Apple holds a Back to School promotion every year (now known as the Higher Education Offer to avoid confusion because it’s only open to students once they enter higher education, and the institutions and teachers, not school-age children). As part of the deal, Apple offers an incentive with purchases of qualifying Apple products.
Apple’s ‘Back to School’ deal runs in various locations around the world during the summer months. The deal usually ends about a month after the first university semester begins in that country.
Apple Higher Education Offer kicked off in the U.S., Canada and India back in June and since early July has been running in the U.K. and Europe. In the U.S., U.K. and Canada Apple is giving away gift cards with qualifying product purchases. In Europe and India, customers get money off the purchase of AirPods instead.
The offer has already run in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and South Korea, where it started on January 4 and ran until March 13, 2024.
Read on to find out when Apple’s Higher Education giveaway will start where you live and what the deal is likely to include. We also explain who qualifies and how to take advantage of Apple’s education deal.
What is Apple’s Back To School offer?
- Vouchers or AirPods depending on where you are based
For a long time, Apple gave away a pair of AirPods with qualifying sales of certain Macs and iPads as part of its education promotion, but since 2022 Apple has stopped giving away AirPods in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia. Instead, Apple offers gift cards with qualifying purchases during the promotional period. Students get different gift card denominations depending on the products purchased. Not all Apple products are included in the offer.
This means those taking advantage of the deal get more choice about what they spend their money on, rather than being limited to headphones. Apple also offers gift cards during its Black Friday shopping event.
Apple doesn’t offer the same deal everywhere though. In parts of Europe and India, for the summer of 2024, the promotion allows shoppers to get discounted AirPods or Apple Pencil with qualifying purchases. There was a similar deal in January 2024 where those based in Brazil could claim free AirPods with a Mac or free Apple Pencil with their iPad purchase in January-March 2024.
This isn’t the only education-related saving Apple offers though. Apple doesn’t only offer education-related deals during the summer months. All products sold to students via Apple’s Education Store include a discount all year round, so you can always make a saving on Apple products, as long as you qualify. The summertime education-focused deal is in addition to these year-long discounts Apple offers to students and education institutions. We explain everything you need to know about getting a discount, including how much you can save as a student and how to use Apple’s Education Store, in our Guide to shopping in the Apple Education Store.
We also 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.
Apple Back to School Sale Dates 2024
The Higher Education deal runs at different times depending on which side of the Earth you are based. Apple runs the promotion at different times in different places due to differences in when the school year starts around the globe.
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 Apple’s deal ran from early January to March 13 2024.
The same deal runs between June and late September/October in North America, and between July and October in Europe and the U.K.
- U.S. & Canada: Apple’s Higher Education Offer started on June 20, 2024 and run until September 30.
- U.K. & Europe: The deal started on July 3 and will run until October 21, 2024.
- Australia, New Zealand, South America, South Korea: The deal ran between January 4 and March 13, 2024. Similar dates are likely for 2025.
- India: The deal started on June 20 and will run until September 30, 2024.
Apple Back to School Sale U.S. & Canada dates 2024
- June 20 to September 30 – CONFIRMED
The giveaway is underway in the U.S. and Canada, The promotion will run from June 20 to September 30.
This start date is a little later than in 2023 when the deal started on June 5 and ran until October 2 in North America, which was a longer period than traditionally. 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.
Apple Back to School Sale UK/Europe – dates 2024
- July 3 to October 21, 2024 – CONFIRMED
This start date is a little earlier than usual. In 2023 the deal ran from July 13 to October 23. In 2022 Apple’s Higher Education Offer (aka Back to School Sale) started on July 14 and ran until Monday, October 20. Apple U.K.’s Back to School Sale in 2020 started on July 9 and lasted until October 29. Apple launched its 2019 sale on July 9, and its 2018 sale began on July 12.
Apple Back to School Sale India – dates 2024
- June 20 to September 30 – CONFIRMED
The Higher Education offer dates correspond to those in the U.S. and Canada.
Apple Back to School Sale Australia/New Zealand/South America/South Korea 2024
- January 4 to March 13, 2024 – CONFIRMED
The dates in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and South Korea correspond with the new school year there. In 2023 the deal ran from January 18 to March 13. In 2022 the deal ran from January 6 to 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.
What is Apple’s education offer in 2024?
Apple tends to either give away vouchers or AirPods with qualifying purchases. Read on to find out what Apple’s Back To School promotion is where you are.
U.S. & Canada
In the summer of 2024, U.S. and Canadian students can get gift cards with qualifying Apple purchases.
For summer 2024 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 an 11-inch or 13-inch M4 iPad Pro or an 11-inch or 13-inch M2 iPad Air and get a $100 Apple gift card.
