There are many kinds of college student discounts around us. First, there is a discount on mobile phones, which is a necessity of life to college students. Recently it is within bounds to say that college campuses are a ‘mobile discount zone’. Three companies (SK Telecom Co., KTF Co. and LG Telecom Co.) offer campus custom-made mobile phone services that are competitive to catch college student customers. SK Telecom Co. operates a ‘TTL Regional Discount’ price system. It has the discount benefit of call charges at primary college campuses in Korea, and at locations, where college students gather a lot. KTF Co. provides a ‘Show Campus Zone’ price system that allows students to get discounts in college towns such as Sinchon and Daehakro. If mobile phone subscribers make calls at these appointed spots, they can get discounts as much as 50%. In the case of the image phone call, it discounts 40%, from 30 won to 18 won per 10 seconds. If you live alone or live in lodgings without a home telephone, it is valuable for you to use the ‘Giboon Zone’ service from LG Telecom Co. If you are served a ‘Gibbon Zone Allimi’ using a mobile phone within 30 meters of that zone, you pay only a fee, which is equivalent to that of a wire telephone.
Card companies are also preparing products for college customers. For example, Shinhan Bank has a product called the ‘Tops Campus Plan Savings Deposit’. The purpose of this product is that if the customer meets certain requirements set out by their Senior Plan Service, he/she can enjoy preferential services for a certain period of time, especially, if it grants various kinds of favors that consider college student’s consumption patterns. It has four characteristics.
1. Job Search Support Services
All customers who join the Tops Campus Plan Savings Deposit can get free coupons worth 10,000 won from Incruit Corporation. Customers can enjoy Job Search services at www.incruit.com.
2. Backpacking Discount Services
All Customers who participate in Tops Campus Plan Savings Deposit can get a 5% discount when they apply for backpacking trips on the Modetour Network Inc.
3. Campus Service
Preferential services such as fee exemption and preferential deposit interest rates will be provided when the customer satisfies certain transaction performances or other designated requirements.
4. Overseas Study Support Services
Favorable exchange rates will be offered when customers go to study abroad. They can get consulting services related to overseas studying from Consulting Firms in partnership with Shinhan Bank.
Let’s seek other college student discounts that have to do with culture. For example, ‘B SHOW’ created a sensation that boosts 30,000 audience members. It was a ‘Hip-hop Show’. ‘B SHOW’ admission fees for college students were discounted 30%. ‘The Great Catsby’ admission fees are discounted 50% for college students. These reductions disburden of colleage students, they can have many chances to view a performance. With starting the fall semester, students need course books. The Internet Bookstore laddin’ (www.aladdin.co.kr) made a book blog on its website called ‘University class book library (blog.aladdin.co.kr/univ)’. It is a service to find books that students need. After researching each department in over twenty universities by clicking ‘major’ and ‘college’ buttons, ‘Aladdin’ then enforces an event that lowers prices.
There are also several examples of colleges that offer discounts in the provinces. ‘Jinju mbcine’ offers discount benefits for Gyeongsang National University students from 1500 per purchase for each student. ‘Academy Cinema’ in Daegu cuts the ticket price by 1000 for college students. In Daejeon, ‘Primus Cinema’ also provides the same service. We enjoy these profits near Chung-Ang University. In Yongsan, ‘Land Cinema’ provides advantages to college students such as 1000 off the ticket price per each student.
However there are college student discounts available everywhere. For instance, last June 21st, the Democratic Labor Party of a student committee in Seoul asked for assistance in ‘College student carfare discounts’ in front of Seoul Metropolitan Council. Traffic fees which have risen from April by an average 12.5% is another onus for college students. A year’s traffic fee for college students, who go to school in Seoul costs 760,500 during a year. As a bus line reorganization and semi-public management system begins, a commuter ticket which used to apply to college students was gone. However, only Gwangju subway continues to have college student discounts. In the case of Japan or EU, they abate traffic expenses by 50% for college students. Seoul Metropolitan Council should enforce the same policies, which can lessen college student’s educational costs with traffic expenses.
Second, students studying abroad complain about the International Student Identification Card (ISIC). Students issued an ISIC pay 14,000. Lim Seong-min (Seoul Nation Univ., Engineering, and freshman) went on a trip abroad to France, Italy, Spain and England. He was issued an ISIC as well. Fortunately, he obtained a little advantage, which he had heard about at the travel agency. Although, he received a discount in Spain, he did not get a cost reduction in other countries. Above all, he was confused at the Louvre Museum and Orsay Museum, because there were no discounts for ISIC possessors.
There is a college student discount which is not valuable either. When CAU students or family related with CAU students go to CAU Medical Center, they can take a price cut of 10%. After the medical examination and treatment are over, you just submit you student’s identification card or paper, which can prove family relations at the fee payment window. However, due to low discount rates, CAU students do not go to CAU Medical Center. For example, Kang Yeh-seul (Business Administration, freshman) had some dermatology at CAU’s Medical Center. She was surprised by the treatment expense, because it was too expensive compared to other dermatology hospitals. The discount rate was useless for her.
In terms of businesses, college students are potential customers, who will purchase their products in the future. Therefore, businesses offer more benefits for college students to induce customers. In this situation, it is reasonable to get discounts at a maximum. Still, we need to plan to use ‘time’ wisely. Therefore, we need to utilize discounts. Also, if you use new discount services, you have to think about the usefulness of it, and plan time to use it. It is more momentous to spend an hour valuably than to waste an hour to cut off just 1000.
Tip
Last August 9th, ‘Campus Mon’, which operates the college student knowledge portal site (www.campusmon.com ), released ‘Monster Card’. I heard that ‘Monster Card’ is good for college students, so I held an interview with Choi Chang-ho (leader of the campus planning team at Job Korea Co.).
Content
CAH: I heard that Campus Mon released a ‘Monster Card’ joining hands with ‘Samsung Allat Card’. Why did you make this card?
Choi: ‘Monster Card’ aims to help college students economically. Intentionally, we want students to use ‘Campus Mon’ more often and conveniently, and the ‘Samsung Allat Card’ is the most suitable card for putting out the word in Campus Mon’s favor.
CAH: Please tell us about the many discounts available.
Choi: We give out membership merchandise certificates, which are equivalent to 3000 that customers can download and charge for materials like treatises, PowerPoint backgrounds, or resume forms. Furthermore, we provide simulated human nature and aptitude tests for free. When you participate in foreign internship programs, you can get a 50% discount of domestic procedural expenses. We pay 2000 back, when you use the card to register for the TOEIC or JPT test.
CAH: How many students use this ‘Monster Card’?
Choi: Because ‘Monster Card’ has been issued for only 2 months, only 1,000 college students have applied for it. We expect 15,000 people, five percent of our membership, will utilize it within this year.