i wasn't sure if i should post this but i recently did it myself and it worked. i stumbled upon this topic http://www.overclock...19-4x-win7.html basically you can sign up for an ACM (association for computing machinery) account and as an added bonus in a couple days you can opt in for msdn-aa account as well. (all steps are described in the link above). here are a few notes from my experience: a. can only pay with a credit card. visa, master card or american express b. if you sign up on a friday be prepared to wait the weekend. i registered on a thursday and only got everything validated monday. c. its suppose to be for college students who are currently enrolled or have recently graduated. you must list a school and date of graduation d. (removed this b/c it is no longer valid) e. some colleges already offer discounted/free microsoft software for students. so if you are actually enrolled check your school first and see what they offer. anyway, i only decided to post this after it confirmed it actually worked. i registered and got access to msdn-aa and got 4 retail windows 7 keys edit: today i got an email. i thought i'd post it for everyone to see. "It is important for ACM to verify that the individuals taking advantage of the ACM Student Academic Initiative are indeed students. Therefore, we are asking you to provide us with the information below by Friday, Sept. 25th. * The Name of Your Faculty Advisor * Your Student Identification Number " so basically you DO have to verify you are a student.