirms they're a member of one of the defined groups and eligible to make a purchase, so there could potentially be consequences for those who are not, in fact, eligible and attempt to make a purchase.
Purchase Limits
Faculty, staff, and students making a qualified purchase from the EDU store can purchase the following discounted products each academic school year:
- 1 desktop Mac
- 1 Mac mini
- 1 Mac notebook
- 3 iPads
- 2 software titles
EDU Discounts Outside of the U.S.
Apple offers educational discounts outside of the United States, and the method of verification varies by country.
In the UK, for example, enrollment must be verified using the UNiDAYS service or through Apple using a student ID or university acceptance letter. Not all countries require this level of verification, so it's best to look at the educational site for the country where you live.
Discounted Apple Music
Students who are enrolled in degree-granting colleges and universities can join Apple Music for $4.99 per month for up to 48 months in total.
Getting a discounted Apple Music subscription requires validation through UNiDAYS, a validation service that makes sure you're actually a student.
Discounted Apple Music subscriptions are available in more than 80 countries.
Continuing an Apple Music subscription will require yearly verification through the UNiDAYS service. At the end of 48 months or when student status expires, a student Apple Music subscription will become an individual subscription at $9.99 per month.
Free Apple TV+ (Apple Music Required)
All students who have a verified student subscription to Apple Music will also get free access to Apple TV+, Apple's streaming television service.
Apple TV+ is normally priced at $4.99 per month. Student access can't be shared with Family Sharing and is for the student only. A list of countries where Apple TV+ is available can be found on Apple's website.
Discounted Software
Students, teachers, and school faculty members can get a software bundle that includes all of Apple's pro apps for video and audio editing.
That includes Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X, Motion 5, Compressor 4, and MainStage 3. Restrictions are the same as when making an iPad or Mac purchase through the EDU store in the United States.
Verification is not required in the U.S. to purchase the bundle, but it may be required in other countries.
Back to School Events
Apple holds Back to School promotions every year for multiple countries, with the promotion typically offering free Beats headphones with the purchase of a Mac or iPad.
The Back to School promotion usually takes place in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and multiple countries in Europe right around July, while Back to School Apple sales in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Brazil happen in January.
Guide Feedback
Have questions about Apple's educational discounts, notice something we left out, or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.
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Top Rated Comments
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I hope they do start verifying EDU purchases more carefully.If they start to verify EDU purchases after this i'll be really upset with you guys.
If you want BTO options, then the discount can be pretty helpful though.But ironically the prices aren’t that much of a discount when you compare with the prices usually on Amazon and Best Buy. The only time when it’s a good choice to buy through the edu store is during the back to school promo.
Actually, yes it does hurt all others because Apple has to pass their loss on to the customers which makes their products a bit more expensive. And honestly, why should someone who is not a student, teacher etc get an educational discount? That‘s not really fair, other people buy it at the normal price ...It's until they decide to cancel it, they made it clear that it's for a limited time. There is no one year guarantee or limit.
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Does it really hurt you if other people are getting discounts?
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I also missed out on the back to school promotion because I was waiting for the 16” model. Life sometimes sucks but there’s no use to complaining about it :(Sadly, I start grad school in January and don’t a chance to get any back to school specials.
I'm just guessing, but I think that Apple intends the discount to be for the people who lived with and raised the student, who the student would consider to be his or her parents, and are his or her primary financial supporters. That wouldn't include the circle of people, like relatives and close friends, who help with that.How does Apple define “parent” for purposes of the education discount? I would like to purchase a MacBook Pro for a family member whom is a college student that I provide parental type advice and other support to, however that college student in the family isn’t my direct, blood related child. What kind of verification could Apple actually ask for in a verification audit if this was an acceptable definition of parent. I’m by no means this student’s sole means of support, I’m just part of the “village” trying to help a poor college student already strapped with lots of student debt that needs a new laptop!
I doubt that Apple checks the relationship between purchaser and student, other than asking you to assert that you qualify, but there's a simple way to work within their rules: You could provide the funds for the student to purchase the MBP himself or herself.