(Credit: Microsoft)
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Microsoft has a last-minute back-to-school deal for college students, who can now get 12 months of Microsoft 365 Personal with Copilot AI integration for free.
The plan includes productivity apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook, image editing app Designer, and Microsoft Defender. It also gets you 1TB of storage, which Microsoft estimates is sufficient to store up to 500,000 photos.
Microsoft 365 Personal usually costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. With the new offer, though, it's free for 12 months and eligible for a 50% discount thereafter ($4.99 per month).
While students might get a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace account assigned by their college, this offer applies to their personal Microsoft accounts, The Verge reports.
Students have until Oct. 31 to sign up. They may be required to prove their student status periodically. Microsoft accepts proofs in the form of a school email account, enrollment details, student ID, verification code, current progress report, dated class schedule, or acceptance letter.
CEO Satya Nadella made the announcement at the White House's AI Education Task Force meeting on Thursday. Other commitments include $1.25 million in educator grants, free LinkedIn Learning AI courses for students, teachers, and job-seekers, and AI training and certifications for community colleges.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 on Oct. 14. If you wish to continue on the aging OS, you'll have to enroll in the Extended Security Updates program. As far as Microsoft 365 apps are concerned, they'll receive security updates for three years after Windows 10 reaches the end of support.