You either get the education discount or the first time 10% off, you can't get both, I tried and it was cheaper to buy with the first time 10% discount at regular store prices since it was giving close to 78000 rewards points (first 3-4 days of launc...
Yes mine is also very dull, with low contrast and flat colors, tried everything possible as recommended by YouTubers, no difference whether using Vivid Mode or Natural Mode. Compared with Samsung Experience store Demo sets and those are much brighter...