If I am not mistaken, you are eligible to purchase using the education discount if you are currently accepted into a higher education institution. I am wanting to buy a MacBook Pro for college, but do I need anything to prove my acceptance when I purchase? Is it possible for my parents to purchase it on my behalf?
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Education Discount Verification
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If you are accepted and they gave you an email account you can log onto your school email account while in the store as proof that you are in college. If your parents go in with you they can be the ones to pay
When I bought my powerbook for college I bought it in store and was able to just show them my acceptance letter + drivers license.
The in-store checks seem to be (in practice, anyway), a matter of the sales clerk's belief that you are likely a student. If you appear to be in your teens or early twenties, then they may apply it without asking. If you look to be more, ahem, mature, then you are more likely to have to ask and provide some verification.
I've never been asked for verification online, and only once in a store (that was for an iMac). All I needed was a student ID.
In the days of the Apple College Consortium, you could only get a Mac at Consortium prices directly through your school. It was worth enrolling at the local JC for a single course, the discount was pretty tremendous. My LCIII retailed for $1800USD, and I seem to remember paying about $1300USD through the ACC.
I've never been asked for verification online, and only once in a store (that was for an iMac). All I needed was a student ID.
In the days of the Apple College Consortium, you could only get a Mac at Consortium prices directly through your school. It was worth enrolling at the local JC for a single course, the discount was pretty tremendous. My LCIII retailed for $1800USD, and I seem to remember paying about $1300USD through the ACC.
When I bought my iMac I was only starting senior year of high school, but was accepted at a University. I just showed them my acceptance letter and that was all the proof that they needed.
I bought a pretty big order online this past August. Under the educational discount page, I clicked on my school's name, and placed my order. No e-mail, phone call, etc. was sent to varify that I was actually a student.
I might also addd, I went to the Apple Store the same day I wanted to purchase my macbook, apple care, and accesories, and when I asked about the educational discount, the guy did not ask me to show any proof. the only thing he said was to purchase my order online since i wanted upgrades in my macbook and would have been more money to buy it in the store than online.
Long story short, and I don't want to open a can of worms, but no-one is really stopping anyone from getting an educational discount online. If you know what you want, just put in a school's name and get your discount. Just my opinion. Why not save $20-100 on an order.. everything is getting expensive these days!
I might also addd, I went to the Apple Store the same day I wanted to purchase my macbook, apple care, and accesories, and when I asked about the educational discount, the guy did not ask me to show any proof. the only thing he said was to purchase my order online since i wanted upgrades in my macbook and would have been more money to buy it in the store than online.
Long story short, and I don't want to open a can of worms, but no-one is really stopping anyone from getting an educational discount online. If you know what you want, just put in a school's name and get your discount. Just my opinion. Why not save $20-100 on an order.. everything is getting expensive these days!
I am pretty sure it is clerk specific. They usually check, I just logged onto my schools intranet and showed them and then found out I couldn't get the software in store. That was odd. I would presume your acceptance letter would work since graduation is right around the corner and acceptance letters should already be in. Of course there is no proof you're a student there, I have a couple acceptance letters that I never actually acknowledged.
They asked for student ID when I got an iPod in-store back in '03.
Amidst all this talk about edu discounts, it's worth mentioning that if you're going to get a stock configuration and don't have to pay sales tax at Amazon.com, the edu price + tax is often higher than the Amazon price - rebate. I got my iMac last year through Amazon for this very reason.
Amidst all this talk about edu discounts, it's worth mentioning that if you're going to get a stock configuration and don't have to pay sales tax at Amazon.com, the edu price + tax is often higher than the Amazon price - rebate. I got my iMac last year through Amazon for this very reason.
When we bought my wife's grad-school ibook in Denver a few years ago, I went to the apple store to ask this very question. It went down like this:
-"So my wife and I will be coming in to the store next week to get an ibook. She'll be going back to school in the fall. Can I get an education discount in store?"
-"Yep!"
-"What do we need to bring? "
-"Student ID, or a college email address, or an acceptance letter, or a convincing argument!"
-"So my wife and I will be coming in to the store next week to get an ibook. She'll be going back to school in the fall. Can I get an education discount in store?"
-"Yep!"
-"What do we need to bring? "
-"Student ID, or a college email address, or an acceptance letter, or a convincing argument!"
You used to be able to get one. Apple stopped giving the discount around the time the 5G iPod came out. When I got my 4G, I used my mom's teacher discount. But when I got my 5G, there were no discounts.
I hate to be the one to open that can of worms, but when someone spreads false information I feel it is necessary.
