It's been four years since I graduated, and one thing that helped me grow in my journey was having free access to paid services as a student. You can also access these services for free.
Prerequisite
To access these free tools, you need to have one of the following:
- Documents proving that you are a student.
- A .edu email address provided by your college or university.
Some tools may require a .edu email address. If you don't have one, ask your faculty for assistance. In many universities, especially in India, .edu email addresses are not provided by default but can be obtained upon request.
Contents
- GitHub Student Developer Pack
- JetBrains Student License
- Microsoft 365/Google Suite
- Canva Pro
- Notion Plus
GitHub Student Developer Pack
The GitHub Student Developer Pack is a valuable resource that provides access to over 90 tools and services. It's the first thing you should apply for. With the pack, you can receive free domains, hosting, AI assistance, and many other tools you may need during your development journey.
Firstly for all those who just want to get into it, here's the link for it
Now let's talk about the requirements to enroll in the GitHub Developer Pack -
n order to enroll in the GitHub Developer Pack, you will need to provide proof of your current enrollment in a college or university.
You can use your college or university ID card or another document demonstrating your enrollment status. Having a university-provided email address can expedite the verification process and improve your chances of acceptance.
For detailed requirement information, please visit
JetBrains Student License
If you're not familiar with JetBrains, I believe it's the best IDE for programming. They offer specialized IDEs for different workflows and languages. For example, I use:
- PyCharm
- WebStorm
- Android Studio is built on top of the JetBrains IDE.
Firstly for all those who just want to get into it, here's the link for it
Now let us talk about the requirements to enroll in JetBrains Student License -
One method is that if you have the Github Student Pack, you can directly obtain the license without any further steps.
Otherwise, you can use your documents or university email address.
Microsoft 365/Google Suite
You can only access this when you have a university-provided email address. Also, you don't need to apply for this because you probably already have it; it's just that you didn't know about it until my second year.
Okay, now let's talk about what you get here -
Microsoft 365
- Office tools for free
- 1-2 TB One Drive Storage
- Access to other Microsoft tools
Google Suite
- Google Drive Storage up to 5TB
The benefits seem to depend on the specific plan purchased by your university, or in other words, on the amount of money the university invests in its students.
Canva Pro
Canva is a web-based graphic design platform. It's a great tool for students because it offers all premium features for free. Basically, you can do all sorts of things using Canva. My brother uses it a lot to make notes in a more graphical way.
You will need a university email address to access the premium features.
https://www.canva.com/education/students/
Notion Plus
I regret not knowing about Notion earlier because it is a powerful tool. You can use it to make documentation, take notes, manage tasks, and do many other things.
Even though the free version is sufficient, the paid plan offers additional features.
You will need a university email address to access the premium features.
Alpha Theta DeltaMember, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
These amazing tools come with paid features, but you can access them for free as a student. I encourage you to try them, and feel free to drop any questions you have about them in the comments.