Higher Education Discount (UK)

[Nick012]

I'm about to finish uni (last exam on Saturday!!!!! ) and I figured I'd take advantage of my studentness while I still can. With that in mind I followed a link posted on another forum to the higher education store and configured a Blackbook with 2gigs of ram which came to £920 or something if I remember rightly (it was certainly a 15% discount I think). Anyway, just now I logged onto the Higher education store by putting in where I go to uni and the discount seems to be a paltry 7% with the same config coming in at £995.

tl;dr Does the Apple HE store have different discounts for different unis?

 

[josepho]

I'm about to finish uni (last exam on Saturday!!!!! ) and I figured I'd take advantage of my studentness while I still can. With that in mind I followed a link posted on another forum to the higher education store and configured a Blackbook with 2gigs of ram which came to £920 or something if I remember rightly (it was certainly a 15% discount I think). Anyway, just now I logged onto the Higher education store by putting in where I go to uni and the discount seems to be a paltry 7% with the same config coming in at £995.

tl;dr Does the Apple HE store have different discounts for different unis?

Although there's nothing which explains it, there is a difference between the two discounts you were looking at.

The lower of the two is the Higher Education discount, which I suppose could apply to anyone who was at college or university, whereas the latter (with the higher discount) is only applicable to those students who are registered with the NUS through their respective institution. My university (Strathclyde University in Glasgow) recently had a vote on whether or not to remain in the NUS (National Union of Students) or not. Thankfully they voted to stay.

I have ordered from the NUS store many times and strangely have never been asked to provide any proof of being eligible (and I must have spent about £3000+: iBook, Powerbook 12", Mac mini, MacBook and MacBook Pro)...

 

[Nick012]

that would explain the NUS banner at the top of the one with the bigger discount. I knew I should have registered with the NUS but I was too lazy. If I call them will I be able to claim I'm eligible?

 

[josepho]

that would explain the NUS banner at the top of the one with the bigger discount. I knew I should have registered with the NUS but I was too lazy. If I call them will I be able to claim I'm eligible?

This should not present a problem for two reasons:

1. As far as I am aware, as long as you attend an educational institution which is a member of the NUS (whether this would be the university itself or the university's union I'm not sure), you needn't "register", per se, to be eligible for such discounts. You would have to register, however, if you wanted a card that you could use in retailers which require an actual NUS (rather than matriculation) card.

2. As I said, I have ordered lots of hardware through the NUS store and have never been asked for proof that I would be eligible. I've never even been asked for the name of my university.

All in all, you should be fine using the NUS discount.

 

[Nick012]

Awesome, thanks for your help.

 

[josepho]

Awesome, thanks for your help.

You're quite welcome.

Good luck in your exams. I'm also doing my finals, but mine extend all the way 'til the 31st. I have one tomorrow at 9.30am, so I should be in bed, but...

All the best.

 

[0098386]

I ordered my iMac from home (Edu discount) and it was ~£700. Took my PowerBook into uni the next day and joined their network, accidentally clicked the "institute" option and bam! I could have shaved a little bit off the cost.

IIRC the home edu discount was 7% off, the university one was 10%.

It's my last year at uni (big hand in tomorrow ) but I bought the iMac earlier in the year so I don't think I'm allowed anything else now

 

[josepho]

It's my last year at uni (big hand in tomorrow ) but I bought the iMac earlier in the year so I don't think I'm allowed anything else now

I'm not sure if any restrictions are enforced in the education store, at least not in the NUS store. I've bought a couple of different things in one period and no-one has said anything.

 

[jdavtz]

If you can get to a Uni-connected computer, the discount store (13%ish off) is available at http://apple.procureweb.ac.uk

If you can't, but you're a student/teacher and have a valid abc@somewhere.AC.UK email address, phone up Apple sales and tell them you're at whichever uni, can't get to a computer but have your .ac.uk email address, and in my experience (n=2) they will give you the 13%-off prices.

I'm not sure that NUS has anything to do with it (things could have changed in the last year though).

 

[josepho]

If you can get to a Uni-connected computer, the discount store (13%ish off) is available at http://apple.procureweb.ac.uk

If you can't, but you're a student/teacher and have a valid abc@somewhere.AC.UK email address, phone up Apple sales and tell them you're at whichever uni, can't get to a computer but have your .ac.uk email address, and in my experience (n=2) they will give you the 13%-off prices.

I'm not sure that NUS has anything to do with it (things could have changed in the last year though).

You're right that the NUS have nothing to do with this particular discount, but the discount which is obtainable through the NUS store is comparable (I believe about 14/15%).

I always just found that easier, as I tend to seldom use the uni computers for personal stuff.

