Being a student can be expensive! I’d certainly know. (This is a cry for help. I need to get a job.) As a result, any discount I can get is always very appreciated, and I do my best to abuse the ones I’m able to. But you can’t do that if you’re unaware they exist! Therefore, I’ve compiled a list of the top 5 student perks that I find very useful so that you may also share in the joy of discounted services. Happy penny pinching everybody!
5. New York Times + Wall Street Journal
Don’t you just hate it when you’re trying to read an interesting article, but then the website says, “Actually, we need to feed our families and keep this website going, so you can’t read more than two sentences of this article unless you pay a whole dollar“? I’m exaggerating here, obviously, but the point is that I consider the whole process a larger hassle than it’s worth, and end up giving up on reading. Thanks to Vanderbilt’s gracious generosity, we no longer have to go through that ordeal! For the low, low price of zero dollars and zero cents, you can get access to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal with just your student email. How amazing!
(Small note about this one: both of these services ask you for your graduation date. I was unfortunately too honest, and only realized later that I probably could’ve gotten a few more years of the free subscription had I said I was graduating a few years later than I’m planning on. Not that I’m encouraging any sort of dishonesty, nope! Not at all! Of course not! But it’s certainly worth mentioning.)
4. Microsoft 365
Now, as great as the Google suite is, I’m really happy we have access to Microsoft Office for free. There’s a lot of features that you just can’t get from Google’s version of things, and well. As much as I hate to be that person, lots of jobs ask for proficiency in Excel and not Google Sheets. So… yeah.
3. Discounted streaming services
Specifically, the YouTube Premium + YouTube Music bundle. I’m sure some of you Spotify loyalists are clutching your pearls right now, and sure, I get it! But they don’t have any of my favorite covers, nor do they have lots of other international (cough anime cough) tracks that I really enjoy. Not to mention, I like to do stuff while listening to random YouTube videos, so having premium is quite the nice quality-of-life upgrade.
Aside from discounted music streaming, you can also get (100%) discounted show streaming. Vanderbilt actually gives us HBO Max—and Peacock apparently—for free! Simply navigate to the sign in page, click “sign in with a provider”, select XFINITY, then find XFINITY On Campus. From there, it should be pretty straightforward. Enjoy! (Or perhaps don’t if you have no self control like myself.)
2. Nashville Symphony SOUNDCHECK student tickets
The classical music enjoyer in me is showing. With code “soundcheck”, you too can get concert tickets for just $10 from the Nashville Symphony website! They have lots of different offerings, from classical masterpieces, to live movie score concerts, to family events and more. There’s something for everybody, so check it out and support the arts!
1. Nashville bus system
This is literally the only reason I was able to write my Top 5 restaurants in Nashville article (which you should totally check out if you haven’t already) and most definitely my favorite student perk. Sure, they’re often late and don’t run come by all that often at night and may be a bit scary if you’re waiting at a stop alone. Haha! But it certainly beats having to pay outrageous prices for an Uber!
Honorable mentions go to the 60% discount on Adobe Creative Cloud (still too expensive for my taste) and the 25% discount on car insurance from State Farm and Allstate (I don’t own a car). And in case you’re wondering if there’s any more perks you can use—of course! Here‘s a slightly more comprehensive list of the benefits you can get to make up all your tuition money as a Vanderbilt student. Enjoy~