Issue redeeming GitHub Copilot Pro student benefit

[florian-dupont]

Hi everyone,

Hello,

I was successfully verified as a student at the end of November. However, when I try to redeem the GitHub Copilot Pro plan, I am prompted to proceed with payment, whereas the plan should be free for verified students.

Could you please help me resolve this issue?

Thank you very much for your assistance.

Best regards,
Florian

[davevad93]

Hi @florian-dupont,

You should be able to claim your Copilot PRO offer on this signup link.

To redeem others benefits, go to the pack offers page, scroll down to the "All offers" section and select any offer that suits you.

In case you encounter a problem claiming any offer, I recommend you raise a ticket here, select "I am a verified student having trouble redeeming my Global Campus offers" and explain your issue.

[sudarsan-sys]

yeahh i was also facing the same problem could someone tell how to get it for free

[samus-aran]

Hey @florian-dupont 👋 It appears that you are not approved for GitHub Education benefits and will need to re-verify yourself. I encourage you to set up 2 factor authentication before you do so. 👍

[florian-dupont]

Hello,
When I access the GitHub Education section, it indicates that my application has been approved (see attached screenshot) ?

github_education_approved.pdf

[samus-aran]

Hey @florian-dupont 👋 Thank you for sharing this. We will pass this onto the internal team to investigate. If we have an update we'll post it here. 👍

[AdiWork933]

To resolve the payment prompt for GitHub Copilot Pro as a verified student, you must manually activate the benefit through the specific GitHub Copilot settings page rather than the standard marketing or "upgrade" pages.
Once on your Copilot settings page, if your student verification is correctly synced, you should see a message stating you are eligible for free access. Click "Get access to GitHub Copilot" to complete the setup without entering payment details.
If you are still prompted for payment, try the following steps to force a status sync:
Sign out and sign back in to your GitHub account to refresh your local session.
Check for active trials: If you have an existing paid trial or pending subscription, cancel it in your Billing Settings and then attempt to re-enable Copilot through the Student Pack Offers page.
Verify your primary email: Ensure the email address you used for student verification is either set as your primary or is a verified secondary email in your Email Settings.
Contact Support: If the issue persists after 24–72 hours, it is likely a backend synchronization error. Open a ticket at the GitHub Education Support Portal selecting the category "I am a verified student having trouble redeeming my Global Campus offers".

[yu-chey]

Hi Florian,

Congratulations on your student verification! This is a common point of confusion, but the issue usually stems from the specific plan you are trying to select.

GitHub Copilot is indeed free for verified students, but it applies specifically to the individual plan, not the "Pro" or "Business" tiers. Here are a few steps to resolve this:

Check the Plan Type: Ensure you are selecting GitHub Copilot Individual. If you try to sign up for "Copilot Pro," the system will ask for payment because that is a separate paid tier.

Activation Link: Visit the [GitHub Copilot settings page](https://github.com/settings/copilot) while logged into your verified account. It should recognize your student status and offer a "Get access to GitHub Copilot" button without requiring credit card details.

Verification Lag: Occasionally, there is a small delay between the Global Campus verification and the synchronization with Copilot. If you were verified very recently, try logging out and back in.

If you still see a payment prompt for the Individual plan, I recommend reaching out to GitHub Support, as they can look into your specific account billing status.

[bikram8538]

Hi Florian,

This usually happens if Copilot was enabled before the Student Developer Pack fully attached to the account.

Please try disabling Copilot once, signing out, then re-enabling it from the Copilot feature page (not the pricing page). Also confirm that your Student Developer Pack shows as Active on the GitHub Education page.

If the issue persists, contacting GitHub Support under Billing → Copilot with screenshots typically resolves it within a couple of days.

Hope this helps!

[GarvitTech]

This usually happens when the student benefits haven’t fully propagated to Copilot yet, or when Copilot was enabled before student verification.

Please try the following steps in order:

Confirm Student Status

Go to: https://education.github.com/benefits

Make sure your GitHub Student Developer Pack shows as Active (not pending).

Cancel Any Existing Copilot Plan

Go to GitHub → Settings → Billing & plans → Plans

If Copilot Pro is listed, cancel it completely.

Wait a few minutes after canceling.

Re-enable Copilot from the Student Benefits Page

Return to: https://education.github.com/benefits

Click “Get Copilot” from the student benefits section (do not enable it from the general Copilot page).

Sign Out and Back In

Log out of GitHub, then log back in.

Try enabling Copilot again.

Wait for Propagation (if recently verified)

It can take 24–72 hours after verification for Copilot to become free.

Contact GitHub Support if it still asks for payment

Open a ticket here: https://support.github.com/contact

Select Copilot → Billing → Student Plan

Mention that your Student Developer Pack is active but Copilot still requests payment.

After these steps, Copilot Pro should activate without requiring any payment method.

[prasannk65]

Hi Florian,

This usually happens because the GitHub Copilot Pro benefit is not auto-activated even after student verification.

1. Go to [https://education.github.com/pack] (https://education.github.com/pack) and make sure your Student Developer Pack status is Active .

2. After that, visit [https://github.com/features/copilot] (https://github.com/features/copilot) and click Get Copilot.

3. Make sure you are logged in with the same GitHub account that is student-verified.

4. If it still asks for payment, go to [https://support.github.com/] (https://support.github.com) → Contact Support and open a ticket under Billing → Copilot.

