GitHub Pro Plan not activated after verified student status

[rbtavares]

Select Topic Area

Question

Body

I've successfully verified my student status about 4 days ago but my github plan stayed at the Free tier instead of being upgraded to Pro as described in the student pack. Is there some activation I need to manually do?

(I do not mean Github Copilot Pro, I am referring to the actual Github Plan)

[prajasus2308]

What usually happens
Verification approval triggers an automatic upgrade to GitHub Pro.

This can take a short while to reflect, but 4 days is typically long enough for the change to appear.Steps to troubleshoot
Check your email: Look for a confirmation message from GitHub Education that your application was approved.

Verify your plan status: Go to GitHub Settings → Billing & plans and confirm what plan is listed.

Confirm the correct account: Make sure you’re signed into the same GitHub account that was verified.

Wait briefly: Sometimes the upgrade takes a few business days to process. If it still shows Free
Use the GitHub Education Support form to report the issue. You don’t need to log in to submit this.

In your request, include:

Your GitHub username

The date you received verification approval

A screenshot of your current plan status

[Aryan-Gore]

I've successfully verified my student status about 4 days ago but my github plan stayed at the Free tier instead of being upgraded to Pro as described in the student pack. Is there some activation I need to manually do?

(I do not mean Github Copilot Pro, I am referring to the actual Github Plan)

Hi,

This is actually a common situation, and in most cases, no manual activation is required.

🔍 What’s happening

After your student verification is approved, GitHub does not always upgrade your plan instantly.

Benefits are applied asynchronously (in the background)

There can be a delay in syncing your account plan

Seeing “Free” for a few days is normal

👉 Many users report that activation can take a few days up to a week (or sometimes longer) depending on system load

[Rajveer-code]

Yeah, this can be a bit confusing — the upgrade to GitHub Pro from the Student Developer Pack isn’t always instant.

A few things to check:

1. Make sure you actually activated the pack

Getting verified as a student ≠ fully activated benefits.

Go to:
👉 https://education.github.com/pack

If you still see an “Activate” / “Get your pack” button, click that.
The Pro upgrade usually happens after this step.

2. Give it a bit more time

Even after activation, it can take a few days for the plan to update.
4 days is a bit long, but still within the range where delays happen sometimes.

3. Check your plan page directly

Go to:
👉 https://github.com/settings/billing

It should show GitHub Pro (via Student Developer Pack) if everything is applied.

4. Log out / log back in

Sounds simple, but sometimes the UI doesn’t refresh properly until you do.

5. If it’s still not updated

At that point, it’s likely stuck on GitHub’s side.
You’ll need to contact support, but mention clearly:

You’re verified already
You’re referring to GitHub Pro (not Copilot)
Date of verification
TL;DR
Make sure you clicked “Activate Pack”
Wait a bit (can take a few days)
Check billing page
Contact support if it still hasn’t updated

This usually resolves once the pack is fully activated 👍

[rbtavares]

Actually, the solution to this was to manually upgrade to GitHub Pro under https://github.com/settings/billing/licensing, which automatically receives a 100% discount for two years.