How to Save 80% with New Adobe CS6 Student & Teacher Editions
May 3rd, 2012 Leave a comment
Let’s face it, Adobe’s normal product prices can seem expensive, especially if you’re on a student’s budget. The regular prices for Creative Suite 6 range run from $399 for Dreamweaver through Photoshop Extended for $999 and up to $2,599 for the Master Collection suite, which contains every CS6 product available – nearly twenty in all. As great and powerful as this software is, it could be hard to afford these prices when you’re in school.
Fortunately, Adobe offers deep discounts for education customers – up to 80% off. So the price for Dreamweaver becomes almost a third of what it was, $149 – while for the Master Collection it drops by over two-thirds, to $799. For some products the price cut is even larger – for example, Photoshop CS6 Extended (the top-of-the-line version) goes from $999 to $249. The top-selling CS6 Design & Web Premium suite becomes $449 instead of $1,899. And Flash Builder 4.6 falls from $249 to free – yes, FREE for students and educators…
In addition, it’s not just the Creative Suite products that are available with the savings. You can also get Lightroom 4, Acrobat X, and Photoshop or Premiere Elements 10. For example, Lightroom 4 for student photographers costs $79 instead of the normal price of $149.
All of this software is now available via instant download at the Adobe Education Store for both Windows and Mac OS. Adobe’s education discounts are available internationally as well – in other countries and currencies (Europe/euro, UK/pound, Australia/dollar), and the percentage reductions are similar.
To get these much-reduced prices, essentially all you have to do is prove your academic status at a qualified school. Most students and teachers of most grades and institutions can qualify, from elementary through university levels. Even part-time students or folks who enroll for a class at their local community college can be eligible – there is no age restriction. If you think about it, sometimes going back to school could even pay for itself in such situations.
When you purchase this software it does not come with a serial number – rather it comes with a special product code that you need to validate with your status and then Adobe will send you a permanent license key to activate and run the CS6 software. Proof of enrollment can include your school ID card, report card, transcript, tuition bill or statement, etc.
The verification and conversion all happens online so it takes only 1-2 business days. In the meantime, you’ll be able to install your product as a 30-day free trial to get started using it.
The student and teacher editions work the same as the regular versions, and the license does not expire. You can also use this software for commercial purposes if you so desire. However there remain some differences between the two with limitations of the education versions that are important to know about and understand.
You can install the software on up to two computers, and if for some reason you change your mind after buying, you can easily return the product within 30 days of purchase to Adobe.
A Word on Software Piracy – “If It Sounds Too Good To Be True…”
Some folks think they might be able to do better by trying to find and download Adobe software for free or cheap using torrents, cracks, keygens, untrusted sources, unknown sellers, and so on. The first thing to say is any electronic download from anywhere besides Adobe is illegitimate, so it’s illegal. The second thing is that it’s very risky – but not only because it’s illegal…
It’s increasingly a bad and dangerous idea because a great deal of the hacked Adobe software out there now is embedded with malware. This malware includes viruses, worms, and trojans that can do significant harm to your computer, data, and privacy (like quietly taking your sensitive information such as logins, passwords, and credit card numbers).
For example, the Asia-Pacific region has a very high piracy rate of 60%, and correspondingly the highest rate of infection in the world – nearly 70% of the computers in these countries are riddled with malware. There is a direct correlation.
In other words, the hackers that create and distribute these “free” or “cheap” versions are receiving payback in other ways (e.g., backdoors) – meaning in the end, you can do far worse damage to your computer and yourself than to Adobe. Why install unknown and untrusted software onto your valuable system? Why give a stranger control of your machine?
Further, the agencies are really cracking down now on download theft – note in a case out this week, the authorities have obtained the location and contact information on 23,000 illegal BitTorrent users and the fines paid are $3,000 per download!
Lastly, be wary of deals or bargains from eBay or Craigslist, or any seller you’ve never heard of (including on Amazon Marketplace), or anything that seems too good to be true – because it probably is… And you don’t want to end up in tears, like so many there have, after their money has left their hands permanently and the software or their computer has stopped working.
