Microsoft Office has long been the standard Office productivity suite. True there are plenty of alternatives available these days such as OpenOffice, LibreOffice, and Google Docs – however chances are that the corporate environment you work in will be using Microsoft Office. That being said Microsoft has always tried to let students get started with Microsoft Office as early as possible – bringing around the Student Advantage program about a year ago allowing for schools to setup an Office 365 license for a student. This has however required a trip to the school IT department, and generally a substantial wait. Your alternative was to use something like Google Docs, or to pay some cold hard cash for Microsoft Office.
Luckily this has now all changed. Microsoft has announced that money is no longer an issue in this regard, and some students and teachers can now easily score a copy of Office for free. Here’s what you get:
- The latest versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access and Publisher
- Installation on up to five PCs or Macs, and Office apps on other mobile devices including Windows tablets and iPad
- 1TB of Cloud Storage via Microsoft OneDrive
- Access to Office Online
Getting the free Microsoft Office bundle is pretty simple also. Head on over here – input your school email address – and download away! You do have to be 13 years or older to be eligible – but I don’t think anyone under 13 has a school issued email address anyway. Lastly your school has to be participating in the program – and luckily most already are and the rest will most likely follow.