Why there are so many different discount schemes I don't know. It seems confusing, but I suppose if you put in the time to check what's out there you might save even more money.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Like people said above, you can get the higher discount, which in my experience is usually 14%, by logging into a computer on the University's network. I find it much easier and nicer to place the order over the phone though, when I ordered my Mac Pro I simply said that I'm a University student and that I was eligible for the full HE discount. At least if you order over the phone you have someone to shout at when it gets delayed!!

 

[bohrsatom]

Do any of you know whether you can get the HE discount in the "real world" apple stores (for want of a better word!)? Do I just need to bring proof of student status? Popping through London soon and wouldn't mind picking up one of those shiny new Macbooks

 

[chex]

no you cant, you can only get the regular education dscout, which in my experience is slightly worse than the one you get online, and much worse than the HE discount.

 

[seanduncan]

How do you get into the NUS shop?

Cheers guys, all your information has been really helpfull. Just wondering how you get to shop from the NUS store? It seems that you have first register. Do they not ask for many details when you register with them?

 

[mrploddy]

YES YOU *CAN* GET THE HE DISCOUNT IN REAL WORLD APPLE STORES DO NOT BELIEVE PEOPLE WHO SAY YOU CAN'T.

Apple Store's have a retail manual behind the desk. Say you want the HE discount and show your ID and they check your university is in their book. I bought an MBP and I got EXACTLY the same price as on the HE store. You just have to specify EXACTLY the discount you want and make them get the retail manual out.

-mrploddy

 

[Kaiser Phoenix]

Saturday exams...nightmare, just had one last week.

Also make sure u look at the softwares too! Like Logic Pro 7 is a huge bargain with the HE discount, around 280 quid...shocking.

 

[bohrsatom]

YES YOU *CAN* GET THE HE DISCOUNT IN REAL WORLD APPLE STORES DO NOT BELIEVE PEOPLE WHO SAY YOU CAN'T.

Apple Store's have a retail manual behind the desk. Say you want the HE discount and show your ID and they check your university is in their book. I bought an MBP and I got EXACTLY the same price as on the HE store. You just have to specify EXACTLY the discount you want and make them get the retail manual out.

-mrploddy

I ended up buying online as I wasn't sure how all the HE stuff would work out (in terms of warranty and stuff). Thanks for the info though.

One guy in the apple store in London said you could do it, then I rang them up and the guy on the phone said it wasn't possible. Seems they don't really know themselves!

 

[jdavtz]

I ended up buying online as I wasn't sure how all the HE stuff would work out (in terms of warranty and stuff).

I think (but could be wrong) that if you buy from the HE store you get a 3 year warranty compared to the usual 1 year warranty.

 

[Nick012]

OK, so I've finished my exams and I'm still waiting for my inheritance cheque to clear. While I've been waiting I've been logging onto the HE store and configuring machines because I'm really impatient when it comes to waiting to get new stuff. However, every time I go there the prices seem to go up (they've gone up by over £100 in a couple of weeks). Whats the deal with that?

 

[mrploddy]

I think (but could be wrong) that if you buy from the HE store you get a 3 year warranty compared to the usual 1 year warranty.

Indeed the advantage of the online HE store is that you get a 3 year limited warranty with it as standard BUT *ONLY* 90 days phone support. If you want it serviced or want help you'll have to take it to an Apple Store.

HOWEVER both online AND at Apple Stores you can buy 3 year Applecar for £58.74 which to me is a nobrainer compared to the usual price BUT YOU HAVE TO BUY AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE YOU CANT BUY IT LATER

-mrploddy

 

[BBC B 32k]

wierd, but over the last couple of weeks I can not access the HE store where I got my iMac from. The link no longer works

http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/UkEdIndividualCustom?qprm=51287

Do they expire after a while? Do I have to register again? Anyone else have a link that works?

 

[Nick012]

Quick update: I finally ordered my macbook today (stock config black one with 2gb of RAM on the way from ebuyer)! The bloke I spoke to was really nice and I got the computer, Applecare and a mini-dvi to s-video converter (to watch house and lost on the TV with my housmates) for £888.
tl;dr: HE discount is awesome, If I could afford it I'd also get an Imac, given the discount, but alas, I'm poor once more.

 

[FleurDuMal]

Could someone with access be so kind as to check the price of the 23" Display with the Higher Education discount? I'm away from uni at the moment so can't access the site

PM me or reply to this post. Thanks so much

 

[xUKHCx]

Could someone with access be so kind as to check the price of the 23" Display with the Higher Education discount? I'm away from uni at the moment so can't access the site

PM me or reply to this post. Thanks so much

20" £359.55
23" £528.75
30" £1,049.28

 

[FleurDuMal]

20" £359.55
23" £528.75
30" £1,049.28

You're a star. Thnx.

A tiny last favour...could you see or anyone else check the price of the high end 15" MBP with the 200GB hard drive upgrade?