Apple does do random checks because I have been checked. Twice. The first time was when I ordered a PowerBook G4, Final Cut Studio Academic, Photoshop CS2 Academic, and several other accessories and software titles. The total price was just over $4000, and Apple called and asked me to fax a copy of my student ID along with my current schedule signed by the registrar. Then I got checked again almost 2 years later when I purchased a $15 media card reader.
Long story short, falsifying your student status is fraud, no matter how you look at it. All it takes is a couple bad eggs to spoil it for everyone.
I've been in Apple stores plenty, and I have yet to see anyone not ask for student ID when someone asks for an edu discount. Even when I was getting AppleCare for my MacBook a few weeks ago, the guy asked me for a student ID after flat out asking me if I was a student or teacher anywhere. I've always been asked every time I try to get one on some hardware be it an iPod or a laptop. So has everyone else I've seen while waiting in line to purchase something. Last time I was at the store, I even saw one cashier befuddled over an out-of-state student ID..
I believe acceptance letters were acceptable as proof of being a higher ed student according to the apple policy on edu discounts...
i found that out the hard way while trying to buy my mom an iPod for mothers day
I thought Apple had discounts for all the iPods for edu, particularly cause i think the terms and conditions for online edu still mentions something like infinite discounts on iPods during the academic year... Their summer edu deals seem to involve iPods nowadays, and when I got my last iPod it was through an education thing Actually, it doesn't matter. If you want an edu discount but don't have ID on you in-store, you can go back with the appropriate ID and such to the store within a couple of days to get the discount even after initial purchase...if you lie about the discount, Apple'll bill you for the difference later.
It's fraud, but if they discover it...the worst that'll happen is you having to pay it back. Not that I condone it, because I love education discounts and they've saved me a pretty penny while buying Apple hardware and if too many people lie...not a good thing...
Here is my experience -
Ordered my iBook G4 online from home, with student discount.
The next day while using a computer in the library on my University's network, noticed that the reduction using the link accesible only from your Institution's network, which gave me a greater discount. I called up Apple support in Ireland and they applied the new discount, giving me some money back. Only at this point did they ask me to fax them proof of being a student. Which is odd as the only way to use the link is if you have accees to student computers.
However I have bought 3 ipods over the years, with Uni discount, and have never been asked for proof.
Anyhow the lesson is - the prices on the Uni network only link are greater, and YES they do ask for proof...somethimes.
Ordered my iBook G4 online from home, with student discount.
The next day while using a computer in the library on my University's network, noticed that the reduction using the link accesible only from your Institution's network, which gave me a greater discount. I called up Apple support in Ireland and they applied the new discount, giving me some money back. Only at this point did they ask me to fax them proof of being a student. Which is odd as the only way to use the link is if you have accees to student computers.
However I have bought 3 ipods over the years, with Uni discount, and have never been asked for proof.
Anyhow the lesson is - the prices on the Uni network only link are greater, and YES they do ask for proof...somethimes.
As mentioned, that was stopped recently. But I got a better one. I got such a huge discount, that my 4g 20GB iPod only cost me around 50 bucks. That was a few weeks before the 5g one came out though.
the higher education discount in the uk is fantastic, you get a 14% discount and the option to buy apple care for £58, saved me a lot of money on my mbp, which i got for £1560 instead of £2050, a saving of £490 or $971. Not a bad discount at all!
in the US, you can access and purchase from custom education stores for your university from anywhere.
In other eligible countries you can too, but I think the point was that when accessing it within a university's network, you get even more of a discount.
my experience 30 minutes ago
I ordered a white macbook 2.16 GHz for my brother who is currently attending a college in northern california. I informed the customer service of the school where he is attending and asked if my purchase can qualify for the education discount and he said "yes." I then further asked him if my brother needs to send him a copy of his student ID card and he said 'no - as all the information [he] needs for the transaction have been fulfilled' - I assumed he's referring to my brother's name and the institution he's currently attending.
The order took less than 5 minutes and my bro should receive it in 3-5 days.
Yay!!!!!
I ordered a white macbook 2.16 GHz for my brother who is currently attending a college in northern california. I informed the customer service of the school where he is attending and asked if my purchase can qualify for the education discount and he said "yes." I then further asked him if my brother needs to send him a copy of his student ID card and he said 'no - as all the information [he] needs for the transaction have been fulfilled' - I assumed he's referring to my brother's name and the institution he's currently attending.
The order took less than 5 minutes and my bro should receive it in 3-5 days.
Yay!!!!!