How to Apply for a Student ID Card Online?

Being a student is quite expensive. Whether it’s food, textbooks, or transportation, every penny adds to the expense list. That’s where student discounts come in! It’s a total game-changer for the students. Even 5% or 10% can make a huge difference at the end of the year.

These little discounts can save a good amount of money for students. For this reason, students always look for discounts everywhere, just to save some money. But is it possible to get student discounts without an ID card? No, right? So, you must need a student ID card to get the discounts.

So today, I will talk about how to apply for a student ID card online. Let’s get started!

What Are the Benefits of a Student ID Card?

You might be wondering if there are any more benefits to getting a student ID card. There are many benefits of having a student ID card. Here are the most notable benefits-

• Buying medicine like paracetamol and ibuprofen.
• Entertainment discounts on pubs, clubs, and some rides in amusement parks.
• You will get an entry to some festivals that have an age bar.
• Buying PEGI 18 computer games.
• Get travel discounts on buses, metros, and even flights.
• It allows one to commute on public transportation with half fare or free in some cases.
• It can get you discounts and advantages in off-campus housing.
• Student ID can also help in opening a bank account.

How Many Types of Student IDs Are There?

There are many types of cards available for students. Most commonly used student IDs in the UK are university or college issued ID and International Student ID card (ISIC).Morever, student ID cards that, for instance, colleges or universities issue directly to their respective students are the obvious ones. Students can’t access various university facilities.

However,you can also apply for ID cards from other organisations. These come in the form of discount cards or travel cards. Regardless of which card they all serve a common purpose.These cards allow the students to avail discounts for products and services from various places. Before we talk about the discount and travel cards, let’s discuss the university or college-issued ID cards.

Student ID Cards of Various Colleges & Universities

After checking multiple websites of the UK’s top-ranked colleges and universities and how they issue student id cards, they all seem to follow a common procedure. I’m going to list them all for your convenience.

• University of Southampton
• Cardiff University
• Birkbeck, University of London
• The University of the West of England, Bristol
• University of Edinburgh
• University of West London
• Glasgow Caledonian University
• University of Birmingham
• Imperial College London
• Robert Gordon University
• Manchester Metropolitan University

As I said earlier, all these universities mostly follow some common procedures for getting new or replacement cards. The terms of use also seem to follow some standard rules.

How to Get a Student ID Card Online?

• Complete online enrolment: To initiate the process of making your ID card, you have to enrol yourself on the university website server. After the enrolment process, the university will provide you with your unique university ID and password.
• Have your photo ready: You’ll need to upload a recent formal photo of yourself which will be used in your ID card. In most cases, your entire face, as well as your upper shoulder, has to be clearly visible. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, take them off before you take your photo.
• Have a photo identification document ready: You’ll also need to have any photo documentation ready, too. Most universities will ask for one when you make a student ID card. Your passport, driving license, birth certificate or even a valid visa can work as a photo identification document.
• Apply for a student ID card: After logging in to the university website with your university-issued ID and password, you can apply for a student ID card.
• Receiving your student ID card: After a week or two, you’ll get your student ID card. Make sure you provide a valid address and double-check it. Otherwise, your card will never arrive.

What Are the Terms of Using Student Identification Card?

• Your student ID card is your primary identifier on the university campus area. It’s like your own personalised key. So you always need to carry it along when you’re at the university. Otherwise, you won’t be able to access the university academic buildings, library, photocopier machines, gym, swimming pool or other university facilities.
• Your student ID card is for your personal use only. Don’t let others use it to take services from the university. It could get you into some serious trouble.
• Usually, only one student ID card can be made. So, if you apply for and get a replacement card, your previous card will be rendered invalid.
• In case of loss or theft of the card, let the university authority be aware of it immediately.

How to Replace the Student ID?

Almost all the universities that I checked will replace your card, the one you have got for free. But this is only true for the first time. After that, they’ll charge you for the replacement. The amount usually hovers around 10-15£. But it varies from institution to institution.

Note that the replacement procedures may differ depending on the circumstances- loss, damage, theft or otherwise.

So, what if you’re a student, but you still don’t have a student ID card yet? Or, if you’re a student, should you consider getting other student ID cards?

Well, in both of these cases, the answer is yes.Sometimes, university ID cards alone won’t get you discounts. In those circumstances getting cards from organisations like Totum or ISIC will be necessary.

Like we discussed earlier, student ID cards can save you a lot of money. What’s more, is that some places may not recognise your university-issued student ID card. You may encounter this kind of issue if you frequently travel around Europe.

In cases like these, having a student ID card that is recognised internationally will be your best bet. In the following section, we’re going to discuss some such student ID cards in brief.

