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edu discount

D

dudewheresmymac

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 28, 2004
90
0
im a high-school student and i want a mac.. i am saving for a 12" pb (omg its soo sexy) and will have by the end of the summer(regular price) however i would like some spending money for the summer and thought of the edu discount however it is for college students only.. my question for you all is whether apple really checks for this stuff and if i will be able to get the discount?

thanks in advance
 
There are varying opinions on how much Apple checks this. However. the discount is only for college students/faculty. There are also discounts for government workers. Is either of your parents in these categories? They can legitimately get the discount and buy the computer for you (1 per year).
 
you can get the discount in high school as well. When my brother got his mini he got it though his high school. theres an option for it in the educational section
 
While searching the EDU sdiscount page it looks as if the k-12 sector only allows purchases from faculty and school board members. What you might want to do is see if some teacher from your school would be willing to purchase the mac for you. Not sure if they would but you never know.
 
Calvinatir said:
you can get the discount in high school as well. When my brother got his mini he got it though his high school. theres an option for it in the educational section
Click to expand...

You are very incorrect, and your brother is very lucky that he wasn't one of the people that Apple randomly checks. High school students can not use the education discount.

From the Apple Online Store:
The following education individuals are eligible to purchase through the Apple Store for Education individuals:

Employee of public or private K-12 institutions in the United States.
School Board members who are currently serving as elected or appointed members.
PTA or PTO executives currently serving as elected or appointed officers.
Qualified homeschools.
Employee of a public or private, profit or non-profit preschool.

As for how strict Apple is on the discount, they do perform random checks. I have had to fax Apple a copy of my university ID twice, and once they required me to send a copy of my tuition bill proving I payed and am enrolled.
 
dudewheresmymac said:
lets say that i was caught... what would happen to me?
Click to expand...

Presumably they'd do nothing more than cancel your order... I don't think they could do much else. If you got the computer and then they found out, they might threaten you with legal action... theft by deception or something? Maybe I'm just paranoid :confused:
 
I am a high school student and I have bought now three macs from the apple store online, selectingn individual and then my school. my school doesn't even use macs, but there was no place where it was checked to see if I was a student or anything I know at the retail store they are strict on that you must be a teacher, but the discounts make macs so much more of a reasonable price apple needs to sell them at that price they obviously can and do. I love it you save around $200 or so. I was worried about it a little that technically I am not allowed, but I have had my computer for over a year and I have not heard anything from my school or apple. they don't care that much I guess
 
dudewheresmymac said:
lets say that i was caught... what would happen to me?
Click to expand...

If you are caught, Apple will charge you the full price, and I've heard that they may take legal action if you don't pay. Legally, they are within their rights to do so because sign an electronic agreement.
 
What about rebuilt/refurb?

Hey,
Just a thought, but could you get a powerbook cheaper and legitimately if you bought it 3rd party rebuilt/refurbished? It may be worth checking into.
Best Regards
Tani
 
snofseth said:
I am a high school student and I have bought now three macs from the apple store online, selectingn individual and then my school. my school doesn't even use macs, but there was no place where it was checked to see if I was a student or anything I know at the retail store they are strict on that you must be a teacher, but the discounts make macs so much more of a reasonable price apple needs to sell them at that price they obviously can and do. I love it you save around $200 or so. I was worried about it a little that technically I am not allowed, but I have had my computer for over a year and I have not heard anything from my school or apple. they don't care that much I guess
Click to expand...


You mean that there isnt a page that asks for your info and stuff like that... that doesnt make any sense
 
my girlfriend purchased her iBook through apple.com (she is a legitimate college student) with EDU discount, and they never verified her enrollment.
Also, a friend of mine purchased Logic Audio 4 Platinum with EDU Discount (saved about $500), he isnt a legitimate student.. but the purchase went through as they did not verify his enrollment either.

use that information however you will... but be warned that if you do purchase from the Educational page, and you are not a student at a college or university that it IS fraud.

if you have a heavy conscience about the idea, befriend a college student and give him a 'Ten'er for helping you out.
 
Well, it seems like I must be the one guy that Apple always checks. I've been asked to prove I was a college student 3 times, and I bet that I'll be checked the next time I make a purchase.

To those who have used the discount even though you don't qualify:
Please stop. Don't ruin this great program for everyone who is legit. Apple doesn't have to offer an education discount, but they do. It's quite possible that Apple could realize that they are being scammed and discontinue the program. Then, the people who were committing fraud would be the first to claim how unfair it was that Apple stopped the program. Please, do the right thing.

Hopefully, those using the program illegitimately will get caught, and I hope Apple takes legal action against you.
 
RBMaraman said:
Well, it seems like I must be the one guy that Apple always checks. I've been asked to prove I was a college student 3 times, and I bet that I'll be checked the next time I make a purchase.

To those who have used the discount even though you don't qualify:
Please stop. Don't ruin this great program for everyone who is legit. Apple doesn't have to offer an education discount, but they do. It's quite possible that Apple could realize that they are being scammed and discontinue the program. Then, the people who were committing fraud would be the first to claim how unfair it was that Apple stopped the program. Please, do the right thing.

