Approved for student developer pack, never used copilot, but limits reached!

[Melnikovjj]

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Copilot in GitHub

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Hello there, recently applied for github student pack, never used that before but limits almost reached, tell me why please?

[imDarshanGK]

Hi @Melnikovjj,

This can happen because Copilot limits reset monthly, not when you get approved. Even if you didn’t use it recently, past usage or a trial can count.

Wait for the next reset. If it still says limits reached, contact GitHub Support.

[kyim120]

Why your GitHub Student Pack limits look “almost reached”

1. The limits are shared & pre-allocated

Many benefits in the Student Pack start counting the moment your pack is approved, not when you actively use them.

Examples:

• Free credits (GitHub Codespaces, cloud providers, etc.)
• Free trials (DigitalOcean, Azure, MongoDB, JetBrains, etc.)

Some services:

• Activate automatically
• Start a time-based countdown (30 days, 3 months, 6 months)

So even if you never clicked anything, the clock may already be ticking ⏳

---

2. “Limit reached” ≠ “You used it all”

This is important.

Sometimes it means:

• ✅ Trial period is almost over
• ✅ Monthly quota is close to the cap
• ❌ NOT that you abused or misused anything

For example:

• Codespaces: You get a fixed number of hours per month

  • Even opening a codespace for a few minutes counts

• GitHub Actions: Background workflows can consume minutes without you noticing

---

3. Some benefits were activated by default

A few tools auto-enable when you:

• Open a repo template
• Fork a project
• Use GitHub Classroom
• Open Codespaces even once

That small “just checking it out” moment can eat into limits 😅

---

4. The pack is not unlimited

Despite the hype, the Student Pack is:

• Generous ✔️
• But capped ❌

It’s designed for:

• Learning
• Coursework
• Side projects

Not for:

• Heavy production workloads
• Long-running servers
• Large CI pipelines

---

What you should do now (quick checklist)

1. Check what exactly is near the limit

   • Go to: GitHub → Settings → Billing & Plans

   • Look at:

     • Codespaces usage
     • Actions minutes
     • Storage

2. Check third-party benefits

   • Visit the Student Pack page
   • Click each service → see status (active / expiring / used)

3. Turn off what you don’t need

   • Stop unused Codespaces
   • Disable unnecessary GitHub Actions workflows

4. Don’t worry about penalties

   • GitHub will not ban or penalize you
   • Limits reset monthly or expire naturally

---

Pro tip (especially useful for you 👀)

Since you’re building open-source projects / OS / tooling:

• Use local dev for heavy work

• Use GitHub features mainly for:

  • Repo hosting
  • Issues
  • PRs
  • Light CI

Save credits for when you really need them.

[pratikrath126]

This is a common issue for students who have recently been approved for the Student Developer Pack. Sometimes there is a delay between being approved for the pack and the Copilot benefit being activated on your account. It usually takes 24-72 hours for all benefits to sync. If it's been longer than that and you're still seeing limits, I recommend re-verifying your academic status or reaching out to GitHub Education support.