Going to college for the first time can seem scary to even the bravest and toughest of individuals. However, there are tons of upsides that can be found both on and off campus. here are the perks that i’ve cashed in on and a few others that i’m definitely going to look into in my final two years.
> You get to learn! Yes, I’m being serious. For (probably) the first time in your life, you have the opportunity to learn what you actually want to learn. For some, that might not seem like a big deal, but I know it was the icing on the cake for me. Sure, you might have an advisor checking in on you to make sure that you’re taking all of your graduation requirements, but even so, YOU GET TO PICK YOUR MAJOR. When I think about that, I can’t help but wonder, “Why haven’t I gotten to pick what I want to learn all along?”
> FREE food This pertains especially to first-year students, but school organizations love giving students free food. Well… school organizations like having people show up to their events so they incentivize with food. But even so, not too shabby. What’s better than going to meet new people and coming home with a full belly that you didn’t have to pay for? Not much.
> Student discounts Most places these days offer student discounts. Stores, movie theaters, even websites like Amazon (hello, free 6 month trial of Amazon prime) offer great discounts (and sometimes freebies) to anyone with a valid (dot)edu email address or student i.d. The downside to this is that not all stores openly publicize this (i.e. Charlotte Russe, Gap, etc.). All you have to do is ask. I’d suggest asking if every store has a student discount when you go out shopping for school clothes or new school supplies. You might be surprised by how much you could save!
Here are some websites I found that share other tips with how to get the most out of your student I.D:
> 52 more things you can score with your student ID
> Places that offer student discounts
> 18 sweet deals you can get with your student ID
Check out the other posts in my Back-to-School 2015 series: