Several businesses provide discounts for students, but do students use them?
College students, including University of Minnesota students, can receive student discounts on products such as food, sporting events, streaming services, electronics and University services.
Students get discounts at food places such as Domino’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A and HelloFresh. Students can also get discounts on popular music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
Sports teams also provide discounts for students, like $10 college student night for the Timberwolves, the $5 Minnesota Twins college tickets and student rush tickets for the Minnesota Wild.
Many student discounts come through apps, such as UNiDAYS or Student Beans, which list available discounts and makes it easier to register for them.
Anisah Carson is a student worker at the University Bookstore and said she knows there are some student discounts but she never uses them.
“I feel like it’s too much work,” Carson said. “I’m just like, I might as well just pay for it.”
Carson said there have been a couple of times where she was online shopping and there was a student discount that she used. Coffee shops are also a place she said she has gotten a student discount.
“I go to some coffee shops and they’re like, ‘Are you a student?’ and then I show them my U Card and I get like 10% off or something,” Carson said. “ I use it then, but not really.”
According to Carson, Spotify and Hulu are the most popular businesses that students use their student discount on, but she said she thinks the University should have more for students, even at the Bookstore.
“You don’t get a discount just for being a student, and I feel like that’s kind of dumb because a lot of people look for that, especially when they’re new students,” Carson said. “I feel like the University should have more for us.”
The University provides free services for students including free legal services, counseling and public transit.
Bayleigh Bergner, a first-year student, said she does not use any student discounts because she does not know of any.
“Maybe there could be posters up in the dorms and stuff, just because I haven’t really seen anything like that,” Bergner said.
Paola Azuaje, a third-year student, said she benefits from a lot of student discounts because they are useful.
Azuaje said she uses a student discount for her car insurance, museums, Spotify, Amazon Prime, American Eagle and Nike.
“Anything I can get on I will, because it’s a lot cheaper, so why not use it?” Azuaje said.
According to Azuaje, some student discounts are not well advertised and businesses do not let it be known unless it is asked about, which is why a lot of people do not know about them.
Kayla Mesin is a first-year student who said she is unaware of any discounts provided for students.
“I don’t know if I know of any,” Mesin said. “I know like movie theaters or something like that.”
Mesin said she thinks businesses should advertise more and food companies should have more discounts as well.
Tenley Madson said she uses the apps Student Beans and UNiDAYS to get online student discounts for many places.
“I don’t know as much [discounts] in person, for me, it’s always like online I can always find student discount codes,” Madson said.
According to Madson, students need to register with their student email for either of the apps. She added more student discounts for fast food places would be useful.
“It would be nice to have a student discount where it’s easier for students to afford to eat out,” Madson said.
