Unable to apply for GitHub Education with verified school email

[akaizery]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

School Email/Domain Issues

Hi everyone,

I’m currently trying to apply for GitHub Education as a student, but I’m being blocked during the application process.

I receive the following error message (see images below):
“We require applicants to use school-issued email address to apply”

My school-issued email has already been added to my GitHub account and verified in Settings > Emails.

School name: Thor Heyerdahl Gymnasium
School email domain: thg-kiel.de

I have already checked the following:

• the email address is verified
• the email address is written in lowercase
• the email address does not use plus-addressing
• I removed and re-added the email address
• I restarted the application process

However, I still receive the same error before I am able to submit the application.

I would appreciate any advice or confirmation on whether this school domain is being recognized correctly for GitHub Education applications.

Thank you in advance.

[Kushal1825]

I had a similar problem when I applied for GitHub Education. In my case, the issue was with the proof of enrollment, not the school email.

I had my enrollment document as a PDF. What I did was take a screenshot of the entire page, including the web URL, and made sure that all the information was clearly readable. I uploaded that screenshot as my proof of enrollment, and it worked for me.

So I’d suggest trying the same thing. If possible, upload a clear scan or a high-quality screenshot/photo of the full enrollment document. Make sure your name, school name, enrollment information are all visible and not blurry.

Hope this helps!

[akaizery]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have tried uploading a clear scan of the proof of enrolment from multiple devices, but I am still getting the same error message.

[zhu-yifang]

I had a similar problem when I applied for GitHub Education. In my case, the issue was with the proof of enrollment, not the school email.

I had my enrollment document as a PDF. What I did was take a screenshot of the entire page, including the web URL, and made sure that all the information was clearly readable. I uploaded that screenshot as my proof of enrollment, and it worked for me.

So I’d suggest trying the same thing. If possible, upload a clear scan or a high-quality screenshot/photo of the full enrollment document. Make sure your name, school name, enrollment information are all visible and not blurry.

Hope this helps!

But you can only take a photo for the verification, isn't it?

[Kushal1825]

Yes, you are right that the verification step only lets you submit a photo/image.

What I meant is that I had my enrollment document as a PDF, so I took a screenshot of the entire page and then used that screenshot as the photo for the verification. I made sure the whole page was visible and that the text and web URL were clear and readable.

So you don’t necessarily need to upload the PDF itself. You can take a clear screenshot of the PDF page and submit that as the photo, as long as all the important information is visible.

[akaizery]

On Mobile you can only submit a picture you take on the site but on Desktop (or Mobile Desktop Site Toggle) you can also submit a file.

[Kushal1825]

Ahh okay, got you. If you’ve already tried the desktop upload with a clear enrollment file and it still doesn’t work, maybe it’s something with how GitHub recognizes your school domain. Might be worth asking GitHub Education support about it.

[DevChiniwala]

The issue here is that GitHub maintains a backend database of recognized educational domains (which used to be managed via the open-source swot repository). Because your school is a Gymnasium and not a massive university, the domain @thg-kiel.de likely hasn't been added to GitHub's recognized educational domains list yet.

Because the system thinks it's a standard/personal domain, it blocks you from even reaching the document upload step.

Here is how you can bypass this and get approved:

1. Check for alternate school names in the dropdown When typing your school name in the application form, GitHub filters based on the domain registered to that name. Try searching for variations of your school (e.g., "Thor-Heyerdahl-Gymnasium", "THG Kiel"). If you select an entry that is registered with a different domain structure, it will throw this exact error.

2. Try the "I don't have a school email" route If the application allows it, sometimes unselecting your school email and explicitly choosing the option (or omitting the email to force the prompt) that says you don't have a school-issued email will bypass the domain check and immediately ask you for a camera upload of your student ID or school letter.

3. Contact GitHub Support to whitelist the domain (Most Reliable) If it absolutely hard-blocks you, you need GitHub staff to add your school's domain to their system.

Go to the GitHub Education Support Portal
.
Open a ticket explaining that you are applying for the Student Developer Pack but your school's domain is not recognized.
Provide your school's full name (Thor Heyerdahl Gymnasium), the school's official website URL, and the email domain (thg-kiel.de).

Support is usually pretty good about verifying the school's website and manually adding the domain to their allowlist. Once they do, the error will disappear and you can apply normally!