Student Discount Request

Welcome, Students!

We’re happy to welcome students and student families to our Durga Puja celebration.

We understand that students and young families may be balancing education, limited income, and many other expenses. As part of our commitment to making our celebration inclusive and accessible to everyone, we are offering a special Student / Student Family Discount for qualifying households.

If you are currently pursuing higher education in the United States and your household primarily depends on student-related financial support such as a stipend, assistantship, fellowship, scholarship, or similar educational support, we encourage you to apply.

Simply complete the short eligibility form below. You do not need to make a decision based on the examples alone, if your situation is slightly different, tell us about it. The Committee will review your information and contact you directly regarding eligibility and the applicable discounted registration rate.

We look forward to celebrating Durga Puja together with our student community!

Student / Student Family Discount Policy

The Student / Student Family Discount is intended to support individual students and student families whose household finances primarily depend on student-related income or financial support.

An individual student or student family may qualify for the discount if the following general eligibility guidelines are met:

The applicant, or the applicant’s spouse, is currently enrolled in an undergraduate, Master’s, PhD, or other higher-education program in the United States.
For an individual student, the applicant’s primary financial support should come from student-related sources such as a stipend, teaching or research assistantship, fellowship, scholarship, work-study, or similar educational support.
An individual student generally does not qualify if they are employed in a regular full-time professional position and that employment is their primary source of income.
For a student family, the student should be the primary or one of the primary earning members of the household, and the household should substantially depend on student-related income or financial support for its living expenses.
A student family generally does not qualify if one spouse is a student but the other spouse has regular full-time employment that is the primary source of financial support for the household.
Only one spouse needs to be a qualifying student, provided the household otherwise meets the student-income eligibility requirements.
Applicants should submit the eligibility form along with proof of current student status if requested by the Committee.
All information submitted for eligibility review will be handled respectfully and confidentially and will be used only for determining eligibility for the Student / Student Family Discount.
These guidelines are intended to provide general eligibility criteria. The Committee reserves the right to make the final eligibility determination based on the circumstances of each application.

I have read and agree to the above policy and understand that eligibility is subject to final approval by the Committee.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is eligible for the Student / Student Family Discount?

An individual student or student family may qualify if the applicant, or the applicant’s spouse, is currently enrolled in an undergraduate, Master’s, PhD, or other higher-education program in the United States and the individual or household primarily depends on student-related income or financial support.

2. What is considered student-related financial support?

Examples include a student stipend, teaching or research assistantship, research fellowship, scholarship, work-study, or similar educational financial support.

3. Can an undergraduate student qualify?

Yes. Undergraduate students may qualify, provided they meet the applicable financial eligibility requirements.

4. Can a Master’s or PhD student qualify?

Yes. Master’s, PhD, and other higher-education students may qualify if they meet the applicable financial eligibility requirements.

5. I am a student, but I also have a regular full-time professional job. Do I qualify?

Generally, no. If your regular full-time professional employment is your primary source of income, you would generally not qualify for the individual Student Discount.

If your situation is different, you are welcome to submit the form and explain your circumstances.

6. My spouse is a student, but I work full-time. Does our family qualify?

Generally, no, if your regular full-time employment is the primary source of financial support for the household.

However, if student-related income is also a primary or substantial source of household support, you may submit the form for review.

7. My spouse works, but the student stipend or assistantship is still one of our main sources of support. Can we apply?

Yes. You may apply if the student is a primary or one of the primary earning members of the household and the household substantially depends on student-related income or financial support.

The Puja Committee will review the circumstances and make the final eligibility determination.

8. Do both spouses need to be students?

No. Only one spouse needs to be a qualifying student, provided the household otherwise meets the eligibility requirements.

9. What if both spouses are students?

The family may qualify if the household primarily depends on student-related income or educational financial support.

10. Do I need to provide proof that I am a student?

The eligibility form asks for basic information about your current student status. The Puja Committee may contact you and request basic proof of current enrollment or student status if needed.

11. What information will I need to provide in the eligibility form?

The form requests basic contact information, student status, level of study, college or university name, whether either spouse has regular full-time employment, and any additional information that may help the Committee understand your circumstances.

12. Will my information be kept confidential?

Yes. Information submitted for eligibility review will be handled respectfully and confidentially and will be used only for determining eligibility for the Student / Student Family Discount.

13. What if my situation does not exactly fit the examples above?

Please complete the eligibility form and briefly explain your situation in the Additional Information section.

The examples in this FAQ are intended as general guidance and are not meant to exclude students or families whose circumstances are slightly different. The Puja Committee will review each request based on the information provided.

14. Who makes the final decision regarding eligibility?

The Puja Committee reserves the right to make the final eligibility determination based on the Student / Student Family Discount Policy and the circumstances of each application.