To the best of my knowledge no you will not get a student discount from any giant computer store. The cool thing is you usually have a little more room to negotiate the price....mmm..but you probably are better of with the edu discount from Apple.
If you have never been to an Apple store, do it! The experience is totally different. The enviroment and multitude of Apple machinery on hand is amazing, you got a much better feel for what the "Apple Lifestyle" is like, and it is pretty good livin. Also get the advantage of Apple minded techs and sales staff that are focused on selling one product. However, I was suprised that a sales kid at Best Buy totally pushed me towards a mac when I mentioned I was considering a powerbook, he was like "Dude, I know we sell only pc's but once you go Apple you will never go back." Too boot he also told me about being a student developer and getting extra cash off a system purchase. I was impressed.
If you happen to have a computer store that has an apple only section, can be a gold mine to finding some great deals. I went to Microcenter and their mac section was impressive and had the just outdated powerbooks at some impressive discounts, which were about equivilant with my EDU.
Ultimatley if you know what you want shop around online you will fined a better price in my opinion. If you just want to try out systems and get a feel it is worth taking a trip to an Apple store.
good luck