The terms and conditions of the deal are here: U.S.
Apple’s education discounts are available all year round. Visit the U.S. Education Store and Canada Education Store for more information.
U.K.
In summer 2024 Apple is offering the same deal as the U.S. and Canada in the U.K.
For summer 2024 students can get the following:
- Buy an iMac, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air and get a £120 Apple gift card.
- Buy a Mac mini and get a £80 Apple gift card.
- Buy an 11-inch or 13-inch M4 iPad Pro or an 11-inch or 13-inch M2 iPad Air and get a £80 Apple gift card.
The voucher values are lower than summer 2023 when students could get the following with qualifying Apple purchases.
- Buy an iMac, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air and get a £130 gift card.
- Buy a Mac mini and get a £100 gift card.
- Buy a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 11-inch iPad Pro, or iPad Air and get a £100 Apple gift card.
The terms and conditions of the deal are here: U.K.
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.
Europe
In (most of) Europe in 2024 Apple will give shoppers a “promotional discount” on a pair AirPods or Apple Pencil with qualifying product purchases.
- Buy an iMac, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air and get €199 off AirPods 3rd gen, AirPods Pro or AirPods Max.
- Buy a Mac mini and get €149 off AirPods 2nd gen, AirPods 3rd gen, AirPods Pro or AirPods Max.
- Buy an 11-inch or 13-inch M4 iPad Pro or an 11-inch or 13-inch M2 iPad Air and get €149 off an Apple Pencil Pro or €89 off an Apple Pencil USB-C.
French details here. German details here. Spanish details here. Italian details here.
In the Netherlands Apple is giving away gift cards. Details here.
India
In India the Back to University deal is the same as in Europe: AirPods or Apple Pencil discounts.
- Buy an iMac, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air and get ₹19900 off AirPods 3rd gen, AirPods Pro or AirPods Max.
- Buy a Mac mini and get ₹12900 off AirPods 2nd gen, AirPods 3rd gen, AirPods Pro or AirPods Max.
- Buy an 11-inch or 13-inch M4 iPad Pro or an 11-inch or 13-inch M2 iPad Air and get ₹11900 off an Apple Pencil Pro or ₹7900 off an Apple Pencil USB-C.
Details here.
Australia and New Zealand
When the deal kicked off in Australia in early 2024 the offer included free Apple Gift Cards. This deal finished on March 13, 2024.
Students could get a free gift card with the following purchases:
- AU$240 with a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or iMac
- AU$160 with a Mac mini
- AU$160 with an iPad Air or iPad Pro
- AU$120 with an iPad 10th Gen
- 20% off AppleCare+ is also available
Visit Apple Australia’s website for more information. The terms and conditions of the deal in Apple Australia are here.
There were similar gift voucher savings in New Zealand.
Brazil and South Korea
In Brazil and South Korea Apple gave away AirPods with Mac purchases and Apple Pencil with iPad purchases from January to March 13, 2024.
Apple
Which products are part of Apple’s Education offer?
Qualifying purchases for Apple’s deal in 2024 included: iMac 24‑inch, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, iPad Pro 11- and 13‑inch, iPad Air 11‑ and 13-inch. (In Australia in early 2024 the iPad 10th generation was included, but this wasn’t the case later in 2024).
In summer 2023 qualifying purchases included: 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+.
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 gift cards with your purchase. 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. You can also get discounts on other products not included in the offer (although there is no education discount for the iPhone).
In the U.S. you need to visit Apple’s U.S. Education Store, but logging on from your university network may make the process easier.
In the U.K. you can visit the U.K. 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 or discount depending on your location.
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 (U.S. here / U.K. here).
How much can you save with Apple’s education pricing?
Students can save up to $200/£220 on Macs and up to $100/£100 on iPads at any time of the year. More here: How to get an Apple student discount at Apple’s Education Store.
Which iPads are included in Apple’s Back to School deal?
Macwelt/Apple/Amazon
Not every Apple product you can buy in the Education Store is included in the deal.
In 2023 Apple included the following iPads in the deal in the U.S & U.K.:
- iPad Air, M2, 11-inch or 13-inch
- iPad Pro, M4, 11-inch or 13-inch
It’s notable that Apple doesn’t include the cheaper iPad 10th gen in the 2024 deal (although it did in Australia earlier in the year). 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 2024 the following Macs were included in the deal:
- MacBook Air
- MacBook Pro
- iMac
- Mac mini
This is the same as in 2023, which was the first year in a while that the Mac mini had 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, Managing Editor, Macworld
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 more than two decades ago. Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Having edited the U.K. print and online editions of Macworld for many years, more recently her focus has been on SEO and evergreen content as well as product recommendations and buying advice.