How to Get a Free $240 Cursor Pro Subscription for Students

Cursor launched its student program on May 6, 2025, announcing on X that "Cursor is now free for students. Enjoy!" The Chinese landing page at cursor.com/cn/students resurfaced recently, making the offer more visible to Chinese‑speaking developers.

The eligibility criteria are straightforward: the user must have a valid .edu university email address (U.S. institutions only) and complete identity verification through SheerID, a third‑party service also used by GitHub and Adobe. Emails ending with .edu.cn are not accepted.

After successful verification, the account receives a one‑year free Cursor Pro subscription, which includes the full feature set and a monthly $20 model usage allowance for GPT, Claude, Gemini, and other leading models. The subscription is not a reduced‑feature trial; it renews at the regular price after a year unless cancelled.

Existing paying subscribers can also switch to the student plan: once verified, the system automatically cancels the current subscription, refunds the remaining period, and activates the free Pro tier without manual steps.

A notable limitation is that students with .edu.cn addresses cannot apply. Initially the program was intended to be global and even accepted .edu.cn emails with online verification via the Chinese education network, but the option was quietly disabled on May 7, 2025 after a surge of forged documents and scripted abuse. No official announcement was made; users discovered the change when the application portal vanished.

Forum discussions reveal that SheerID’s verification currently only recognizes the .edu suffix, leaving non‑U.S. educational domains unsupported. Cursor’s response on the forum indicated an intention to expand to more schools and countries, but no timeline has been provided.

The rationale behind the student plan mirrors other developer‑focused tools: GitHub Copilot and JetBrains offer free student licenses to capture early adopters who may become paying customers after graduation. A full year of Pro access gives students ample time to master the tool, making renewal a natural decision once they enter the workforce.

To apply, students should visit cursor.com/cn/students, click “Apply,” complete the SheerID verification, and enable Pro in their account settings. Those with a qualifying .edu email can claim the offer immediately; expansion to additional regions remains pending.