I've been saving up all summer working shifts at this coffee shop in Seattle to finally upgrade my gear before the fall semester starts at UW. My old D3400 is literally falling apart-the shutter is sticking like crazy and the rubber grip is peeling off so its definitely time to jump to mirrorless. I've been eyeing a few different options for my classes:

• Nikon Z6ii
• Nikon Zf
• Maybe even a Z5 if the price is right

That retro look on the Zf is just so nice but man they are pricey for a junior in college lol. My budget is super tight, like around $1800-2000 total for a body and maybe one decent prime lens like a 50mm or 35mm if I can swing it. I spent all night looking at the Nikon Education Program website and its honestly kinda confusing. They mention something called Nikon Learn and Explore and have a sign up for students through SheerID but it doesnt actually list the specific prices or which Z bodies are actually part of the deal until you get verified which takes forever and I dont want to do it if its a waste of time.

I also checked B&H and they have that EDU Advantage thing but when I log in with my .edu email some of the Z series stuff looks like the same price as the regular site? Or maybe the discount is just tiny and I'm missing it? I read an old Reddit thread from like 2022 saying that Nikon doesnt really do discounts on the newer Z series stuff and mostly sticks to the older DSLRs for students but that seems weird now that they are basically only making Z mount stuff.

Is there like a specific secret portal or a different retailer I should be checking? I heard some people mention Adorama's student program too but I havent tried that one yet. Does Nikon actually give like a decent percentage off or is it just like fifty bucks and a free camera bag? I really wanna get into the mirrorless system before my first studio lighting class starts in three weeks but I dont want to overpay if there's a huge discount I'm just not seeing...