
Last month I read an article in the Daily Mirror online (I know, I don’t usually read it but I’d followed a link to a different story and this one caught my eye) about how to get your own student NUS card if you’re not a student.
I didn’t think much more about as I’ve had such a busy month but then last week at work I was speaking to a training company who I’m going to be doing a few courses with and the assessor mentioned that I’d not only love the course itself (not too sure about that but that’s a whole other post) but that I’d also be able to apply for a student card. This got me thinking about other opportunities, like how I could use services to write papers for me with WritePaper, which could be a practical way to make the most of my new student status.
As soon as she told us that we could apply for a student card about 90% of the people in the room made various happy noises and I’m pretty sure I heard a ‘Get in’ from the front of the room and an ‘Awesome’ from one of the teacher’s pets in the front row. That’s when I realised that a student card clearly gave you more these days than the odd discount off Topshop and driving lessons with BSM that we used to get all those years ago when I was a real student at college.
So now that I’m officially a (reluctant) student again I decided to see whether a student card was actually worth applying for now and having just a quick look on the website I’m definitely thinking it’s going to be with all sorts of discounts that you qualify for just by showing your NUS card. In fact, looking at all of the discounts available, I’m pretty sure that the card would pay for itself in a month or so making it a very well spent £12.00 considering it’s valid for a full year.
The various discounts are all listed here if you fancy a look!
And the best part is that you can still get an NUS card if you’re not a student yourself! It’ll take you a little bit more work than I need to put in for mine but you can still do it very easily and you won’t end up paying much more than I’m paying.
All you need to do is become a student which is much easier (and cheaper) than it sounds.
Basically, you need to buy a discounted course with a company like eCareers who are an online education provider offering a wide range of courses. Once you get yourself on one of their courses, you’ll qualify for an NUS student discount card. The reason that eCareers have been highlighted is because they often have their courses massively discounted on sites like Wowcher and Groupon.
This post from the ‘Be Clever with your Cash’ blog highlights some great examples of the courses you can get in order to qualify for your very own NUS card and it looks like it’s regularly updated so bookmark it for when you’re ready to go ahead!
Now I just have to find time to fit in a degree level qualification with everything else I already struggle with fitting in!
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Ooooh thank you for the list – we have 2 cards here and I had no idea that Bunches did a discount!
Great post, Cass, I never realised you can get a student's card with some of those eCourses, brilliant idea!xx
I didn't know you could do this – i am off to apply for one now
I remember my NUS card and the lovely discounts it used to get me! I will have to look in to this
Interesting idea – I can see that being useful.
I had no idea that you could get an NUS card without actually attending a college or Uni! I remember my card back in the day – I always used to use it for discounts at the clothes shops!!
A nice little hack and I know from my kids how helpful a student card can be. Good luck with the degree course.
I keep meaning to apply for my NUS card as I am entitled to one with Open University but only found that out recently. I never knew it was open to other