When Microsoft announced its Student Advantage program last year, it had one little drawback; it required the school to initiate the service. So, if you had a lazy IT administration, your school may never have qualified for the free software. But Microsoft is making a change today that will fix this shortcoming. Starting today, they are moving to a self-serve model for students as long as you enter a valid, school-provided email address. Once registered, here is what you will receive for free:

- 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 OneDrive cloud storage
- Office Online

Unfortunately, the offer is only good in the US, for now, but Microsoft says that they will be expanding it to more regions later this year. Additionally, in order for your organization to be eligible, you must attend a school that has purchased Office organization-wide for all faculty/staff via the Microsoft Volume Licensing program.