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when I was in korea teaching at a university it felt like going into the immigration office the amount of paperwork I needed to prove I was indeed a professor currently teaching when going to the apple store in seoul.
 
been this way in the UK forever, previously via IP address range and more recently via institutional membership or member of unidays. I think its fair that only education people can get the discount. suck it.
There’s more than one kind of Apple education discount. When Universities purchase directly from Apple it’s typically through a completely different channel than the retail website and in those systems you’d need to be an employee to access them. The prices tend to be slightly better as laptops can be bought in 5-packs etc.
 
This is a nothing burger. Apple's education prices are so often beaten by other retailers and I'm sure Apple knows that and hence didn't care for a long time that people were cheating the system so to speak. Maybe too many people started combining education prices with discounted Apple gift cards to get a real deal and that started to annoy them (though I doubt it). Hopefully this is a sign that education prices are going to get better discounts not just 5-10%...

Maybe during the summer when you get free AirPods the education discount is competitive with say a sale at Best Buy but even then it's often not.
 
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Apple used to require verification in the US. I was surprised when they dropped that check, so it’s not really shocking to see this return. I work for a school, so it’s no skin off my back. LOL
I can attest that was never the case online. Apple Store employees would ask for proof of eligibility… I should say “some” employees but often times when they could not offer the discount, they would send the customer to the website to order and pickup 30mn later. Never understood the online “honor system” but at last Apple made it right.
Now, it’s going to be a nightmare for the parents of eligible students, and these PTA officers, the high school seniors who only have a letter of acceptance at college (eligible too), the staff and students at schools that do not have an .edu email system (public and private schools), etc… I don’t know who Unidays is, but I hope they have many support staff to field these issues. I sense frustration mounting… like Apple needs more frustrated customers !!!
 
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Available to current and newly accepted university students, and teachers and staff at all levels.* Start by verifying your eligibility.



it does just look deeper on support. my understanding is nothing changed but verification.

K-12 is not eligible on the student level. University students, then then adults who are teachers or staff, regardless of level of institution. But not my high school sophomore daughter.

Challenge accepted.

What challenge did I propose?
 
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A verification check is fine but it is Stupid how Apple is ferrying you into some random company’s service. You must sign up for UNiDAYS to even see the discounts which means trusting some entity one is unlikely to remember they’ve even given trust to, accepting another third party TOS and Privacy Policy, and dealing with them trying to push their services/sales/ads. Mind you, they do this under the guise of ensuring that they’re “keeping check of your eligibility to purchase”, but bs it could be a one time thing at the current moment. The excuse from their TOS:



And their PP follows the dubious vague language found in Most — you bet they ensure the use of the data they collection / find / curate from other services can be utilized at your expense, shared, and/or even sold without your permission or notice. Here are just a few snippets that are open ended…



Sad to see Apple contradicting themselves and their privacy stance by forcing you into another company’s hoops, using the advantage to the consumer (a very weak discount in this case) as an excuse.
I had not read the full article when I replied, but this sounds very much like the terrible ID.me experience.
 
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It would appear that K-12 is now excluded unless you are a homeschooler.
K-12 were never eligible. The very poor marketing by Apple of the education pricing eligibility as well as the complexity of it made all parents think they were eligible. Not so!
Add to that the complete inconsistency for eligibility from Apple store to Apple store and even from one employee to another - due mostly to poor training of employees on the subject - and you get very confused and unhappy parents.
I never understood why Apple was not extending the edu pricing to EVERY student no matter the grade!
 
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I don't mind that things have to be verified now; I think that does make it more fair.

I do wish they would open up students to more than just college. Plenty of high school and middle schoolers (and even elementary students) use a device for school. My son's school does give them a device, but my daughter's school does not, even though it's required. She already had a laptop from middle school, so it isn't a huge deal, but it would be nice to see the discounts dropped down to at least high school (with verification).

What you're hoping? suggesting? asking? wishing for?

high school edu discount its currently not provided, but you'd like to see it happen correct?

that is a challenge to me to figure out a "hack" around the current system/requirements.

Its not necessarily hard, you just have to think and try a bunch of stuff to see what works, and if it does work, the entire HS student body can benefit.

I'd first-off suggest going to said HS and talk to the "Prince of Pals" (principle) and see what he/she/it/zhe/zher/zit/non-binary/"entity" is able to offer as solutions.

OR Teachers, they always love to help students help themselves.

Us hood rats call them the "Plug" the homie with connections. Gotta find them.
 
What you're hoping? suggesting? asking? wishing for?

high school edu discount its currently not provided, but you'd like to see it happen correct?

that is a challenge to me to figure out a "hack" around the current system/requirements.

Its not necessarily hard, you just have to think and try a bunch of stuff to see what works, and if it does work, the entire HS student body can benefit.

I'd first-off suggest going to said HS and talk to the "Prince of Pals" (principle) and see what he/she/it/zhe/zher/zit/non-binary/"entity" is able to offer as solutions.

OR Teachers, they always love to help students help themselves.

Us hood rats call them the "Plug" the homie with connections. Gotta find them.
not really interested in hacking the system. i’ll play by the rules.

i just do wish that apple included at least 9-12 students in eligibility.
 
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Don’t know which country you’re in, but K-12 students were NEVER eligible for discounts. Only teachers, staff and PTA/PTE officers of these schools

Technically correct, yet homeschool teachers - aka parents of homeschooled K-12 students - used to be eligible and are no longer eligible. That of course left a large loophole for all K-12 parents/students.


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not really interested in hacking the system. i’ll play by the rules.

i just do wish that apple included at least 9-12 students in eligibility.
So you're telling me a HS principle that say's "yes I can do that I am a k-12 employee and will talk to Apple to see if all my students at the school can use their student ID's for a discount" is not playing by Apples rules?

and *if* your local Apple store says yes? then what?

You're not going to use it?

I'd rather have tried and failed, than to have never tried at all.
 
Wonder how they are going to handle homeschoolers or if we are going to get the short end of the stick like always.
Isn't the educational discount meant for professional educators and college students? Homeschoolers are technically neither.
 
To get the military/vet discount, you have to verify with ID.me. ID.me suspended my account due to "suspicious activity" (either using Private Relay or that in combination with resetting a password I have not used in over a year). After several days, ID.me support finally gets back to me that they are leaving the suspension in place with no other details. My attempts to any information to verify my identity or delete my old account to create a new one have met with silence.
tl;dr - hope they don't have to go through ID.me because they are absolutely horrid and terrible to vets.
I agree. USAF vet and they won't let me have an account. Useless.
 
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Isn't the educational discount meant for professional educators and college students? Homeschoolers are technically neither.

Discount can be for whomever Apple means it to be.

They used to include homeschool educators. That is no longer the case.
 
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Apple education discounts aren't nearly as good as they were decades ago when you could get Macintosh computers with 40%+ education discounts. Granted, you could get Macintosh computers at non-education discounts too so the actual savings may not have been 40%+ but it was still a lot more than today.

Having said that, computers were still quite a bit more expensive (adjusting for inflation) back then even with the discounts.
 
Apple education discounts aren't nearly as good as they were decades ago when you could get Macintosh computers with 40%+ education discounts. Granted, you could get Macintosh computers at non-education discounts too so the actual savings may not have been 40%+ but it was still a lot more than today.

Having said that, computers were still quite a bit more expensive (adjusting for inflation) back then even with the discounts.
Wow I don’t remember 40% off… I remember getting a Mac LC that I think was only sold to education customers and was very low spec like today they sell low spec laptops or iMacs only to education for a lower price… it did have lifetime apple care phone support which maybe was standard in the early 90s? And a card in the box for which you could redeem for corporate swag like a pen or a mug or something...
 
