Filed under: Software, Education, Deals
Back to School: Academic software
TUAW's going Back to School! We'll be bringing you tips and reviews for students, parents and teachers right up until the bell rings in September. Read on for tips on saving money on software.
At the start of every school year, students, teachers and parents have a seemingly-endless list of "to-buy" items. It gets expensive, and software is often the last place people want to plunk down money. Fortunately, the world of academic software discounts can easily save students (and their parents) and teachers enormous sums of money.
Academic software is exactly the same as the "regular" software, but the box says "Academic License" and the price can be significantly, noticeably less. How much less? Well, in the case of Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium 3.3, the academic version goes for $594.95 (you can save an additional $200 if you buy the package with a new Mac at the Apple Higher Education Store), and the full version clocks in at a whopping $1799US. $600 vs. $1800 is a pretty big difference, especially for students.
Depending on the software title, you might have to be a college student or faculty member to take advantage of some of the best discounts, but more and more publishers are opening up the discounts to K-12 students and teachers.
Please note: While academic discounts are available in other countries, this guide is primarily aimed at US and Canadian students. All prices are in USD.
I've been buying academic software since I was in high school, and here are some of the tips/best practices I've picked up over the years ...
Apple Software
The only place you can get a discount on Apple-branded software is from the Apple Store or your college or university bookstore. The discounts for smaller items like iLife and iWork aren't very substantial (like $9US), but the price of something like Final Cut Studio is $600 cheaper in Apple's education store than the regular store.
Compare prices
Although the academic software market has become more equalized in terms of pricing, it still pays to shop around, as some stores have better discounts or bundles than others. Before buying from any online store offering academic discounts, make sure they are certified to sell the software they are selling.
I have ordered the majority of my software from Academic Superstore and JourneyEd and have had great success at both places. JourneyEd also has a European portal.
It pays to compare software, even for titles that are already academically priced; Microsoft Office 2008 Student & Teacher edition, already discounted for academia, is $10 less from Academic Superstore or JourneyEd than it is at the Apple Store.
Check with the software publisher
Although online software stores will usually still offer the best price, it pays to check with the software publisher to see if they either have their own academic discount or a special promotion. For instance, Microsoft has an entire page dedicated to its academic pricing. Some schools or institutions have special arrangements with Microsoft to provide even lower prices or better bundles. Adobe's Education Store doesn't offer lower prices than the education outlets, but they might offer a version or a specific product that the academic stores do not.
Check with your school
Although my university's bookstore was completely overpriced, some colleges or universities offer better discounts inside the store than you can find online. Also check with your school's technology department to see if there are additional discounts available. Although my school's bookstore sold Windows XP for nearly the retail price, the technology department offered licenses for $10. Also check within your school of study to see if there are other discounts or special available. I was able to get a better price on some Avid software because the College of Arts & Sciences had a pre-existing relationship with the vendor.
Have your verification data ready
To buy academic software, you have to prove that you are an eligible student or faculty member. Usually, this just requires faxing or e-mailing a copy of a student or faculty ID and a class schedule for the upcoming semester, or some other document that shows you are enrolled in school. JourneyEd and some other academic retailers are actively collaborating with colleges and universities so that you can verify your enrollment digitally, without having to fax or e-mail anything, but make sure you read the requirements and have the necessary information ready.
Buy OEM
This is a tip for anyone who needs a Windows license to use with Parallels or VMWare Fusion: buy an OEM license. The academic prices for Windows XP and Windows Vista are for upgrades only. Unfortunately, getting that to work for a virtual machine installation is more headache and trouble than it is worth. The prices, even with an academic discount, for the full version of either OS are ridiculous. You can save an enormous amount of money by purchasing the OEM System Builders license of Vista or XP. Pair that with a $40 academic copy of VMWare Fusion and you can have a full Windows setup on your Mac for under $150.
Don't forget indie developers
Although the bigger software companies (Adobe, Microsoft, Avid, Corel) offer the easiest to find discounts, a number of independent Mac developers offer educational discounts as well. TextMate offers an academic discount (I believe it is 10%) and other developers do too, so it pays to check the store for academic options.
Do you have any other tips for saving money on academic software? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ben Davis said 8:08PM on 8-14-2008
I have a program for the iPhone designed for school work, titled Assignments. You can add a recording to any assignment, organize classes and notes, and much more. This is a link directly to iTunes. http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=285043579&mt=8
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Isaac said 8:40PM on 8-14-2008
Can you stop whoring your app please?
Matthew said 8:32PM on 8-14-2008
I'm in high school, and I just got flash for $250; $450 in savings. Education programs are great - thanks for the tips!
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Fazal Majid said 8:37PM on 8-14-2008
The licensing agreement for OEM copies of Windows only allows you to install it on one physical machine, i.e. it is not transferrable. If like me you regularly build new machines and transfer the license, you are better off getting the full copy. Another benefit is that the Microsoft-supplied full version is not larded with crapware, unlike the "System Restore" CDs supplied by HP or Dell.
