Microsoft is giving away free Office 365 subscriptions by Kim Komando

College students might have to survive on ramen noodles and dig through the couch cushions to find extra spending money, but at least they won't have to pay for the software they use to finish their homework. That's because Microsoft is giving away Office 365 packages to students at participating colleges and universities.

At first, the free Office 365 offer was only good for students in the U.S. But, Microsoft has expanded it to apply to students around the globe in countries where the product is available.

With the free subscription, students will have access to a bunch of great programs and features like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, Publisher and 1 TB of cloud storage space on Microsoft OneDrive. They'll also have access to Microsoft's Office Online tools, too.

To take advantage of the offer, you just need to sign up through Microsoft's website using your school email address. Enter your email address into the website and it will tell you if you're eligible

Schools will have to buy subscriptions for staff and faculty, but once they do, students (and even teachers) can self-install for no charge by using a school-issued email address at the Office in education website.

With the free Microsoft Office 365 package, students can install the suite of programs on up to five computers and five gadgets. Not a student? Click here to learn how to get Microsoft Office on your gadgets for free.