What if I told you there’s a way to get free unlimited access to a powerful LLM? All you need is an active university email indicating a student status.
I’ve been using this for a while now, and it has been a game-changer for my productivity. I can use it in the UI, in my IDE, and even in the terminal!
The Benefit: UI + IDE + Terminal
Having access to an LLM in all these environments is incredibly powerful.
- UI: The web interface is great for general-purpose questions and brainstorming. You can access it through the website or Github mobile app.
- IDE: In the IDE, it can help you write code, debug, and even write tests. I’ve used Github Copilot on VsCode and Zed Editor. It all is integrated nicely
- Terminal: In the terminal, it can help you with shell commands and scripts. You can use the Gihtub CLI with Copilot extensions to explain and suggest terminal commands. It really helps to reduce context switching when LLM is needed in the terminal.
This multi-faceted access has been a huge productivity booster for me.
The LLMs that is available
With GitHub Copilot, you get access to a variety of powerful Large Language Models (LLMs). These models are constantly being updated as newer and more capable versions become available. Here are some of the models that you might have access to:
Fast and cost-efficient
- GPT-4.1
- GPT-4o
- o3-mini
- Gemini 2.0 Flash
- o4-mini (Preview)
Versatile and highly intelligent
- Claude Sonnet 3.5
- Claude Sonnet 3.7
- Claude Sonnet 4 (Preview)
- Gemini 2.5 Pro (Preview)
Most powerful at complex tasks
- o1 (Preview)
- Claude Sonnet 3.7 Thinking
It’s worth noting that the list of available models is subject to change as the platform evolves.
What is GitHub Education?
The magic behind this is the GitHub Student Developer Pack. It’s a collection of free developer tools and resources for students. It includes a lot of great stuff, but the highlight for me is the free access to GitHub Copilot through the free Github Pro.
As you can see you get a lot with Github pro! Heres what i want to highlight:
- ✅ Unlimited code completions with any models
- ✅ 300 request chat interactions with top-tier models from GPT, Claude, and Gemini.
- ✅ Unlimited chat interactions with other models from GPT, Claude, and Gemini.
- ✅ Access to the LLMs in all IDEs supporting Github Copilot, not only Vs Code.
- ✅ Tons of other freebies like hosting credits and premium subscriptions.
How to Get Access
Getting access is pretty straightforward:
- Go to the GitHub Education website.
- Click on “Sign up for Student Developer Pack”.
- Verify your student status. You’ll need to provide some proof, like a student ID or a school-issued email address.
- Once you’re verified, you’ll get access to the pack and all its benefits, including GitHub Copilot.
Closing
That’s it! I hope this was helpful. If you’re a student, I highly recommend you take advantage of this offer. Besides the Github Copilot access, you can also get lots of other premium freebies like premium subscriptions, hosting credits, free IDE and others.
My only regret on using free Github Copilot is thinking i’d need to pay subscription later when my student days are over 😅
See you in the next one 👋