Where are the Student Discounts?

One of the biggest obstacles for college students these days is the ever growing cost of tuition and living expenses.

Many students across America have been able to help cut their costs by taking advantage of the wide variety of discounts and benefits available to help make student life easier. From local businesses to major chains to worldwide companies, there are tons of great deals and discounts to help students keep their wallet just a little heavier. It just takes a little looking.

Unfortunately, LBCC students may have to look a little harder than others. Discounts at major franchises around the city of Albany are few and far between. There are many local businesses that offer discounts, but they may require a bit more effort to discover. Mainly, businesses that offer services such as haircuts, oil changes or tailoring are good places to start.

According to Bruce Clemetsen, Vice President of Student Services at LBCC, there was a movement about ten years ago to establish a program for student discounts, but it was ultimately unsuccessful.

"There was virtually no interest in the business community to offer discounts and the large chain stores did not have the authority to create discounts. General sentiments were that students already have services they go to in the community because they live here and discounts would not be large enough to get students to change."

Fortunately, there are still options available for LBCC students looking to save a buck or two.

 

Local businesses can still be a valuable resource when trying to save money.  All students need to do is keep an eye out for signs posted either outside, at front counters, or in menus.

 

Restaurant chains such as Burger King and Arby's have good student discount programs, offering 10% off orders. Not all stores participate in these programs so it is important for students looking to take advantage of these great offers is to simply ask after them. The worst they can do is say no.

Even though there are overall programs for both Supercuts and Burger King to offer student discounts, both of the establishments in Albany have stated that they do no honor those policies.

One of the best options that many students overlook are the amazing deals offered through online companies such as Apple or Amazon. Apple often has great back to school discounts. Amazon also has many great perks, like six free months of two day delivery for students and great deals on new, used, and rental textbooks.

 

Also keep in mind that the local bus routes also offer free rides for anyone with a student ID and a current term sticker.

 

There are plenty of deals out there for people looking to save a bit of cash, all you have to do is find them.

More Information on Student Discounts

Apple's Policy
Amazon's Policy
Ultimate List of College Student Discounts
82 Student Discounts
Student ID Discounts & Deals Cheatsheet
Student Discounts: 40+ Stores Offering Discounts for College Students
Super Student Discounts!
104 Organizations That Offer Student Discounts
The Big List of Student Discounts and Freebies

At a glance:

Who: LBCC students

What: Student discounts

Where: City of Albany

No spring sports, LBCC sports programs in decline.

The amount of sports programs here at Linn-Benton Community College have been steadily decreasing over the years and this upcoming spring will be the first in the school’s history where there will be no spring sports programs whatsoever.

LBCC once had many extracurricular sports programs to choose from and a multitude of facilities to accommodate them, but over the years many of these programs have been shut down and their facilities have fallen into disrepair. Examples of some programs no longer available to LBCC students are: track and field, wrestling, and most recently baseball.

The reason for the decline in athletic programs over the years is simply due to a lack of funding. The cancellation of the baseball team last year was primarily due to budget cuts. Currently, the baseball program and both men's and women's soccer are the most likely to return because of their popularity.  The financial situation however, is currently unsure and there are still some important decisions to be made.

“I'm optimistic, but there are some issues that need to be resolved,“ said Randy Falk, the current athletic director and long time faculty member,  when asked about the program's potential return. "We're looking at different financial models."

According to Brad Carman , a member of the LBCC teaching staff and former Track and Field coach, one of the first major programs to go was the Track and Field program in 2002 due to lack of interest and heavy financial costs associated with a botched refurbishment job on the school’s all-weather track. Since then, more and more of the school’s athletic programs have shut down due to the rising financial costs and budget cuts.

“It would take a tremendous amount of effort,” said Brad Carman, when asked how hard it would be to reinstate the team. There would need to be signifigant interest from the student body as well as large amounts of funding to revive many of the old teams.

Unfortunately, the longer these programs are gone, the harder they can be to bring back, this is another reason sports like baseball and soccer are a higher priority. As facilities decay and new equipment needs to be purchased, the costs only rise. Interest in said programs has also became lower and many programs seem to have dropped off the radar completely.

Extracurricular sports can have a very positive effect on academic institutions, offering great opportunites for student bonding, fundraising and school notoriety.

According to the college's athletics page on its public website, the only extracurricular athletic opportunities currently available to students are Men’s Basketball and Women’s Volleyball.

At a glance:

Who: LBCC students and faculty

What: No Springtime Sports, Baseball program cancelled and sports programs generally in decline.

When: This upcoming spring season.

Where: Linn Benton Community College

You can contact Randy Falk, the school's athletic director at: falkr@linnbenton.edu

Online Information

School Athletics Page

Benefits of playing college sports