Uni

[Matt88s]

Books. Books are rather expensive. Has anyone noticed? I'm taking three classes at the uni this semester. Organic I, Physiology, and nutrition.

The textbook for my physiology class cost $170.00. Just one book, not even a big book. :(

The textbook for my Organic class cost $200. In addition to your textbook you also have to have two lab books. One costs $70. The other is something like $3-4.

How much are my Nutrition books? Who knows, quite frankly I don't want to know, I'll find out soon enough. :no:

There are people who can't afford to buy $200 books. There are people in my Organic class that aren't going to buy the books. I don't know how they are going to do well in the class without books, but where there is a will there is a way I suppose. :-

A lot of people don't see the hidden costs of uni. There are some that are like, wow, tuition is cheap, I don't understand why more people don't go to uni. Then the fee's hit them, for every $600 or so in tuition you can pretty well expect $400 or $500 in fees, lab fees, fees for library, fee's for the computer lab, the math lab, the English lab, the gym, the student union, for things you'd probably object to paying for if you knew you were paying for them, and for silly things too, I just noticed I get charged $5 a semester for the privilege of carrying my student ID. Thats not the cost of them, they never expire, and to replace a lost one you have to pay, but never mind they never expire, $5 per semester, I've had mine for almost three years now, every semester, $5. Why? Of course you're not told this, I just noticed because I looked up a list of what the Fee's were for.

Then you have your books to buy. Supplies to buy. It all adds up. Uni is expensive.

Some semesters the contents of my backpack is worth more than my life. Ok, at least more than some of my cars. Laptop, calculator, books, blah, blah, blah, at times I've got several thousand dollars worth of crud in my pack. In a little pack, that I have to haul around, one semester I had a 40lb pack. And I haul all this stuff around and think :?

I feel like the more of this "knowledge" they try to cram down my throat the less i really know. I used to be pretty well grounded, I knew who I was, where I came from, and where I was going. I was my own person.

I don't have a clue who I am anymore. We cover things at uni that I can't talk about with parents, friend, etc, cause they have no clue what I'm talking about. People get to where they think you are smarter or somehow "better" than they are, I'm not, I'm just jumping through the hoops like I have to.

I see guys I went to trade school with in highschool who went right into their fields straight from high school. I know one chap who went into automatic transmissions. I've rebuilt my share of autoboxes, its alright work. He's been off making $40-$50,000 a year for the past years while I'm slaving away at uni and paying out the wazoo to do so. By the time I graduate uni with my degree he's going to have 6-7 years or working in his career under his belt and I'm going to be just getting started and probably with a considerable load of debt to pay off.

Has the world gone mad? Am I mad for caring? Meh. This is going to be a not going to be a good semester.:no:

[Rossluck]

I worked in a uni library for a while and the nursing students always complained about the weight and size of their text books. I always told them with a straight face that it was to build their muscles for lifting patients.

[Stuart]

You don't go to uni to be well off- the richest people I know personally these days are all builders.

[silentC]

I was lucky, my employer paid for all of my costs, including travel. Then I stiffed them by resigning before I graduated. So much for loyalty, huh?

Regarding textbooks, I don't know about your Uni, but the one I went to had a second hand trade in textbooks. No matter what subject you are about to do, someone else did it last year - textbooks rarely change from semester to semester, so the student union and other bodies would have second hand textbooks exchanges or shops where you could buy them for half price or less.

[Andy Mac]

Hi Matt,
When I studied I stupidly deferred my HECS fee and it comes back to bite you. I know the fees and debt have increased dramatically...I wouldn't like to wear that now. Enrolments have decreased in a lot of areas now, due in part to financial concerns, and the bouyant job market. Can't say I blame people for not opting into tertiary education, with the fees, but its hitting employees at uni's now. ie. Cutting staffing levels as students stay away, and lot of us are worried!:- Back to the big scarey world where people have to really work!!


Regarding textbooks, I don't know about your Uni, but the one I went to had a second hand trade in textbooks. No matter what subject you are about to do, someone else did it last year - textbooks rarely change from semester to semester, so the student union and other bodies would have second hand textbooks exchanges or shops where you could buy them for half price or less.