Read more details on why you shouldn’t buy from eBay, Craigslist, or Amazon Marketplace.
So all in all, it’s not something for nothing – and really the only sensible and safe choice is getting the real deal straight from Adobe at 80% off.
Here’s a helpful Student & Teacher Eligibility Guide, as well as an Adobe Education FAQ that should answer any other questions you may have.
Keep up with the latest on Adobe software — subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter or Facebook… You can also just enter your email and have new articles sent directly to your inbox.
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thanks for this, very helpful
one question i had was do the adobe student editions receive full service and support, or something reduced ?
Hi Ronnie, thank you for your question – and yes, all of the education versions definitely do receive full customer service and technical support, just like the regular versions.
Hi!
I purchased Production Premium CS5 educational version recently, and Adobe then said I can get a free upgrade to cs5.5.
I now have the cs5.5 box, unopened. Can a non-educational version install straight over an educational version?
The box says “Upgrade Version” and to visit http://www.adobe.com/go/upgradeinfo to confirm my eligibility.
The site says I must have Production Premium CS5 installed. I do, but I have an educational version.
Can it work?
Welcome Kevin, thank you for your questions. And good for you! You got a free commercial version upgrade under the CS5.5 grace period.
And yes, a full commercial upgrade can install over a student edition – for more information, read about the differences between the Adobe education versions vs. regular.
So it will work – just go right ahead and install the CS5.5 upgrade release onto the same computer and the software will take care of everything.
If you don’t want to keep the CS5 versions of the products on that machine for future use, you can actually uninstall them first – and then just enter the CS5 serial number when the CS5.5 upgrade installer asks for it.
Hope this helps!
What is the difference between CS5.5 Master Collection Student & Teacher Edition and the regular CS5.5 Master Collection Academic Edition?
I see they have different prices, and noticed that the Academic Edition is cheaper. Does this mean it is more restrictive? Will there be output restrictions or watermarks? Can it be upgraded to a commercial license for future releases? Can it be used for commercial purposes?
Thanks,
Miguel
Greetings Miguel, it’s usually the other way around – the Student & Teacher Editions are typically less expensive than the others… for example here, where the Photoshop CS5 Extended Student & Teacher Edition is $199 (80% off the regular price), whereas the Education version is $299.
As far as we are aware, the former are for students and teachers to buy for use on their own private computers, whereas the latter are for use on college-owned computers, or for where the buyer doesn’t otherwise qualify for the STE.
For all of your other questions generally, please see this article and that should answer them:
What are the Restrictions of the Adobe CS5.5 Student Editions?
@ProDesignTools
Yeah, I assumed that the Student and Teacher Editions were cheaper as well but this one is over $200 cheaper for some reason. And on the product page, it states:
“This Academic edition has the same features and capabilities of the retail version, and is shipped to you in a factory sealed retail box. However, this version is able to be sold below the retail price because of an educational discount.”
As I check the “Are you Eligible?” part of the product page, it clearly shows that only students and faculty are eligible and NOT schools so I don’t think it’s the one for college-owned computers. Also, when I go to the “Do I qualify?” link, there is a mention of:
“See if your school offers the lowest prices available for Adobe or Microsoft
Some schools with volume licensing agreements offer an extra discount for their students, teachers, faculty and staff.
Complete the form to see if your school qualifies”
Could this lower price be only for students who attend certain schools who have an agreement with Adobe? It won’t even let you put the suite into the shopping cart until you choose your school (if it even qualifies) so there appears to be something special about it while Student/Teacher Edition doesn’t have the qualification link to prohibit addition to the shopping cart.
I would love to get Master Collection for 77% ($599.99) off versus the usual 67% ($859.99) off but I don’t want to buy it and then find out it has restrictions that Student/Teacher does not. I’d hate to have to be stuck with that edition when I could have had a better one with less restrictions in the long run.
