Students get plenty of useful discount on tech products. Various services will offer you a discount when you sign up with a student email.
But how do you get a student mail?
The obvious answer is: by enrolling in a college or university. Unfortunately, this is not a workable solution for everyone. Education requires time and money, and you might have other plans for your life. Plus, not all universities will give you a .edu email address.
There are other reasons to go through creating an .edu mail address. Some universities do not offer you an address, even when you actively enroll in them. Or you might have finished your degree and the university might have disallowed your address.
Whatever the case, relax: I got you covered.
I have created this article on how to get a .edu mail address. Some methods will be free, while others will cost you money. The main difference between the two methods is time: the free method will get you a free .edu email address, but it’s going to take a couple of days, whereas buying an .edu email address is instant.
I will also show you the benefits you can enjoy by using your new mail address. Keep on reading.
Getting a .edu mail address: a step-by-step guide
The easiest way to get a .edu mail address is by applying to a college. You don’t have to enroll in a college, just applying online is enough to get your address. Here are the exact steps to complete the process:
Visit Diablo Valley College’s website
Here is the link to Diablo Valley College’s website: Steps to enroll (dvc.edu). Scroll down the page a bit and click on “Enroll as a new student”.
A new page with plenty of information about the college will appear. You don’t really care about all that, since you aren’t trying to enroll in college. You are only here for that juicy email and all the goodies that come with it.
Apply to Diablo Valley College
Scroll down until you see the various steps. Select “Step one: apply” and then follow the link to complete an online application at CCCApply.
You aren’t actually applying for college, don’t worry. You are not going to have to pay anything or reveal any sensitive information. You can provide fake information and still get your email, I’ll show you in the next step how to generate the info required to fill the form.
On the page that opens, click on “Create an account”.
Create your OpenCCC account
You will open the OpenCCC page, where you can create an OpenCCC account, which will include your student credentials. To begin the process, simply select the voice “Begin creating an account”.
There is a lot of text on this page, but you can ignore it as you don’t need to read it. All you care about is the mail address you’ll get.
The registration form will appear. I know it feels pretty long, but don’t worry, you’re almost done.
This step is self-explanator. You will need to put in various information about yourself. If you do not wish to input your real info, you can always use a fake address generator to create a person who doesn’t exist and use their data to fill in the form.
I’ve had some issues with the generated addresses. The first 3 I tried didn’t work, but eventually the 4th one worked. So don’t worry if your first attempts get rejected.
Once you’ve followed these steps, you will receive a mail from OpenCCC that will give you your CCCID, which is your global California Community Colleges ID. You don’t really care about this, it’s only a necessary step to get your .edu mail address.
Here’s how the email looks like:
Wait for the Diablo Valley College email
You’re almost there. You will receive your email with your new address within 24 business hours. There’s no proper way of predicting how long it will take, I’ve had it appear as quickly as 10 minutes, but other times it took a couple of days.
The email you’ll get will include your Student ID, your username, and your .edu email address. You are now free to use this address however you please.
Don’t worry if you don’t get your mail immediately. In the case 3 days pass without you getting your .edu mail address I advise trying again with a different mail address and fresh information.
This is the only method that I tested and that I can guarantee still works. On the internet you’ll find other guides that mention Virginia’s community colleges, but the method doesn’t work anymore.
Virginia’s community college website explicitly states that:
Note: New applicants will not receive a functional VCCS.edu email account until making a financial commitment to a VCCS institution.
So you need to actually enroll and pay up your tuition before getting your .edu address.
There is an alternative to going through this process though: you can purchase an .edu email address.
There are many sites that let you buy an original .edu address at a reasonable price, you can find them through a quick Google search.. Be careful before purchasing one though, some of them are fake and will take your money without giving you what you paid for. Always research before making purchases online, don’t trust the first source you find.
Benefits of having a .edu mail address
The reason to get a .edu mail address is the possibility of enjoying all the discounts aimed at students. Many companies have made deals with universities to let students enjoy a plethora of services at a reduced price, which is a godsend since most college students tend to not have much money.
Here is a short list of the best offers you can find nowadays:
Amazon Prime Student
A regular Amazon Prime subscription is quite expensive. A yearly subscription costs about $119, while if you prefer to pay month-by-month, you’ll have to shell out $12.99 every month. The service is valuable, but realistically not everyone people can afford it.
By signing up to Amazon Prime Students with an .edu email address, you get 6 free months of Amazon Prime, and only pay $59 for a full year subscription. You get to enjoy all of a regular subscription’s benefits too.
Music streaming services
You’ll get a juicy discount for both Spotify and Apple Music if you sign up to either service with your .edu mail address.
Spotify comes packaged with a Hulu and Showtime subscription that will only cost you $4.99 for access to all 3 services, and a 3 months’ trial included.
If you prefer Apple Music, you’re in luck: the service will only cost you $4.99 each month instead of the usual $9.99 if you have a .edu mail address.
Adobe suite
Are you a creative person, but can’t afford the price of Adobe products? Y can claim the entire creative suite of Adobe products for $19.99/months for a year. Considering that the regular price is $52.99, it’s quite the bargain. And a .edu mail address is all that you need!
This is by far the biggest bargain in the entire list. This effectively saves you $396 on a full-year subscription to the Adobe suite. This discount is hard to beat, and since you can do so much with the software, it’s an absolute bargain.
Microsoft Office 365 and G Suite
Microsoft’s suite of productivity software which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Teams, and Outlook is very useful for students too.
Whether you need to create slides for your next presentation, or write an essay, the Microsoft suite has you covered.
Office 365 is completely free when you sign up with a .edu mail address.
The same goes for G Suite, Google’s counterpart to Office 365. While Google’s products are already free, unlike Windows’, you get the added benefit of a 1TB cloud storage space on Google Drive, which is insane.
Laptops discounts
Different brands offer different discounts when purchasing a laptop as a student. For example, you can get a nice discount on your next HP Laptop by signing up to the HP Education Store. Another company that offers decent discounts for students is Apple, with its Apple Education Store.
The discounts are very nice, as they can let you get up to speed with a current-generation machine and save at least $100. Not bad.
Squarespace
By signing up through an .edu mail, you can get a full year at half price on Squarespace, which is a great deal if you want to make your own website to showcase your skills or create your portfolio. Heck, you could even run your own online store and learn a lot about sales and marketing that way.
Once again, it’s sufficient to sign up with an .edu mail address when requested to enjoy the discount.
Conclusion
You can get a lot out of a .edu mail address. You can increase your productivity through software like Office 365, you can enjoy all the music you want at a bargain price, and even get yourself a new laptop with some nice discounts.
With all these incredible offers, what are you waiting for? Get your .edu mail address today and start reaping its benefits.
