Good catch, Iffi. You walked to the door, the door said no, and you came back with a photo. That is how this list stays alive. 
What changed: Microsoft farms the student check out to SheerID, and SheerID stopped caring about your email address. It wants proof you are enrolled this term. Their own FAQ, word for word: “acceptance letters unfortunately are not proof you are currently enrolled” and “If your school isn’t on the list then you are not eligible.”
In plain terms: getting accepted means the college likes you. Being enrolled means the college has your money. Only one of those unlocks Word.
Maricopa handed you an inbox. It never handed you a class.
🔎 First — test any school in 30 seconds, before you spend a cent
• Open the student offer page and type the school’s full name into SheerID’s school box. No name in the list = no offer, whatever the email says.
• Cross-check the domain in JetBrains swot (lib/domains) — the list academic-discount programs share. A domain sitting in abused.txt explains a lot.
• Azure for Students takes a school email with no card and answers instantly — a free second opinion on the same domain.
📄 Second — the 'different method' link you already saw
• It leads to verify.microsoft.com — upload a document showing your name, the school’s name, and a date inside the current term: student ID with dates, class schedule, transcript, enrolment letter.
• Acceptance letters get rejected by design. Wait for the email, never refresh the page — SheerID’s own walkthrough.
🎓 Third — the doors that produce real enrolment, cheapest first
FernUni Hagen — Akademiestudium — Germany’s state distance university. No school certificate needed, no entrance exam, open to everyone worldwide. One module runs €110–165 for the whole semester, and they mail you a student ID card. Winter intake closes 30 September.
Universitas Terbuka — Indonesia’s open university: ~Rp100,000 (~$6) registration, ~Rp120,000 (~$7) per credit for overseas students, E-KTM student card from myut.ut.ac.id. Foreign diplomas need an equivalency letter first.
University of the People — $60 application, tuition-free courses, admission from 200+ countries.
CCCApply — free application to 116 California colleges. Admission stays free; the class is what makes the enrolment real, and out-of-state tuition applies.
🐙 Fourth — a different verifier entirely
GitHub Education runs its own check and takes a document or a photo of a student ID: how to apply · why an application gets refused. Copilot Pro and Azure credit sit inside it.
🪤 Traps
• Three failed tries and SheerID stops the offer for that account — pre-check first.
• “Edu email for $3” sellers and generators — a rejected verification plus a stolen card number.
• A school that runs no Microsoft tenant hands you an inbox that no education offer reads.
Post whatever you hit next — a dead door here gets replaced the same day.
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