Apple's Back to School sale is mysteriously missing right now — and I think I know why students are getting ghosted

(Image credit: Future)

Apple typically launches a headline Back to School promotion in June or July in the United States and Canada, offering students and educational staff a great opportunity to save some money. That's especially important this year, since Apple recently raised prices on all its MacBooks and iPads — including the much-loved MacBook Neo.Last year's campaign arrived on June 17 — and while Apple's Education Store is seemingly updated for the 2026-2027 school year, there doesn't seem to be what I'd call a standout offer yet. In years past, we had gift cards or free accessories with purchases, but in 2026 Apple is currently keeping things limited to "education savings" on a few key products.There could still be a larger promotion waiting in the wings. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman predicted on X that we would see Apple's Back to School offering arrive last week, but didn't elaborate on what it might entail.And Back to School offering should arrive by next week. https://t.co/dFYRqQv4VpJune 25, 2026Back in 2017 and 2018, Apple waited until July 12 to launch its Back to School promotion, so there is precedent for waiting this late for an eye-catching offer to drop.However, unlike in previous years, Apple is tightening up on who actually qualifies for education savings and also requiring proof.So, let's dive into exactly what you can expect from Apple's Back to School offering right now, how you qualify, and why you'll want to take advantage of any price drops you can right now.Apple's Back to School Promotion: What you (currently) getWhat you actually get in the Apple Back to School promotion can change from year to year. Last year, students would receive a free accessory, depending on what they bought. So if you picked up a MacBook, you could get a $179 pair of AirPods 4 with noise cancelling for free. Likewise, if you bought an iPad, you could pick up a $119 Apple Pencil Pro free of charge thanks to the promotion.It was a more prescriptive offer than the 2024 Back to School promotion when Apple handed out a $150 gift card with qualifying purchases.Judging by the state of Apple's Education Store, the current deals you can get are the following:The MacBook Air is $100 less with Education Savings, bringing the starting price down from $1,299 to $1,119.The Apple Watch Series 11 has been reduced by $40 bringing the starting price down to $359 from $399 with Education Savings.The student-focused MacBook Neo is also $100 less and down to a starting price of $599 from $699.Students can get Apple Creator Studio for $2.99 per month rather than the regular $12.99 a month price.Free engravings on accessories like AirPods 4, Apple Pencil, and iPhone 17 phone caseAny reduction in price is music to my ears, but I would really like to see a headline-grabbing promotion rolled out over the next few days.Those reductions on MacBooks are somewhat bittersweet, given that all they really do is mitigate some of the damage from the price increases Apple put in place in June.While Apple Watches haven't yet had their prices increased, last month Apple revealed that both versions of the MacBook Air (13-inch and 15-inch) would cost $200 more while the MacBook Neo would cost $100 more.Of course, any price reduction is music to my ears, but I would really like to see a single headline-grabbing promotion like a free accessory, gift card or further price drop rolled out over the next few days.Apple's Back to School Promotion: Who can qualifyApple's promotion is open to K-12 employees, including teachers and school board members, plus higher education faculty, staff, and students. Any parents of kids heading to college can also qualify.In order to verify that you meet the above conditions, Apple is using a third-party platform called UNiDAYS, which you'll need to sign up for (by following the prompts) if you want to complete a purchase. You will need to input information like your name, the name of your school, and your faculty email address.Once you've signed up to the platform, you'll be able to access a number of education-focused discounts.Apple's Back to School Promotion: Will it even happen?