Comprising essential tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, Microsoft Office empowers users to create documents, crunch numbers, design presentations, and take notes. While individuals and businesses have to pay for it, students can get it for free.
If you are looking for a solution, read this guide to find out how to get Microsoft Office suite free if you're a student.
Part 1. What is Microsoft Office suite?
Microsoft Office Suite is a comprehensive collection of productivity software developed by Microsoft. This software suite is designed to meet various business, educational, and personal needs, and since its release, it has become an integral part of modern computing.
It can enable users to create, edit, and manage a wide range of documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and more. The suite includes several essential applications, each with its own unique set of features:
Complete Office Productivity Suite: Complete Office Suite including applications such as (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Skype for Business, Access)
Exchange Online: A cloud-based email and calendaring service that offers features like advanced email filtering, shared calendars, and integrated contacts management.
Microsoft Teams: A hub for teamwork in Office 365, allowing users to chat, hold video meetings, share files, and collaborate on projects in a single platform.
SharePoint Online: Enables users to create websites and intranet portals for content management, document sharing, and collaboration. It facilitates better organization and distribution of information.
Yammer: A social networking tool within Office 365 promoting internal communication, knowledge sharing, and community-building among employees.
Security and Compliance: Office 365 includes built-in security features like encryption, data loss prevention, and advanced threat protection to safeguard sensitive information.
License Flexibility: Office 365 subscriptions come with various licensing options for individuals, small businesses, and enterprises, allowing organizations to choose the plan that best suits their needs.
Business Intelligence: Office 365 provides tools like Power BI for data analysis and visualization, helping users make informed decisions based on insights from their data.
Delve: A software tool used for social document recovery.
Sway: A tool helping in creating reports, presentations, and newsletters.
Microsoft OneDrive: A cloud storage service that allows users to store and sync files across devices, share documents, and collaborate with others in real time.
These applications within the Microsoft Office Suite provide a diverse set of tools to enhance productivity, streamline communication, and facilitate creative expression in various professional and personal contexts.
Part 2. How to certify a student's qualification?
If you are looking for a job in a renowned organization, you will be asked to provide certain certifications that present you as a qualified candidate for that job position. According to a survey, it has been noticed that above 90% of hiring managers ask for certifications when evaluating candidates.
That’s why it becomes even more important to enroll yourself for certain Microsoft certifications. To do this, you will have to follow the steps mentioned below:
Step 1: Go to MicrosoftLearn.Com and sign in to Microsoft Learn and create your student profile.
Step 2: After clicking the sign-in, you will have to have to provide your email address and password in the provided form.
Step 3: Specify and finalize your name and click “Next”.
Step 4: Select your email address for notifications and choose a country or religion that best describes your location.
Step 5: From a list of multiple options, select one, two, or more options you are interested in and click “Next”. You can also select another option if you want.
Step 6: Select your level of expertise and click on the “Next” option.
Step 7: After this step, select the products you are interested in from Microsoft and go ahead.
After this step, your profile will be created, and the only thing left will be updating your profile as a student. To do this and identify yourself as a student in your certification profile, you will have to follow the steps mentioned below:
Step 1: Go to the extreme upper right corner and click your profile picture. On appending the options, you will see a couple of options. Click on “Settings” from these options.
Step 2: On the next page, scroll down to find a connected certification profile and look for an option named “Manage certification profile and exam discounts”.
Step 3: On this page, you will have to edit your profile. To edit it, you will have to select the pencil icon on the right side of the certification profile.
Step 4: In the editing screen, you will see a drop down. Append this dropdown, and you will see multiple options to select your job role. Select “Student” from here and proceed further.
Step 5: Next to this option, you will see another notification reminding you to get verified now as a student. Click this option to verify yourself.
Step 6: Provide necessary details regarding your student information, including the school email account, student identity card, and other necessary details.
Step 7: After providing these details and original credentials, you will be verified for academic discounts.
After doing all that, you will be verified as a student, and now you can enjoy all the benefits you can get with a student’s profile. Now, you can browse through courses and certifications of your interest without paying any fees.
Part 3. How to download Microsoft Office 365 for students?
If you are a student or educator of an eligible institution worldwide, you can get Microsoft Office 365 for absolutely free by just signing up with your school account. This free Office 365 suite will include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Recently, Microsoft Teams has also been included in this package.
To make yourself eligible for this deal, follow the steps mentioned below for both computers and mobile phones.