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Christina Warren said 9:01PM on 8-14-2008
This is true, but if you are only buying XP or Vista so that you can use it on a Mac, buying a single OEM license for $84 or $99 is a great deal.
Matt said 10:19PM on 8-14-2008
Actually, if you phone Microsoft's support and tell them that you had to repair your computer, they'll usually give you the code to enter to get it activated again.
Will said 12:17AM on 8-15-2008
Don't "build new computers." What you should be doing is upgrading the motherboard and replacing the processor. At the same, you might consider getting a new graphics card and case to go with it, and maybe a new CPU heatsink. And your power supply wasn't good enough for your upgrades, so you replaced that too. And got new RAM.
You'll probably need to talk to somebody at an Indian call center to reactivate it, but they'll just ask "Are you sure it's only installed on one computer?" I've never had them argue with me. If they ask anything more just say your motherboard failed so you replaced some parts.
Rick said 9:18PM on 8-14-2008
Thanks for the tips, Christina! By the way, are you planning on doing a post on homework management software? (Such as Schoolhouse)
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Ashwin said 9:09PM on 8-14-2008
The educational version of Adobe products cannot be used to make money. Bummer.
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Dave said 10:16PM on 8-14-2008
Fetch FTP client offers a free version for students I believe.
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Kweenie said 1:46AM on 8-16-2008
Ooh, thanks for that. We just put a new Mac in the newspaper office and we needed Fetch on this one as well. :D
TJ said 10:34PM on 8-14-2008
1st Rule: Ask. Momma always says, "If you don't ask, the answer is no." So if you ask if they offer an EDU license, and they say NO, what have you lost?! I've been surprised at the number of places that have offered them, because I asked.
Some places don't seem to advertise EDU pricing, but will offer it. Some have told me "No, we don't really offer EDU pricing, but here's a coupon code for our online store."
Also, use the demo before you buy. Be sure it's something that you want and will use. I can't tell you the number of times 30 days pass and I never think of an app again.
"A dollar not spent on something you got 'at a discount' but never used is a dollar earned."
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Paul said 11:03PM on 8-14-2008
Check your school's brick-and-mortar store, if it has one. My wife works for UC Berkeley, and the online Berkeley edu store has iWork 08 and iLife 08 for $71, but she walked into Berkeley's Scholar's Workstation and picked them up for $39 each.
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Cycomachead said 11:51PM on 8-14-2008
ALWAYS be sure to check the license agreement before buying academic versions.
Some say 'not eligible for upgrade' (Aperture, Final Cut Express, Logic Express) and the discount may not be much $20 off $200 in this case. Upgrade versions are only $99 so it may be better to spend the extra difference for a full app. But this depends upon each app and can very between different apps from the same company.
ALWAYS check more than one place. There are many online sites in addition to the vendors site. Many times campus stores have better prices, but maybe not yours. Most will accept any current ID even if it's not from that school. This is most useful if you live in a college saturated area (Los Angeles, etc.). For instance Aperture is $179 edu from apple but only $99 @ USC. Shop around, you'll be glad you started researching early (never thought that would happen! :-)).
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Christina Warren said 12:16AM on 8-15-2008
Good call!
Although I was able to pay the upgrade price for Aperture 2 -- that's a very good point. Most of the time, with stuff like Office or any of the Adobe stuff, the upgrade discount isn't worth not getting the full version at student discount, but checking the policy before buying is a VERY good idea.
John Harrold said 9:26AM on 8-15-2008
Academic software is exactly the same as the "regular" software, but the box says "Academic License" and the price can be significantly, noticeably less.
This is not necessarily true. Some times the academic version has reduced functionality. The student version of Matlab is one example.
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Adam Schoales said 9:59AM on 8-15-2008
I was not aware of that, but generally speaking the Academic versions are the same - certainly all of Apple's apps are.
But again, this is why you need to read your EULA/websites etc.
Adam Schoales said 8:57AM on 8-15-2008
Yeah just wanted to second what another user mentioned, and what Apple told me last time I spoke with them:
The Academic Versions of the Pro-Apps CANNOT be upgraded. So when that awesome FCS3 comes out you would have to pay full price.
Having said that - Final Cut Studio 1 was around for a good 3 years or so, as will FCS2 I'm sure, and then FCS3 (etc.) so get it early and enjoy it while you can.
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Dave Dillard said 9:20AM on 8-15-2008
I am a teacher and have a part time gig working at best buy, and I can say that BB has been offering (the windows version of) Office home/student for $99 recently with back to school in the air. That's down from $150 and the lowest price around. Unfortunately there has been no discount on the mac version (yet?)...
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Kurt said 1:47PM on 8-15-2008
Always check with the school. My old university currently sells CS3 Design Premium for $300 to students and they used to have a deal with Microsoft to sell XP for $5 to eliminate pirating.
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