Hopefully, those using the program illegitimately will get caught, and I hope Apple takes legal action against you.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. Also, they DO get you if they ask for proof and you fail to provide it. I bought my PowerBook several years ago on the edu discount (legitimately) and took it on vacation. While I was gone, they sent a letter asking me to fax documentation. It got lost in the shuffle, and I didn't fax it to them. They simply charged the difference to the card that I had purchased it on. They were very nice about it, and reversed it right away when I called them about it (and faxed them the documentation) so I have no ill will towards them (it was my fault of course for the chaos that resulted in not finding the letter) But just so you know, they WILL charge you the difference if they check you and you can't prove it.
Now, if you paid in some way other than a credit card, I don't know how they would do it... I assume they would just bill you for it, and it's up to you to keep from being a criminal. (and from ruining your credit)
Now, in this instance, since the original poster is in high school, I would assume they are also underage, so I am not sure if it could go on their credit history.. on the face of it that sounds good, except it means the only recourse is then to charge them with postal fraud.. which is (just like it sounds) a federal offense. Admissions boards at colleges really don't like applicants with federal rap sheets.
 
i wouldnt try to purchase it with an education discount that you are not entitled to. as other people have suggested, you could look at a refurbished powerbook (which basically is the same as getting a new one with regards to warranty and that as far as i know). it comes down to a matter of ethics whether you think its ok for someone who is eligible to purchase it for you.

the reason apple offers a discount to higher education students (college/university) and not high school students, is because the higher ed students are much more likely to be living away from home, and trying to work a job (or multiple jobs) along with their studies to support themselves. this is not to say that high students have any more money, just that they are unlikely to be having to pay for rent, bills, etc out of what money they earn.
 
ou_phidelt said:
not to mentiont that if they catch you and charge you, you can kiss your financial aid for college good bye.
Click to expand...

Well, I agree that the person should not knowingly try to abuse the system, but all this talk about them charging the guy with fraud is quite honestly a joke.

If he purchases it as a high school student, the most he's going to have to do is say, oh, I thought it applied to high school students. They might wrestle him back for the money, but that's another matter. They're not going to send the FBI after him or anything of that matter.

That said, as others have mentioned, you should purchase a refurbished unit from Apple. First, it's cheaper than the edu discount. Second, you can buy it without an edu discount. And finally it comes with the same warranty.

Just MHO.
 
If you are going to be in college, usually that is acceptable. Just give them a letter of acceptance or pre-registration or something. If they ask for proof afterwards, and you don't give it to them, they will charge the full amount.

Otherwise just get a refurb from places like PowerMax (they're in OR, no tax, low shipping) or Smalldog, or Apple themselves. Use the savings on AppleCare. Cheaper for students and at places like Macsolutions.

Plus, there's always the iBook. Or waiting for an update. There may be one by the time you buy, and "older" models would be slightly discounted.
 
Okay how about within one apple educational pricing year you purchase a computer at an apple retail store at the educational price and then within the same year you purchase another computer online at the educational discount?

Is this possible?
 
intrepkid21 said:
Okay how about within one apple educational pricing year you purchase a computer at an apple retail store at the educational price and then within the same year you purchase another computer online at the educational discount?

Is this possible?
Click to expand...

Not legally. The agreement states that you may purchase only one computer per academic year. It doesn't matter if you purchase it from an Apple retail store or the Apple online store. An individual can only purchase one computer per year.
 
thanks for explaining this to my guys... my concience is getting to me and i have decided that i will either save some more to get the retail or get a refurb.
 
primalman said:
just FYI, the refurbs from apple usually are cheaper than the EDU discount anyway.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think actually right now they are selling below the ADC discount.
 
tsk said:
Well, I agree that the person should not knowingly try to abuse the system, but all this talk about them charging the guy with fraud is quite honestly a joke.

If he purchases it as a high school student, the most he's going to have to do is say, oh, I thought it applied to high school students. They might wrestle him back for the money, but that's another matter. They're not going to send the FBI after him or anything of that matter.
Click to expand...
I am not so sure about that. I know that on the face of it, it seems absurd. However, with the litigious society we live in, and with Apple being in the center of litigation Hell (California) it might come down to a matter of precedent. If they don't pursue every known abuse of their policy, they might jeopardize their ability to pursue any abuse. Sort of like copyright law. I can easily see a group of people abusing the system en masse and then getting a weasel of a lawyer to get them off because Apple didn't pursue Joe Highschool. ("They're picking on us!")
Just an uneducated bit of speculation.
(I am not a lawyer. Do not punch, spindle, or mutilate. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. If she says she's 19, check her ID.)
 
I bought my first powerbook last september online, i am a college student, but my brother bought it for me in his credit card, under his name. They didnt verify anything online except the online agreement. If you buy it in the stores it different, because later my brother bought a 17incher for a friend and went to the apple store and they asked him for ID, and he provided, but the thing is that we knew that you can only purchase one powerbook and we even asked that if it would be a problem if we bough 2 computers in a year with the EDU discount, the guy sorta gaves us a DONT WORRY ABOUT, THEY DONT CHECK look and told us, you can buy as many as you want for a year. And this was the manager of the store! We knew that the edu discount is for only one comp but we bought it anyways. No problems since.

My theory behind this is that APPLE doesnt care because i think they are getting this money back from the government in the end when they do the taxes! Sure i think they would do some random checks, because i think they would need some proof if the government audit them.

And check this out, one of my friends sent us a link for purchasing a 17incher through the developers program through the online store and once again no verification, we bought it for like 2,100, thats like 1000 dollars savings, and the order went through and the credit card was charge but we cancelled it at the last minute because it was for a friend and he didnt want it no more.
 
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