Unfortunately, everywhere I look, I only see FAQs that address the Student/Teacher Editions and not the other Academic Edition that I’m looking at.
Well Miguel, it looks like you have it figured out. There may be cases where someone could get the education software a bit cheaper through their institution if they happen to have a reseller relationship and offer the application you want. However, as you discovered there are limitations on buying it and it’s not as straightforward to get. There may be other restrictions involved but we can’t speak to those, as there is precious little documentation on the subject so it’s uncertain.
Adobe’s Student & Teacher editions are easy in that you purchase the software online and then complete a brief eligibility validation to have your serial number emailed directly to you. In the meanwhile you can either download the software or get the box shipped to you, or both. The process is simple, the differences are well-understood, and it’s what most folks do.
Hope this helps!
Thanks. The additional discount is appealing but I think I’ll just get the Student/Teacher Edition to be on the safe side. Would hate to be locked out of buying the right one because I was trying to save a bit extra.
Again, thanks for the help!
Sure Miguel, no problem and happy to help. And it sounds like that’s a safe bet. Enjoy the new release!
hi, i downloaded cs5.5 master collection from here, installed it, and when i click on the run up program, after getting to 50% extracted, it said i have not enough space and i should add privilege stuff to the folder i’m saving, now i have 63gig space in the place i’m saving it and the folder is a normal folder (i think), but every time it keeps coming up with that, please help, and oh im running windows 7 home premium :)
Hey there Josh, sometimes that happens with Adobe software when the disk you are installing to is different from the disk where you stored the downloaded files…
Try moving your files to the same disk drive you’d like to install the product to, and see if that helps – thanks.
hi, I have a macbook and an imac and was wondering can I install the adobe student version on both machines, as I would do most of my work on the imac but I need the macbook for college so I will also need cs5.5 on that.
thanks
Yes Yvonne, you should be able to install it on both of your computers…
I want to purchase a copy of Cs3 Master Suite ADOBE with college discount, etc. Where do I go?
Where do I purchase a copy of Adobe Master Suite Cs3. My computers can’t handle large programs like 5.
Hi, you’re going to have a very challenging time finding a safe and legitimate copy of that… CS3 is nearly five years old now, and Adobe hasn’t sold it since 2008.
Your best bet is really to go with Creative Suite 5 if you can, for 80% off… Double-check your computer against the CS5.5 system requirements to be sure. If you try any older version, you’re liable to run into the risks outlined at the bottom of the article above.
Hey great info, really appreciate but ? for u.. My husband is a welding instructor at a technical college, u think we could still get discount??
Really wanting to get cs5.5 but can’t afford it.. It will be my first photoshop ever lol
Hello Brandi,
Adobe doesn’t publish lists of specific schools that are eligible for the student and teacher discounts, but rather an information page with the criteria on eligibility for education purchases…
Your best bet is to review that and see if your college qualifies. Most do, but if there any question you can contact Adobe from there, to confirm. Hope it works out!
Thanks one more question.. I ne’er used photoshop – is cs5.5 hard to use, or r the instructions pretty easy??
Well, getting up to speed with Photoshop can take some time, as it’s a very sophisticated and powerful tool… You might start with Adobe’s online documentation as well as hours of free tutorials.
There are also some more free NAPP Photoshop training videos here that are excellent for beginners.
Hope these help get you going – it takes some dedication but is rewarding… Good luck with it!
Hello, I have a CS 4 Master Collection for Windows XP, Academic Edition.
Is it possible to purchase an upgrade to CS 5.5 Master Collection?
Yes, definitely Mary – right now you can go from CS4 to CS5.5.
You can’t upgrade to another education version (see why), but you can upgrade to a full commercial version of CS5.5 at the discounted upgrade price, which turns out to cost about the same from where you are.
Hurry though, as Adobe will soon be changing their Creative Suite upgrade policy to one version back… But right now, you’re good.