Maybe too many people started combining education prices with discounted Apple gift cards to get a real deal and that started to annoy them (though I doubt it).

I doubt it as well as Apple isn't taking the hit on discounted gift cards and gets the float until they are used.

K-12 were never eligible. The very poor marketing by Apple of the education pricing eligibility as well as the complexity of it made all parents think they were eligible. Not so!
Add to that the complete inconsistency for eligibility from Apple store to Apple store and even from one employee to another - due mostly to poor training of employees on the subject - and you get very confused and unhappy parents.
I never understood why Apple was not extending the edu pricing to EVERY student no matter the grade!

Yea, when my kids were in HS I was able to buy at the educational price, but I guess it depend on teh store. YMMV.

I agree. USAF vet and they won't let me have an account. Useless.

I've never had a problem, but why not just let us use our DD214 or VA ID card? A lot easier and the VA ID has a picture on t so you can't share it. Or just make the Exchange percent the same as the veteran price, now hat vets can buy online from the exchange.
 
My opinions on education discounts have changed over time.

In Apple's case, I don't think it's a big deal because the price differences aren't huge, but I've noticed healthcare providers giving discounts to students as well.

I'm not sure why they should prioritize one form of investment over another. If a person is starting a small business, it's just a different type of investment than education. Both are financial investments in something you are building.

In some countries outside the US, it makes even less sense, as people not only don't have to pay to attend college but are paid to attend high school and college (only familiar with Sweden in that regard where you get a salary to attend high school and college, but I imagine it's the same in other countries).

It makes me wonder if education discounts are more of a way for companies to attract a young, valuable demographic.
Disney gives a youth and student discount too. Why?
 
My wife and I are home school teachers. We have paperwork that we filed with the appropriate authorities according to our state's laws.

From the UNiDAYS website: https://www.myunidays.com/US/en-US/support/verifying/home-schooled

I’m homeschooled can I have a UNiDAYS account?​

To be able to get a UNiDAYS account, you must be able to provide us with either an institution portal login, an institution issued personal email address or an institution issued student ID card.
If, being homeschooled, means that you do not have access to these, we are not able to continue with the verification process.

So... I tried the apple store support chat. it's about as useful as talking to a robot.
"How can I help you"
I would like help with the education discount
"Here's a link to the student discounts"
I would like to chat with a human
"what is your question related to: shopping help, an order I placed, technical support?"
Shopping help.
"Which product are you interested in?"
education discount issue
"Here's a link to the student discounts"

So, I guess you have to call. We'll just have to wait and see about ordering my wife a new MacBook (Air) when it comes out.

I called and it sounds like home school teachers' options are to either call 1-800-MY-APPLE or go into an Apple retail store. I would bring whatever documentation you have with you to support your educational status.

FWIW, the Macbook Air discounts are $100 for the base machine and 10% off upgrades.
 
I called and it sounds like home school teachers' options are to either call 1-800-MY-APPLE or go into an Apple retail store. I would bring whatever documentation you have with you to support your educational status.

FWIW, the Macbook Air discounts are $100 for the base machine and 10% off upgrades.
That makes sense, for example if you are a working or retired employee of Stanford University local to Apple Campuses, the education requirement for EDU Apple purchases includes some form of documentation or badge to show you qualify for the EDU discount. This UNiDAYS verification is way too limited in scope. Stanford encompasses multiple academic/business staff that don't fit strictly a description of teaching staff or students on the campus.
 
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I have a question: does this apply only to online purchases? Or now you’re required to register on UniDays to make a purchase on the physical Apple Store as well?

Until now, they usually checked my documentation in front of me, in the Store, and they applied the discount. It is way easier this way, because like @icymountain said above, UniDays doesn’t work, let’s say, flawlessly, and I don’t like to send my documentation online.
Unidays wouldn’t accept a couple UC Schools for the last couple years. It was only fixed a few weeks ago…
 
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