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OT – FCP Studio Academic vs. Standard
After a couple weeks of conflicting information from my Apple Reps, they have confirmed that FCP Studio Academic is not upgradeable.
The normal academic discount is $899. The retail for a non-academic version is $999. There are online stores selling the non-academic version at a price of $899.
This makes no sense to me, because the $100 discount is not worth losing the ability to upgrade at a discount.
I recommend that anyone planning to purchase the Academic version at the $899 price point, instead should purchase a non-academic version in order to have less expensive upgrades in the future.
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8 Replies
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The academic version isn’t offered as a cool way for professionals to beat the system as a way to get discounted software, it’s actually meant to give real honest to goodness students on a budget, who aren’t creating work for hire, with a way to acquire and to learn Apple products.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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Of course, I’m referring to people that are qualified for the academic discount. I work at a film school, and even for the students, I don’t think it is a good deal at this price point.
So you have reinforced my argument, that the $100 savings for a student is not worth it for 2 reasons: you can’t upgrade (even if you are still a student when the new version comes out) and you can’t use it for professional work later, because of the license restrictions.
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The question is asked here so often by non-students that I misinterpreted your question Steven. And, I would have to agree with you that the $100 savings is not enough incentive for anyone who can do simple arithmetic and a little analysis.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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[Steven Gonzales] “After a couple weeks of conflicting information from my Apple Reps, they have confirmed that FCP Studio Academic is not upgradeable. “
Not sure why there should have been conflicting information in the first place. Academic software from every company I know is not upgradeable in any way shape or form. That’s part of the deal with purchasing the lower price.
And $899 for academic actually sounds much higher than I’ve been hearing.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
Credits include multiple Emmy, Telly, Aurora and Peabody Awards.
Owner, Biscardi Creative Media featuring HD Post
Biscardi Creative MediaCreative Cow Forum Host:
Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Apple Color, AJA Kona, Business & Marketing, Maxx Digital. -
The conflicting information came from the Apple Rep, when I asked “It doesn’t make any sense for you to raise the academic price to $899 and lower the non-academic to $999, unless you allow academic to be upgradeable.”
To which he responded a day later that indeed the $899 Academic version was upgradeable. Which was wrong information, he informed me weeks later.
As far as upgrades from academic, here’s from Adobe’s page with suggested academic pricing, which suggests such things do exist. https://www.adobe.com/education/purchasing/education_pricing.html
“No longer a student?
An important note about upgrading your software: Your personal investment in Adobe products may continue to be valuable, even if you no longer meet the qualifications for Adobe education pricing. Contact the online Adobe Store or your local reseller for information about upgrades to commercial versions of your products.”
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Our campus (UC San Diego) bookstore sells it for $299, so it’s worth it to check and see if your academic affiliation has some sort of deal going on.
https://bookstore.ucsd.edu/computers/software/apple.htm
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Stanford bookstore as the same pricing.
All the best,
Tom
Class on Demand DVDs “Complete Training for FCP6,” “Basic Training for FCS2” and “Final Cut Express Made Easy”
Author: “Final Cut Pro 5 Editing Essentials” and “Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop” -
Thanks for the tip. Our campus isn’t a “stocking store” to get that price, but we worked out a deal with another campus store in our university system.
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