7 student discounts you should try

Cameron Lee
A student orders at the Panera in Adele H. Stamp Student Union on the University of Maryland Campus on Oct. 28, 2026. The Panera is one of a few restaurants on campus where Dining Dollars can be used as a form of payment, one way students students may cut down on out of pocket costs. (Ocean Eone/The Black Explosion)

Thriving as a University of Maryland student can be painfully expensive for many of those living and working around campus, especially amid an ever-changing economy.

In-state tuition and mandatory fees, for example, cost 6.9% more for the 2026–2027 school year than the previous term.

Combined with additional expenses like soaring gas prices that pinch commuters and grocery prices that seemingly never ease up, the costs of living as a student add up and can add stress to one’s already intense academic workload.

Thankfully, there are many solutions — some just a click away.

A number of brands like Adidas and American Eagle as well as services such as Amazon Prime and Grubhub+ offer discounts and perks to university students simply for being a student, accessed ordinarily through a verification sent to one’s “.edu” student email address.

Here are some of the biggest brands and services that provide discounts to university students.

Amazon Prime

By far one of the most handy perks offered to students who are frequent online shoppers is Amazon’s Prime for Young Adults promotion, which offers 18–24 year olds free Amazon Prime for the first six months of use then a 50% subscription discount thereafter, shrinking the ordinary price of $14.99 per month to $7.49 per month.

StudentBeans and UNiDAYS – Retail Discounts

Two websites, StudentBeans and UNiDAYS, act as a third-party for brands to verify one’s student status and allow student shoppers to tap into discounts from a variety of big-name retailers like Adidas, American Eagle, H&M, Nike, Ulta and Gymshark.

Each brand offers a different discount and not all items for sale apply, so it’s best to investigate each option case by case and evaluate the possible perks.

And when shopping at any business in person, it never hurts to ask the cashier if the shop offers an in-store student discount upon checkout.

DoorDash

DoorDash, one of the most popular food delivery service apps, offers DashPass for Students for a reduced price of $4.99 per month instead of $9.99 per month. The DashPass service offers $0 delivery fees and occasional reduced prices on particular restaurants and grocery options.

Grubhub

Similarly, the Grubhub+ service, which also offers $0 delivery fees and select deals, can be accessed by University of Maryland students for free simply by linking one’s student status. The Grubhub app can also be used to order food ahead of time at campus restaurants such as the Chick-Fil-A in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union.

Chipotle

Chipotle U, Chipotle’s student discount service, offers a free 1,000 reward point sign-on bonus, 20% faster reward point earning and special student deals. However, the program verifies student status through the ID.me service, which requires documentation proof rather than simple email verification.

Music and Movies 

Music streaming services, hyperaware of their popularity to younger audiences, offer discounts to students who verify their student status.

Apple Music offers students a discounted subscription price of $6.99 per month for students, down from $11.99 per month ordinarily. Similarly, Spotify offers a discounted student subscription, also priced at $6.99 per month. The Apple Music offer includes free access to Apple TV, while the Spotify offer includes free access to Hulu.

According to Fandango, Generation Z is the largest driver of cinema audiences amongst generational groups, so naturally, nationwide theaters offer student benefit options.

Through UNiDAYS, AMC offers an up to 46% discount on yellow ticket promotions for 2D screenings in every state except California, New York and New Jersey. With the discount, a student can purchase a yellow ticket for $10.98, two yellow tickets and one popcorn for $26, two yellow tickets, one popcorn and one drink for $32, or four yellow tickets, two popcorns and two drinks for $63.

Regal Cinemas offers a similar set of student discounts for their Regal Premiere tickets with the same state restrictions. Students can purchase one regular ticket for $10.50 or two regular tickets, one popcorn and one soda for $34.

TERPware and UMD-specific subscriptions

TERPware is the University of Maryland’s proprietary list of free software options from companies like Adobe and Microsoft Office. Adobe products, such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Illustrator, and Microsoft Office products, like Word and Office365, are free to use and install by students at this university.

Canva Pro, which offers users access to premium templates, graphics and material, is also free to University of Maryland students.

The Xfinity on Campus service allows on-campus students who live in either University of Maryland residence halls, Greek life residences or South Campus Commons and Courtyards to access live TV, movies and shows from a laptop, smartphone, tablet or smart TV.

The streaming service Kanopy provides a selection of films for free through University of Maryland Libraries, such as documentarian Frederick Wiseman’s entire body of indispensable work and classic films like “Bicycle Thieves.”

University of Maryland Libraries also offers students free access to the New York Times, which includes unlimited access to articles, and, yes, NYT Games like the crossword.