By the tiswa editorial team, from the official sources listed at the end of this guide. How we write our guides
Two years at GitHub, one at Notion, four at most on YouTube Premium. Those are the verification periods the companies publish for students who sign up with a university address,123 and they explain most of the offers that stop working halfway through a degree.
What is a university email?
It is the address your university creates for you on its own domain, such as student.ksu.edu.sa at King Saud University. It is more than a mailbox: KSU gives it to students free as part of the Microsoft 365 Copilot education package, with Office apps and 100 GB of cloud storage.5 Each university has its own domain and services, so read your IT deanship's page.
How does a university email prove you are a student?
Through the domain. A company sees an address ending in a university domain it knows, assumes you study there, and asks you to confirm you own the mailbox. Notion, for instance, checks the school against the World Higher Education Database (WHED) and upgrades the account automatically when it recognises it.2 Companies that want more certainty add a second step: a verification service such as SheerID, or a dated document.
What are the benefits of a university email in Saudi Arabia?
The table separates what the address alone opens from what needs more:
| Programme | Is the email enough? | The condition students miss |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Student Developer Pack | Yes, once it is verified on your account | Add and verify it before applying; student status lasts two years1 |
| Notion Education Plan | Yes, at a school listed in WHED | It must be the primary email; re-verify every year2 |
| YouTube Premium student | No, verification is through SheerID | An institution SheerID approves; yearly checks for up to 4 years3 |
| Autodesk Education plan | No | A registration or tuition receipt, student ID or transcript within 14 days4 |
| Fitness Time University Students Program | No, activation is at a branch | A university card or enrolment letter, participating universities only6 |
Autodesk is the plainest case. It says an email address from your institution is neither sufficient nor required to confirm eligibility, and asks for a registration receipt, a tuition receipt, a student ID or a transcript, uploaded within 14 days.4 Each free programme is covered in free software for university students, and Notion in detail in Notion for students.
University email vs student card: what is the difference?
The email proves you are a student online; the card proves it to a person. When an offer is activated in a branch, like the Fitness Time University Students Program, you bring your university card or an official enrolment letter, and there is no online activation at all.6 Where the card is worth carrying is in the student card guide.
A third thing gets mixed up with both: the verification service. SheerID is neither an email nor a card but a go-between the company uses. If YouTube does not verify you straight away, you upload a document, and outside the US the answer can take up to 48 hours.3
Why is my university email rejected?
- You added it to Notion as a secondary email; Notion only counts the primary one.2
- The same address is on another GitHub account, and GitHub will not take one academic email for two accounts.1
- You paid for Notion first. The education plan requires you to be on the Free Plan.2
- GitHub does not know your university's domain. Contact GitHub Education Support with the school's name, website and domain.1
- Your Autodesk profile name does not match your university record, and it cannot be changed later.4
What happens to these offers when you graduate?
They end one by one, each at its next verification date. GitHub is the strictest: a student whose programme ends in the current academic session is not eligible to apply.1 So final-year students apply early, not in their last term.
- Notion: if you cannot re-verify, the workspace drops to the Free Plan with its content intact.2
- YouTube Premium Student: the student price depends on the yearly check, and renewal opens when less than 30 days remain on your student status.3
- Autodesk: access is one year at a time while you stay eligible, renewable from 30 days before expiry. Let it lapse and you start over.4
- Autodesk again: the licence is for learning and research only, so never deliver a paying client's project with it.4
If you freelance or do a paid internship, price that software at the regular rate now, so graduation day holds no surprise. At that stage the CV guide for students will do more for you than any offer.
How do I find my university email?
Ask your university's IT or e-transactions deanship. At KSU the mailbox is created automatically once your student number is issued,7 and the steps are in the KSU student email guide.