Can a person get an Student & Teacher version of CS5.5 Design Premium if they are enrolled in one class that finishes a Master’s degree that was begun several years earlier?
Yes, absolutely Sue. It only takes one single course to be a student, so long as you are taking it at a qualified school and can prove your status. Adobe has no specific age requirements either.
Good luck with your degree!
We have the academic version of CS 5 for my daughter to use. She needs to upgrade just InDesign. Can she buy the regular non-academic InDesign CS 5.5 upgrade and install that? There is no way to upgrade just InDesign in the Academic version, and we cannot really spend the $299 to upgrade the entire suite (plus she does not use the other items all that much).
Welcome Molly, thanks for your question. For the answer, see this response to TU, who had a similar query.
I am a home schooling parent and am looking to start my children on learning web design. This article is a great help.
On the Adobe page, they are asking for proof of purchase of curriculum. Do you know if they accept using the free curriculums on Adobe Educator Exchange (http://edexchange.adobe.com/pages/dbb70fc57a), or do I need to purchase one seperately?
If I do need to purchase one, do you have any recommendations? Thanks for any help!
Great question Will, but we’re unsure whether you’d need that. The purchase of curriculum seems to be one of the possible types of proof which would be sufficient, but you may be able to provide other types…
If it’s still uncertain, your best bet would be to just contact Adobe directly and inquire what exactly they would need from you as a homeschooler to get the 80%-off student & teacher discounts.
I am a graduate of Milwaukee Area Technical College. But slow as can be. Could I still get a discount?
I would lie to get CS5 Extended.
We definitely don’t recommend that Robert, as Adobe’s pretty good about checking – and anyway there’s no need… It’s honest and far simpler to just enroll for a good class at your local community or technical college and then become a student again that way if you aren’t already one.
If your school meets the necessary criteria (most do), then you would likely be eligible to purchase the discounted student edition software from Adobe.
I meant die
LOL… oh, OK – that makes more sense.
Hello,
I am just a little worried about the Adobe Photoshop CS5 Student/Teacher edition I just bought. My understanding is that a parent of a K-12 student can be eligible for the product; but my son is 12 and is in elementary school. I can’t seem to get Adobe to email me back and I don’t want to open the box until I make sure. I can’t seem to find the answer to my question anywhere on the net.
Thanks so much!
Hey there Mandy, it sounds like your son should be eligible and normally you shouldn’t have any problem. Students & teachers of all levels of school can qualify, it doesn’t have to be higher education.
The final step is for your son to get his status validated in order to receive his permanent serial number – just follow the instructions here.
And don’t worry about opening the box either – Adobe always has a 30-Day Refund Policy, so if you run into any snags (don’t expect any), you could return it and get your money back.
Hope this answers your question, but feel free to just post back if you have any others!
Does the CS6 Student and Teacher Edition also (hopefully) include a retired High School Teacher/Administrator along with USAF Retiree/Senior Citizen. This is a one-shot question for a 78-year-old Senior. Many thanks for the years of service you have provided through your Adobe Photoshop Software System…
My Best to All…
Bob LaCross, DBA
Greetings Bob, thank you for your question and for your service. We’d love to be able to say yes, but regrettably the education discount is extended only to current teachers and students (within six months), and there is no senior citizen price reduction on Adobe software that we are aware of.
However, if you wanted to get active again in teaching – or even being a student – at your local community college or similar institution, then you could well qualify to buy these products at the much lower prices.
Sorry the news isn’t better off the start, but thanks for asking!
Thanks for the response. It has been a pleasure through the years to have had the opportunities to utilize all the various Photoshop programs. Without question, the software has continually piqued my interest in a lifelong passion for learning! I THANK you for not only providing the means for me to continue learning into my older age ( (:=> ), but for keeping me abreast of the latest news within this endeavor I remain committed to. Your response, though not encouraging, is still a plus for me in maintaining my interests. Your response was expected and I certainly endorse all of your products with my friends and educational professionals.
Again my thanks to fellow professionals.
Bob LaCross, DBA