Imani Vincent, Copy Editor

For some students, finding certain discounts is a livelihood that they take full advantage of, but others let the opportunity to save money pass them by.

Online services such as Netflix, Hulu, iTunes and Amazon Prime require users to have an account to unleash the offers they provide. In 1997, when Netflix started, it was mostly a movie rental service, but with the boom of the internet it was one of the first companies to take advantage of the surge.

Although you may come across websites that offer streaming services or consumer goods without an account on file, nothing can be compared to the juggernauts of Netflix, Hulu, iTunes and Spotify.

With user-friendly websites, not all companies will offer a student discount. Some may partner up with a different service causing you can pay for two services for the price of one; with a Hulu account you are offered a free Spotify account.

Psychology major Emely Baez takes full advantage of student discounts when it comes to  shopping for clothes.

“I use student discounts mostly at Forever 21, Urban Outfitter and a lot of other clothing stores because I love clothes,” Baez said. “Also, I’m a college student who looks to save money any way I can.”

Baez does not typically use student discounts for other services.

“I just pay for it flat out, but maybe I should switch over so I can start saving more,” Baez said. “It’s nice that companies try to make it more affordable for students knowing a lot of us do not work.”

Some students hesitate to take advantage of their discounts or disregard making their own account.

History major Zach Steele has always watched Netflix, but has never paid for the service himself.

“I convinced my parents to actually set up an account, but I know they will rarely use it or know how to,” Steele said. “From there it’s been a multitude of friends and past girlfriends that I ask for their password and email address and that’s how I take advantage of my ‘student discount.’”

Steele believes many people don’t have their own Netflix account, but just ciphers off the same email and password.

Criminal Justice major Marquis Simpson looks for student discounts as much as possible. He uses his student discount with Amazon Prime, Apple Music, Greyhound and Sprint.

“It’s usually like 10 percent, but from all the places I use my discount I think it adds up to a much bigger savings at the end of the day,” Simpson said.”All of these places are willing to help students save money just by waving your valid or even invalid student ID and I think it’s great.”

On the other hand, Criminal Justice major Marissa Medina does not see the point in using student discounts, especially for small purchases.

“I remember when I tried to use my student discount in a store and all it basically did was take off the tax for my purchase,” Medina said. “From that point on, I thought it was pointless to do all of that work to not really get much in return other than pennies to the dollar.”