Apple holds a Back to School promotion (now known as the Higher Education Offer to avoid confusion because only open to students once they enter higher education, only the institutions and teachers) every year and offers an incentive with purchases of qualifying Apple products.
Apple has, for a long time, given away a pair of AirPods with qualifying sales, but this summer, like the summer of 2022, Apple isn’t giving away AirPods to students. Instead, Apple is offering gift cards with qualifying purchases. This change means those taking advantage of the deal get more choice about what they spent their money on, rather than being limited to headphones.
However, Apple’s decision to revert to gift cards again in the summer of 2023 came as a surprise because, when Apple kicked off its student deal in Australia, New Zealand, and other Southern Hemisphere locations in January 2023, students in those countries were able to choose a free pair of AirPods with their qualifying purchase.
Apple kicked off the Higher Education Offer for the U.S. on June 5, 2023. It will run until October 2, 2023. So if you are based in that part of the world now is the time to take advantage! Read about how to do that below.
Apple then launched the same Apple Education deal in the U.K. and Europe on July 13. This will run until October 23, 2023.
All products sold to students via Apple’s Education Store include a discount, so you will already be making a saving on any of these products. This education-focused deal is in addition to these year-long discounts Apple offers to students and education institutions on its Macs and iPads. We explain everything you need to know about getting a discount, including how much you can save as a student, and explain how to use Apple’s Education Store in this guide to shopping in the Apple Education Store.
We have advice about the Best Mac for Students and the Best iPad for Students. You may also like to read our Apple student buying guide.
What’s Apple’s Back To School offer in 2023?
The Higher Education deal runs at different times depending on which side of the earth you are based. This is due to differences in when the school year starts around the globe Apple runs the promotion at different times in different places.
Apple runs the promotion in the southern hemisphere in the first few months of the year. Hence, if you live in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Brazil) you can take advantage of Apple’s deal from early January to March.
The same deal runs between June and late September/October in North America, and between July and October in Europe and the UK.
Northern Hemisphere
In the summer of 2023, students can get gift cards with qualifying Apple purchases.
The terms and conditions of the deal are here (US)/(UK).
Qualifying purchases
Qualifying purchases for Apple’s deal in 2023 include iMac 24‑inch, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, iPad Pro 12.9‑inch, iPad Pro 11‑inch, and iPad Air.
Students can also take advantage of a reduced subscription to Apple Music with which they get access to Apple TV+ when they buy an Apple product. Read: How to get the student deal for Apple Music and free Apple TV+.
Southern Hemisphere:
When the deal kicked off earlier this year in Australia and other southern hemisphere locations the offer included free AirPods. That deal finished in March 2023.
- Free AirPods (2nd generation) worth A$219. Or equivalent saving on any AirPods or AirPods Pro.
- 20% off AppleCare+.
Visit the Apple education store in your country for more details. e.g. Apple Australia’s website. The terms and conditions of the deal in Apple Australia are here.
Apple
How to get Apple’s Back To School deal
As long as you are based in an area where Apple is running the deal at the time of your purchase, and are a student in higher education, or about to start higher education, you can qualify for Apple’s Higher Education deal and get a free pair of AirPods (or gift cards if that’s what the deal is). There are more details about who the deal applies to below.
Note that if you qualify you are able to get discounts all year round by shopping in the Apple Education Store, so you don’t need to shop during the Back to Uni deal period to get a bargain.
In the U.S. you’ll need to visit Apple’s US Education Store, but logging on from your university network may make the process easier.
In the U.K. you can visit the UK Education Store, but you will also need to verify your student or staff status with UNiDAYS.
Go to the Apple Education Store for other regions using the links below:
When you make your purchase you will be able to request the Apple Gift Card.
Read on to find out the dates the deal will run in 2023.
When is Apple’s Back to School Sale 2023?
- Apple’s Higher Education Offer started on June 5, 2023, and will run until October 2 in the U.S.
- In the U.K. and Europe, the deal is running from July 13 to October 23.
- In Australia and New Zealand the deal ran between January 18 and March 13, 2023, so similar timings are likely in 2024.
Apple Back to School Sale U.S. & Canada dates 2023
- June 5 – October 2, 2023 – U.S. CONFIRMED
In the summer of 2022, Apple offered gift cards for its Higher Education Deal. Apple also offers gift cards during its Black Friday shopping event. Students could get different gift card denominations depending on the products purchased.
This year the deal has started a bit sooner and will run a little longer in North America. In 2022 the deal ran from June 24 to September 26, while in 2021 the deal ran from June 17 to September 27. In 2020 Apple launched the U.S. sale on 15 June with an end date set for 29 September, although Apple ended up extending the end date to October 12 instead, moving it to just a day before Amazon’s Prime Day, which took place over October 13-14, 2020.
