The semester ends in two weeks, and it’s time to start planning for summer vacations, applying for jobs and internships, and more. Regardless, make sure you take care of your grades before you get too excited. Although we all don’t have the same ideals for summer break, we all share one thing in common – we can’t prance about in the nude.
For three years, I worked at a somewhat high-end retail store, and I’ve helped many find the perfect pieces they needed to help them succeed. Many of my customers were students, or parents of students, and I was shocked that none of them knew we provided higher education discounts. Unlike most of my coworkers, I took it upon myself to either secretly apply the student discount, and then announce it afterwards, or informed my customers about the savings in hopes that they wouldn’t shy away from a good deal they didn’t know they had.
After working in retail for four years, I have a few tips and tricks up my sleeve to help you save money while searching for the perfect beach outfit, or the best blazer to wear on the first day.
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Student Discounts Exist – I was shocked to find out that discounts exist for those pursuing higher education, but it makes sense! We all pay a large sum of money every year to hopefully gain the knowledge we need to excel in our desired career fields. However, not every store provides student discounts. I’ve found out a lot of my favorite stores have discounts from the UNiDAYS app, but you can find a short list at the end of this article. If a store you’re looking for isn’t on the app, or down below, you can simply just look it up online! If not, your sales associate will be more than happy to let you know that a student discount is applicable.
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Student IDs are Required – Although these discounts exist, sales associates cannot directly give you the reduced price unless you present your student ID, or some equivalence. Other forms of ID include a university credit card with your name, or picture on it. This rule also applies to teacher discounts. Long-story short, always have your school ID on you.
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You Can Stack Your Discounts – Understanding how discounts stacked was the biggest secret of them all. Again, I wasn’t shy to inform customers about how to calculate these discounts together, and I’m happy to share them with you today! We all know all good things come with a catch, and student discounts aren’t excluded. If possible, you need to read all the terms and conditions. At almost all stores, your student discounts only apply to full priced items; however, depending on what you’re looking for, and what store you’re at, even the student discount isn’t enough to convince you to spend that much on an item.
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Here’s the big secret: Wait for promotional sales, and then you can stack your discount on top. For example, let’s say I wanted a new dress for my graduation pictures. The dress is retailed for $100, and my student discount is only 15% — this makes my dress $85 before tax. I decide I don’t want to spend that much on the dress and wait for another week. The next week, the store is having 40% off dresses. Now, I can get my $100 dress for 40% off plus my 15% student discount. The dress I want is now $51! (Here’s the math: (100 x .6) x .85).
If you receive reward points at a certain location, you can also stack your student discount on top of those and the promotional discount!
How does this work? – When the sales associate rings up an item which has a promotional sale, it rings up automatically with the reduced price. This stacking method can only apply if there is not another discount code competing with your student discount. This is a huge advantage for us shopaholics, especially for more expensive pieces such as dress pants, blazers, and jackets.
Overall, it can be quite pricey to look nice at the beach, work, or an internship, etc. There are companies that can help you find the best pieces for your occasion at a reduced price, you just have to ask. Better yet, if you’ve read this article all the way through, then you don’t have to worry!
Now for the part you all have been waiting for, here are some stores that provide student discounts:
* = online only
Apple Music – $4.99 / mo.
Spotify with Hulu and Showtime – $4.99 / mo.
Aerie – 20%
American Eagle – 20%
Under Armour – 20%
Adidas – 15%* + free shipping
Banana Republic – 15%
Cole Haan – 15%
Express – 15%
Forever 21 – 15%*
H&M – 15%
J. Crew – 15%
Kate Spade NY – 15%
Levi’s – 15%*
Lulus – 15%*
Dr. Martens – Online: 15% / In-store: 10%
ASOS – 10%*
Calvin Klein – 10%*
ColourPop – 10%*
M.A.C. Cosmetics – 10% + free shipping
Madewell – 10%
Microsoft – 10%
Puma – 10%*