10 Student Discounts Every Pitt Student Needs to Take Advantage Of

One of the main reasons I chose the University of Pittsburgh was because I wanted a school in the middle of a city that would always have something to do. As a Pitt student, you have access to over 400 student clubs and organizations (including the Pitt Pennysavers, please sign up!) that are constantly hosting fun events and your Panther Card ID gives you access to tons of Pittsburgh museums and discounts for plays and concerts through Pitt Arts. Student discounts are also offered in lots of places you might not expect - check out our list of the top 10 below!

1. Museums, plays, concerts, dance performances and more through Pitt Arts. Pitt Arts is a program that is funded with tons of money, yet surprisingly few students actually take advantage of it. Their most utilized program is Free Visits, which includes free admission to local museums and the Conservatory. Those are all great places to check out, but the best Pitt Arts programs are only advertised through their Weekly Newsletter. Signing up for the Newsletter gives you access to free trips to plays and concerts, which also include free meals at some of the hottest Pittsburgh restaurants! These events are often worth over $50, but as a Pitt student you get to go for free. Pitt Arts also gives you discounts to other events through their Cheap Seats program.
   
2. Free bus, train, and incline rides through Port Authority. Afraid of riding the bus for the first time? Google Maps is your friend, and it can tell you what bus or train you need to take just by knowing your destination. Port Authority busses are now equipped with sensors that feed real-time tracking data to the web, so you can find out exactly when your bus will arrive. 
   
   
3. Discounted movie tickets at almost every theater. $7 tickets to AMC Waterfront are available in the William Pitt Union Ticket Office. Harris Theatre also offers $5 vintage, indie, and foreign films in its intimate Downtown location (also be sure to check out live comedy at the Arcade Comedy Theatre next door for $5). In Squirrel Hill, you can see similar films at Harris' sister theatre, the Reagent Square Theatre, for $5 as well. Also in Squirrel Hill, you can see blockbusters for $6.50 during matinee times or $8 at primetime in the historic Manor Theatre. 
   
4. Free software through Pitt's Software Download Service and discounts for online subscriptions, including Spotify and Amazon. Free software is available through your My Pitt Portal. This includes Microsoft Word, Windows 8, Lojack anti-theft, Mathematica, Minitab and more. They will also try to fix your computer for free if you have any problems. Being a student also entitles you to a half-price Spotify Premium subscription, discounts on Adobe products (Photoshop and more), and 6 months of free 2 day shipping through Amazon Student. Also, if you're buying a new computer, showing your student ID can save you hundreds of dollars.
   
5. Free and discounted fitness classes, plus access to gyms, swimming pools, and awesome massage chairs in the Stress Free Zone. Pitt's Healthy U program offers 10 week classes in dance, fitness, yoga, zumba, pilates, swimming, and more for only $15-$30, as well as free one-time classes throughout the year. You can also join free teams for intramural sports, as well as club sports if you're serious about it. The Stress Free Zone got a brand new facility in 2014 with massage chairs and mindful meditation tapes. It's a great place to check out, even if you only have 20 minutes between classes. They also offer free Yoga and Meditation classes in the Zone.
   
6. Free academic help through the Academic Resource Center, Math Assistance Center, and the Writing Center. People spend tons of money on private tutors, but as a Pitt student, you have access to one-on-one tutoring sessions for free. Even if you're doing well in your classes, it's always great to meet with somebody to get your A up to an A+. The Academic Resource Center also offers workshops in goal-setting, time management, and other things every student needs to know. The Writing Center offers help not only with papers for class, but also essays for scholarships and other publications. There are also various other tutoring services within individual departments, such as Chemistry, that your professors can tell you about. Also be sure to check out Pitt's Career Center for help with resume, cover letter, and personal statement writing, as well as free mock interviews and help finding internships. 
   
7. Discounts on restaurants including Chipotle, Qdoba, Subway, Arby's, and more. Student discounts are offered at tons of restaurants both on and off campus. Chipotle and Qdoba both offer free drinks with the purchase on an entre, and many other places offer 10% discounts. Even though it may not seem like much, it adds up. You can check our Student Discount Map to find more food discounts. If you're not sure if there's a discount, don't be afraid to ask! 
   
   
8. Discounts at clothing stores including Goodwill, H&M, and Forever 21. Goodwill offers a 10% discount at every store, and many other stores offer student discounts on certain days - be sure to sign up for their email lists to know when. If you're new to the thrift game and weary about buying from Goodwill, be sure to check out Pitt's own thrift shop, Thriftsburgh. Although they don't technically offer a discount, the store is open only to Pitt students and you can find fashionable clothes for up to 90% off retail - and they take Panther Funds! 
   
   
   
9. Discounts on tickets for Pitt sports, as well as Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates games. Student tickets to Panthers football and basketball games are a fraction of the price than tickets for normal fans. You can get season tickets football tickets for only $25, which includes a free shirt. All of the Pittsburgh sports teams also offer some sort of discount for students, and Pitt Program Council usually hosts trips to a few games every year for less than $10 or even free. 
   
10. Amazing events hosted by Pitt Program Council and other clubs, either steeply discounted or free. Pitt Program Council receives about a third of the Student Activity Fee, which comes out to hundreds of thousands of dollars, so be sure to attend as many of their events as possible. In my freshman year, I got to see Keenan Thompson, Hoodie Allen, and American Authors absolutely free. I also saw the Rainbow Alliance bring in OITNB's Laverne Cox and Campus Women's Organization bring in SNL's Sasheer Zamata, attended Black Action Society's Annual Step Show for $5, made a free bouquet on V-Day, got free food from the Vegan Carnival, went to talks by world renowned professors, saw free movies, got an airbrush tattoo and rode a zipline at Fall Fest, and got free massages and manicures at PPC's Day at the Spa. There is ALWAYS something going on! We publicize all the free events we hear about in our weekly newsletter, "What's Free This Week at Pitt?" Also be sure to pick up a copy of the Pitt News every day and follow clubs (including us!) on social media to see what's up - or just walk through the Union and there's a decent chance you'll find something cool.
    

This post was written by Angelica Walker, 2015 VP of the Pitt Pennysavers.