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Many paid coding, design and office tools have a free version for students. The catch is verification: each company wants proof that you are enrolled, and that proof is exactly what scammers want too. Here is what is on offer, what each company asks for, and how to share only what is needed.
What free software can you get with a college email?
These offers come from the companies' own pages. Terms change, so recheck on the day you apply.
Coding: GitHub Student Developer Pack. The GitHub Student Developer Pack is free for verified students and includes free GitHub Pro while you are a student, GitHub Copilot Student, and a JetBrains subscription renewed annually.
Coding: JetBrains IDEs directly. Under the JetBrains educational licence terms, a student studies full-time at a recognised university, college or high school, or is enrolled full-time or part-time in a vocational programme lasting at least one year, and must be at least 13. The licence runs for one year and covers non-commercial, educational use only.
Office: Microsoft Office 365 A1. Microsoft says students with an eligible education email address can get Office 365 A1 free, which gives the web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook.
Design: Figma Education plan. Figma states that Figma and FigJam are free for students, educators and schools, and that students over 13 can sign up and verify their education status themselves.
Some tools need no check at all: LibreOffice is a free, open-source office suite for anyone.
What if your school or college has no academic email?
Some schools and colleges give students no email address. That closes the Microsoft route, but not GitHub's.
GitHub's application rules cover students who are at least 13 and enrolled in a degree- or diploma-granting programme, including high school and homeschool. You upload one proof: a picture of your school ID with a current enrolment date, your class schedule, your transcript, or an enrolment verification letter. If your school gives no academic email, GitHub asks for official documentation, such as a school webpage or a letter on school letterhead, explaining that policy. One catch: once recent applicants from your school have verified with an academic email, later applicants from that school must use one too.
What to say at your college office:
"Hello, I am [name], [course and year], roll number [number]. I am applying for a free student software licence. Does the college issue student email addresses? If not, could I get a letter on college letterhead confirming my enrolment for the current year?"
How do you verify eligibility without getting scammed?
A genuine application starts on the company's own website and asks for proof of enrolment, not money or passwords. The safety rules come from CERT-In, India's cyber security agency, in its advisory on preventing online scams.
Type the address yourself. CERT-In advises entering an organisation's web address directly or using bookmarks, and avoiding links from unknown senders.
Check the page is on the company's real domain, not a lookalike.
Share the minimum. None of the proofs GitHub lists is a bank detail or a government ID number, so a form asking for your card number or Aadhaar is a warning sign.
Never share an OTP or pay a fee for free access. CERT-In reminds people that you do not need a UPI PIN or OTP to receive money.
Refuse remote help. CERT-In says never to install remote access software for anyone, and to download apps only from official app stores.
Slow down when rushed. Scammers use fear and urgency, CERT-In notes; a real student offer will still be there tomorrow.
If you do lose money, the Ministry of Home Affairs operates toll-free helpline 1930 for reporting financial fraud and getting help lodging complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, according to this Press Information Bureau release. Parents of under-18s: sit together for the upload step.
What happens to student licences when you graduate?
Microsoft notes that eligibility may be re-verified at any time, and that when the plan expires the apps drop to a view-only, limited-functionality mode and online services linked to your school email stop working. The JetBrains terms limit student use to non-commercial, educational work, so a paid freelance project needs a different licence. Before your final semester, copy your files to your own storage.
A 20-minute plan for this week
List the tools your syllabus actually uses.
Check whether your college email works. If you have none, send the request above.
Apply for the GitHub Student Developer Pack first, since it bundles a JetBrains subscription.
Put the renewal date in your calendar; under the JetBrains terms the licence lasts one year.
Install everything from the official site or app store only.
If the maths behind your coding course is the real block, the Fermi Concept Library covers every concept in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and computing, each with its own lesson.
Start with step one tonight; it decides which offers are worth claiming.