For summer 2023 students can get the following:
- Buy an iMac, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air and get a $150 Apple gift card.
- Buy a Mac mini and get a $100 Apple gift card.
- Buy a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 11-inch iPad Pro, or iPad Air and get a $100 Apple gift card.
This is similar to summer 2022 when students could:
- Buy a MacBook Air, 13-inch, 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro, or a 24-inch iMac and get a $150 Apple Gift Card.
- Buy an iPad Air (5th gen), iPad Pro 11-inch or 12.9-inch, and get a $100 Apple Gift Card.
Apple’s education discounts are available all year round. Visit the US Education Store and Canada Education Store for more information.
Apple Back to School Sale UK/Europe – dates 2023
- July 13-October 23, 2023 – CONFIRMED
For summer 2023 students can get the following:
- Buy an iMac, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air and get a £130 Apple gift card. (€150)
- Buy a Mac mini and get a £100 Apple gift card. (€100)
- Buy a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 11-inch iPad Pro, or iPad Air and get a £100 Apple gift card. (€100)
In 2022 Apple’s Higher Education Offer (aka Back to School Sale) started on July 14 in the U.K. Education Store. The sale ran until Monday, October 20. Apple U.K.’s Back to School Sale in 2020 started July 9 and lasted until October 29. Apple launched its 2019 sale on July 9, and its 2018 sale began on July 12.
For summer 2022 students could:
- Buy an iPad Air (5th gen), iPad Pro 11-inch or 12.9-inch, and get a £80 Apple Gift Card.
- Buy a MacBook Air, 13-inch, 14-inch, or 16-inch MacBook Pro, or a 24-inch iMac and get a £120 Apple Gift Card.
If this year’s deal isn’t running when you are considering making a purchase from Apple that’s no reason for disappointment: Apple’s education discounts are available all year round. Students and educators need to log in via UNiDAYS website to see the offers. Educational Store discounts are usually up to £280 for U.K. students. See Apple’s terms and conditions.
Apple Back to School Sale Australia/New Zealand/South America/South Korea 2023
- January 18 to March 13, 2023
The dates in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and South Korea correspond with the new school year there. In 2022 the deal ran from January 6-March 14, 2022. In 2021 the sale ran from January 7 to March 16. In 2023 the deal started a little later on January 18.
Who can get Apple’s Back to School deal?
If you are registered at a higher education facility (that’s post-K12 education, universities, and colleges) you will qualify for the free AirPods deal as well as Apple’s usual education discount. Employees of these institutions can also qualify. If you are a parent buying for your student offspring then you can also qualify. Here are Apple’s Ts&Cs for the U.S.
Alternatively, if you are an employee of a public or private K-12 institution/school in the U.S. or Canada you are also eligible. Apple’s Education pricing isn’t available to parents with kids at school, but a homeschool teacher can qualify.
Even when Apple isn’t running the Back to School Deal students and education institutions can still take advantage of its standard educational pricing on its Educational Pricing page (US here / UK here).
Which iPads are included in Apple’s Back to School deal?
Not every Apple product you can buy in the Education Store is included in the deal.
In 2023 Apple is including the following iPads in the deal in the U.S & U.K.:
- iPad Air (5th gen)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (4th gen)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th gen)
It’s notable that Apple doesn’t include the cheaper iPad 10th gen, or even the older 9th-gen iPad. The iPad mini is also omitted.
You can still get discounted Educational Pricing on the iPad and iPad mini if you qualify, you just won’t be able to get the freebie.
If you don’t qualify for the education pricing we have a separate guide on where to get the best deals on the iPad. For advice about which iPad to buy read: Which iPad is best for students.
Which Macs are included in Apple’s Back to School deal?
Foundry
Not every Apple product you can buy in the Education Store is included in the promotion. Apple doesn’t usually offer incentives to buy the newest Apple products, but this year it does appear to be including the new 15-inch MacBook Air in the deal.
In 2023 the following Macs are included in the deal:
- MacBook Air
- MacBook Pro
- iMac
- Mac mini
This is the first year in a while that the Mac mini has been included in the deal.
You can already take advantage of education pricing for all of those Macs.
If you don’t qualify for an education discount have a look at these round-ups of the best deals on a new Mac:
We also have this advice about which Mac is best for students.
Author: Karen Haslam, Editor
Macworld editor since 2008, Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld almost two decades ago.
Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Her focus is Mac, but she lives and breathes Apple.