It’s hard to beat Apple in terms of reliability and performance, which is why many of the brand’s products consistently end up on our roundups of the best in tech. If you’re currently enrolled in school or are headed off to college in the fall, you may want to snag an Apple iPad or Mac to help get you through your studies during the company’s annual Back to School sale. 

Apple rarely offers discounts on its own products, but right now students can score an Apple gift card worth up to $150 with an iPad or Mac purchase as well as 20% off AppleCare Plus on top of the company’s usual education pricing discounts, helping make it a little more affordable for grads moving to the next stage. The promotion even includes the newly-announced 15-inch MacBook Air. It comes equipped with Apple’s M2 chip and starts at $1,199. It’s available for preorder now. 

For the budget-conscious, the 13-inch MacBook Air is a solid option as well. It has an M1 chip and starts at $899. You can also opt for the MacBook Pro M2, which starts at $1,199. According to Apple, education pricing is only available for current and newly accepted university students and their parents or teachers and staff. 

However, there are other options if you don’t qualify for something from Apple’s Back to School sale. In fact, you can often find even better direct discounts at other retailers. For instance, that M1 MacBook Air deal at Apple for $899 may come with a $150 gift card to spend on future Apple purchases, but you can nab that same laptop for $800 at Best Buy right now. It’s usually worth shopping around and only going for the Apple gift card promo if other retailers don’t have steep dollar discounts available or if you’re eyeing up another Apple purchase in the near future. You can check out our roundup of the best deals on MacBooks and iPads currently available for more options.