5. Attach screenshots of:

   • Your active student verification
   • The Copilot Pro page asking for payment

GitHub Support usually fixes this by enabling Copilot Pro manually within a few days.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Prasann

[TusharS0012]

thanks for the tip!

[ZaheerAhmedkhan65]

Hi Florian

This usually happens when the Student Developer Pack benefits haven’t fully activated on your account yet, even though your student status shows as verified.

Here are a few things you can try:

1.Check your Student Pack status

Go to: https://education.github.com/pack

Make sure it says “Your benefits are active”. Copilot Pro is included under this pack.

2.Wait a bit after verification

Sometimes it takes 24–72 hours after student verification for Copilot Pro to be enabled. If you were verified at the end of November but recently tried again, logging out and back in can help refresh your account.

3.Redeem Copilot from the Student Pack page

Don’t go directly through the Copilot pricing page. Instead, activate Copilot Pro from the Student Developer Pack benefits page, which should show it as free.

4.Check the correct GitHub account

Make sure you’re logged into the same GitHub account that was verified as a student (especially if you have multiple accounts).

5.Contact GitHub Support (if it still asks for payment)

If none of the above works, open a support ticket here:

https://support.github.com
Mention that you’re a verified student and Copilot Pro is still prompting for payment.
Many students have faced this, and it’s usually resolved once the benefits sync properly.

Hope this helps — good luck!

[Nmarino8]

Hi @florian-dupont ,

It sounds like your student verification went through successfully, but GitHub may not have linked it to your Copilot account yet. Here are a few steps you can try:
1. Sign out and sign back in on GitHub, then go to GitHub Copilot for Students and try redeeming again.
2. Check your email for any confirmation from GitHub regarding your student verification — sometimes it can take a few days to fully process.
3. Make sure you’re logged in with the same GitHub account that you used for student verification.

If it still prompts you for payment after trying the above, you can contact GitHub Education support directly: GitHub Education Contact — explain that your student account is verified but Copilot still asks for payment. They usually resolve it quickly.

Hope this helps!

[Worldofmarvis]

1. Verify Your Student Status (Again) Go to https://education.github.com/ Click on your profile picture in the top right and select "My benefits" Confirm your status shows as "Verified" and that the "Copilot" benefit is listed as available. Sometimes verification is approved, but benefits take a few hours to fully activate.

2. The Critical Step: Apply for Copilot Through the Education Portal Do NOT go directly to github.com/settings/copilot. This often leads to the paywall. From your "My benefits" page, find the GitHub Copilot card. Click the "Get your coupon" or "Learn more" button on that specific card. This should lead you to a special sign-up flow for students. The correct link is often: https://education.github.com/pack/copilot

3. Clear Browser Cache & Cookies (or Use Incognito Mode) Old session data can sometimes interfere. Try accessing the links above in an incognito/private browser window after logging into your GitHub account.

4. Check Your GitHub Account's Billing Page Go to github.com/settings/billing Look for any existing Copilot subscription. If you see an active paid subscription, you must cancel it first before the student benefit can be applied. The system won't automatically override a paid plan.

5. Re-run the Verification (If Needed) If your verification is old or seems stuck, you can sometimes trigger a re-sync: In "My benefits", you might see an option to "Update your information" or re-upload your proof of enrollment.

If Nothing Above Works: Contact GitHub Support This is the most reliable final step. GitHub Support can manually check and fix your benefit linkage.
1.Go to: https://support.github.com/

2.Click "Contact GitHub Support".

3.Under "Type of question", choose "Account, billing, and payments".

4.In your message, be very clear and include: Your GitHub username. That you are a verified student (mention your verification date: end of November). That you are being prompted for payment when accessing Copilot Pro despite the benefit being listed in your pack. Mention you have already tried accessing it via the Education Portal (education.github.com/pack).

Important Reminder :
The GitHub Student Developer Pack grants access to GitHub Copilot (the core service), which is functionally equivalent to Copilot Pro for individuals. The "Pro" tier mainly adds features for business contexts. As a student, you are getting the full Copilot experience.

Summary of what to do right now:
1.Log into https://education.github.com/.
2.Go to "My benefits".
3.Click the Copilot benefit link from there, not from anywhere else.
4.If that fails, contact Support with the details above.
This process resolves the issue for the vast majority of students. The key is almost always using the dedicated link from the Education Portal, not the public Copilot sign-up page.

[jame-xplore]

Hi 👋

If your student verification is active but Copilot still asks for payment, try the following:

1. Make sure your Student Developer Pack is fully active (not pending).
2. Enable Copilot from your personal account (student benefits don’t apply to org accounts).
3. Wait up to 72 hours after verification — Copilot access can take some time to sync.

If it still prompts for payment after that, contact GitHub Support so they can refresh your Copilot entitlement:
👉 https://support.github.com/contact

Official reference:
👉 https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/overview-of-github-copilot/about-github-copilot-for-individuals#free-use-for-students-and-teachers

Hope this helps 👍

[florian-dupont]

Hello everyone, the issue is now resolved. I reapplied for the GitHub Education program and, once my application was approved, I immediately gained access to Copilot Pro.
Thanks for your help,
Florian