The summer fantasy ends for elementary students once they see the ‘Back to School’ signs. In their eyes, pool days, eating ice cream for lunch, and sleeping whenever is stripped away once these signs appear in stores.  

While it fills younger students with dread, college students view these signs out of excitement. This entails big discounts for school materials before the fall semester begins. While K-12 students often disregard these discounts, they are crucial for undergraduates.   

The new semester means a new bombardment of things to pay for. Having to scrap for money to be able to afford the new semester can be stressful. While the broke college student (eating ramen or a combination of leftovers that were left in the fridge for dinner) is often a joking stereotype, many people face.  

Unfortunately, the extreme costs that prevent some from completing their higher education or in some cases lead to lifelong debt. Whether it’s savings at the checkout or special discounts, there are a variety of companies that provide resources for students to take advantage of. 

From Target to Walmart to even websites like UNiDAYS, there are opportunities for saving hundreds of dollars during ‘Back to School’ season.  

Outside of the ‘Back to School’ season, regular prices can be detrimental to an undergraduate’s bank account.  

Noe Valdez, Nursing Major at UTEP, explains how he has only used the special prices for entertainment purposes. 

“The only college discount I use is Spotify. It’s not bad for $5, it also comes with Hulu and Showtime,” said Valdez. 

While entertainment can help students through finals season, is there more that college students should be able to take advantage of? Necessities such as laundry detergent, notebooks, and clothing can be bought with a markdown for undergraduates. 

A special education major at UTEP, Gabriella Zambrano mentions how they discovered discounted savings and tutoring from her classmates.  

“I don’t really see any companies advertising discounts unless its for the start of the school year,” Zambrano said. “I mainly use my status of being a college student for discounts such as Spotify, and 240 tutoring for my certification exams which got me half off.”  

But do these discounts compensate for the cost of tuition? 

Melissa Garcia, biology major at UTEP, stated that with the increasing prices, these reductions do not suffice. 

“I do not think discounts compensate for the price of attending,” Garcia said. “It usually just takes off 20% or less, and college prices increase every year.”  

For students like Zambrano and Garcia they only knew of these cut prices because of fellow classmates.  

“I don’t think a lot of companies advertise college discounts or make them well known,” Garcia said. “It’s usually something you hear from friends/classmates that make you ware of the discounts you receive.” Some students say failure to advertise these discounts leads these companies to rob students of savings that can help. 

While 20 percent may seem futile in some purchases, these prices can end up saving people who are struggling. Companies hiding these discounts from the public eye ponder the question to some if they do this for their own reasons. As the fall semester is nearing, students should research and take advantage of companies such as Allstate, Door Dash, Apple, Converse, Penske, and many others that can help save money.

Sofia Sierra is a contributor and may be reached at [email protected]