For PC/Mac
Step 1: Head over to the Microsoft website and look for Microsoft Office 365 for students and educators (teachers, faculty members). On the main screen for Microsoft Office 365 for students, you will see a form where you will have to provide your school email address to get started.
Write your email address provided by your school and click “Get Started”.
Step 2: After clicking, you will be directed to the next window, where you will have to select from two of the options available. If you are a student, click on the student part, and if you are a teacher, you will have to continue with the teacher option.
Step 3: In this example, we will click “I’m a Student”. After clicking it, you will receive an email in your inbox asking you to confirm your ID. Click the option saying “That’s Me,” and you will be directed to another window where you will have to provide your student details to proceed with the download.
Step 4: After you have provided the required information in the student form, you will be verified with your account, and now you can use Microsoft Office 365 for free, both on the web and on your PC. The screenshot provided below is of the web version of Microsoft Office 365.
Step 5: You can use every application in the student package of Office 365 on the web apps. But if you want to download the software program on your PC, you can do this, too. Go to the upper right corner of the main screen and click on install office. You will be given the option to install Office 365 apps on your PC. Click this option.
Step 6: As soon as you click on this option, the Office 365 .exe file will be downloaded to your PC. You can check the download progress in the download tab.
After the file has been downloaded to your PC, you can locate it in the download folder and run it to install all the apps on your PC.
For iOS/Android
Step 1: To use the Microsoft Office 365 student version for free on your mobile device, go to the play store/Apple Store and find the app you want to use. In this case, we will search Microsoft Word in the search box and open it on our phone.
Step 2: After Opening the Microsoft Word, go to the sign-in option and sign in with your school email credentials that are registered with Microsoft Office 365.
Step 3: Click “next” and select the type of account associated with your email address. In this example, we will click “Work or School account”.
Step 4: Next up, you will have to provide your password for the account so you can continue using Microsoft Office applications on your mobile device.
Step 5: After confirming your password, you can now use MS Word for free on your mobile phone.
Part 4: Free Editing Excel, Word, PowerPoint - WPS Office
Microsoft Office Suite for Students Free is a good Office productivity suite that can help students and educators use Office 365 apps for free on their PCs and mobile phones. But this is only possible if you are associated with any eligible educational institution that is registered with Microsoft Office and is providing subscriptions to its students and faculty members.
However, if you don’t fall within this criterion, you won’t be able to use Microsoft Office for free. That’s why we have come up with the best alternative to Microsoft Office 365, and that is WPS Office Suite. WPS Office Suite is a complete toolkit of applications similar to Office 365 and has a Word, Spreadsheet, and Presentation editor. The plus point of WPS Office Suite is that it also has a PDF editor and viewer and can be used for free on any device. You can say that it is a more modernized and powerful Office tool which is absolutely for users of all kinds.
Below is a detailed step-by-step guide on how you can download this software toolkit for free on your PC and mobile devices.
How to download WPS Office?
Step 1: Go to the WPS Office website and locate the “Download” menu. Click on this button, and you will be taken to another screen.
alt=”WPS website download option”
Step 2: On the next screen, you will see multiple options to download WPS Office. This includes WPS Office for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux.
Step 3: Click on any option you want to download WPS Office for, and your download will be started in the browser. Wait for the download to be completed.
Step 4: Once the download has been completed, you can go to your download folder and locate the WPS .exe file. Right-click this file and choose “Run as administrator” to install WPS Office on your device.
FAQs
1. How do I activate Word without a product key?
To activate Word without a product key, you will have to go to the www.office.com/setup or Microsoft365.com/setup. Then, sign in with your account and be sure to remember the credentials. You can use these credentials to activate your Word without a product key.
2. How much does the Microsoft Office suite cost?
There are different pricing plans for Microsoft Office Suite, including:
Microsoft 365 Personal costs $6.99 a month
Microsoft 365 Family costs $9.99 a month
For business, it costs $6 per user per month
Get Microsoft Office Suite for Students Free
Till now, we have learned how to get Microsoft Office Suite for students free. We learned what features it offers and how to get registered for this version of Microsoft Office 365. We learned how to get registered for it on PC and mobile devices. However, if you don’t qualify for this criterion and if you are not a student or faculty member of an eligible institution, you will have to pay to get Microsoft Office 365 on your PC.
That’s why we have come up with a better alternative to use for general users, i.e., WPS Office. No matter if you are a student or a worker, you can use WPS Office for free. It offers the same set of applications as available in Microsoft Office 365. This includes Word processor, Spreadsheet editor, and Presentation creator. The best part is that it’s completely free and you can download it on any device you want.