Student Discount Cards Every Student Should Have

Cards like Totum and ISIC provide hundreds of benefits for students who want to save money. These are like student clubs that are internationally recognised. Many places around Europe may not be familiar with your university, but they’ll still offer you discounts if you have such student discount cards.

Plus, if you’re travelling abroad, most of the time you’ll have to carry your passport or something as proof of your identity. It’s potentially dangerous to be travelling around with your passport as it’s a very important document. If you lose it, getting it back or making a new one would be a tough call. So these discount cards will not only act as your identifier but also get you student discounts abroad.

Let’s introduce you to some of these cards that are broadly recognised.

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ISIC & IYTC

“If you’re a full-time student at school, college or university and aged 12 or over, you can apply for a student card with International Student Identity Card or ISIC. ISIC offers both virtual and plastic cards, allowing students around the world to instantly prove their official student status and access over 150,000 student discounts and offers worldwide.”

This is a direct quote from the ISIC website. ISIC is endorsed by organisations such as UNESCO, the EU Council on Culture, and the Andean Community of Nations. So it’s a very widely recognised entity. It’s perfect for students who are travelling or studying overseas. They operate in 130 countries, and they offer discounts on accommodation to transport, entertainment to food.

For example,an ISIC card will get you 7-20% off Dell products and up to 40% off on HP products. Emirates offers a 15% discount, Domino’s offers a 25% discount on the total bill, and PlayStation offers a 15% discount on their gift cards. Thus, you can get a free ISIC card depending on your location and if you are affiliated with a student organisation associated with ISIC.

If you’re 30 years old or younger, but you’re a full-time or a part-time student, you can apply for the International Youth Travel Card or IYTC. You’ll still get most of the benefits of an ISIC card, but some IYTC card issuers have reduced the eligibility for the card down to students aged 26 years because many airlines don’t offer student discounts for people over 26.

Getting an ISIC card

You’ll be eligible for an ISIC card if-

• you’re a full-time student
• aged 12 and over. No upper age limits
• you have proof of your student status
• proof of age (In the case of an IYTC card)

Getting an ISIC card is just as easy as getting any student ID card from the university. You can get your card through their online system or through their local card issuers. Just apply with your documents, pay for the card through PayPal or your credit card, and you’ll get your card within a week or two.

Cost: The price of a virtual ISIC card is £12. It’s £15 for a plastic card.

Validity: 12 months from the date of issue.

TOTUM card (NUS extra)

TOTUM cards are endorsed by the Home Office, Trading Standards, the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Their cards also come with The Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) logo and hologram. This is an officially recognised logo in the UK. So TOTUM cards can act like a passport or a driving licence to confirm your name and age.

You can enjoy 350 discounts in various places if you have a TOTUM card.

They have two versions of their card. An over-eighteen version and a sixteen-seventeen version. Naturally, anyone carrying the over-eighteen version of the card will have access to places and products that someone aged lower will not have.

Getting a TOTUM card: You’ll need the following when you apply for a TOTUM card.

• Your passport or UK driving licence
• Passport-style photo

That’s all. You can directly apply for a card via their app. You’ll get your card in 10-15 working days once the application procedure is complete.

Since TOTUM is also endorsed by the National Union of Students (NUS), student members also get a 12-month ISIC (International Student Identity Card) digital card as part of their bundle.

Cost: The price of a TOTUM card is £14.99.

Validity: 12 months from the date of issue.

Lead Academy Student ID Card

If you get a student ID card from Lead Academy, not only will you be recognised as a student of Lead Academy, but also enjoy some enticing discount offers from dozens of brands. You can see the list of brands that’ll offer you discounts by student id card.

For example, Nord VPN will offer you a massive 73% discount if you have an LA card.

However, note that there are some lucrative discount offers from some brands that the LA website hasn’t listed yet.

For instance, Beer 52 will give you a case of 8craft beers with a magazine and a snack for only £5.95. Discounts are also available from brands like CoastBeer, VirginWines, and ISOUL. You can check with the brands if LA card discounts are available there. New brands are being added to their repertoire daily.

Cost: It will cost you £11.99 for a LA student ID card.

Validity: 12 months from the date of issue.

Conclusion

If you’ve read through this blog, you already know how useful a student ID card can be. Investing a small amound like £10-30 can add £500-1000 in savings. No wonder why students are eager to get IDs! In this blog, I have covered everything from the benefits of student card to applying for your ID.

Apart from the online option, you can also avail your IDs physically from your college or university. But if you don’t have enough time in hand to roam around here and there. Then it’s better to avail the IDs online.

Additionally, I would recommend Lead Academy—a trusted virtual education platform that issues student ID cards that affiliated with numerous brands. This means you can enjoy student discounts and benefits while learning from the comfort of your home!

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