Be careful here as its not always the case, they might change every year or so, and many times students have been burnt buying a previous edition. Not just the actual text, but often questions, assignments, etc included, and assessment may suffer because you've got the wrong one. I think its a ploy by printers and publishers to sell more!


Cheers,

[pawnhead]

You don't go to uni to be well off- the richest people I know personally these days are all builders.The richest people I know are the ones who spend their lives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_Stucke) doing what they enjoy. You might only earn a few bucks if you decide to turn pens for a living, but you're probably happier than someone who's stuck in a job that they hate, regardless of how much money they make.

Of course having said that, if you're poor, then there's more of a chance that you're going to be pretty miserable as well, but if you enjoy studying your selected subjects at UNI, and you'll enjoy where your vocation is taking you, then are the dollars and cents that you have to spend achieving your goals really that important?

[silentC]

they might change every year or so
And often when they do, the book shops don't have the new edition in stock anyway! Had to wait for textbooks in the past.

I never used the second hand service but it was pretty popular at Charles Sturt. Depending on the subject, not much changed from one year to the next - including exam questions. You could also get copies of past exam papers from the student union and some exams were almost identical from one semester to the next.

I bought my books from the Co-op bookstore and always got a student discount. It could still add up though and I'm glad I wasn't paying. I completed the last semester under my own steam and I claimed the cost of books and others bits and pieces as a tax deduction.

[wheelinround]

.

Some semesters the contents of my backpack is worth more than my life. Ok, at least more than some of my cars. Laptop, calculator, books, blah, blah, blah, at times I've got several thousand dollars worth of crud in my pack. In a little pack, that I have to haul around, one semester I had a 40lb pack. And I haul all this stuff around and think :?

Has the world gone mad? Am I mad for caring? Meh. This is going to be a not going to be a good semester.:no:

Suck it up Matt think of those guys in the armed forces carrying around 60/70+ kilo packs and some just for the heck of it cause they may need to one day.

So whats this all the online stuff from UNI's isn't worth the time teachers and staff are putting it up there.
Obviously UNI's ain't as smart as this forum (THANK's to them at the for front):2tsup::2tsup: which is raking in as much information and making it accessable for us all.

Uni's should be doing this for students helping them cut costs. Taxpayers are forking out for servers and IT damn:doh: why aren't UNI students given access to the latest and greatest of text's via the world wide web.:~:~.

Just think when your finished you can charge like every other UNI trained does mega bucks private or gov $$$$$.

[Gingermick]

the student union and other bodies would have second hand textbooks exchanges or shops where you could buy them for half price or less.

Cept for bonzai john. Student unions were anti-government/johnny. So full fee payin students get to save $50 bucks out of $30 000 for the year, but of course dont get a gym or sports club or social activities or club with cheap pi$$ or cheap day care or ,................

[ss_11000]

My brother is currently at uni, doing mecatronic (sp?) engineering. sounds interesting and a little exy but he seems to be doing alright, altho, he is still at home so that contibutes to keeping costs down.

two years to go till i start. but hopefully the course i want to do doesnt need so much spent on it ( justice of policing or criminology, maybe a maths degree or economics, something along those lines...meh)

cheers

[BobL]

I teach at a Uni and its interesting that a few years into the boom and we're now starting to see some students coming back after doing mindless repetitive tasks on minesites for couple of years. One of these guys is particularly bright and he told me $100,000 a year can only hold off the 12 hour days of boring work for so long.

I reckon pawnhead has it right - the richest people are those fully doing what turns them on. Different peoples brains just need different type of stimulation and instead of rebuilding autotransmissions some people have to spend their time designing better alloys for existing gearboxes, while some need to be working on fusion power principles maybe for the hovercar of the 22nd century, or the maths that may contrinute to the physics behind the matter transporter in 2500. In no way am I belittling the guy rebuilding the autotransmission - I really need my car to run well now. Not better - just different.

[Iain]

two years to go till i start. but hopefully the course i want to do doesnt need so much spent on it ( justice of policing or criminology, maybe a maths degree or economics, something along those lines...meh)

cheers

And the bad news is, you are still going to get shafted for books regardless, SWMBO did political science and economics and her truck load of books cost a fortune, next year was a different set so she could't sell them, my sociology, psych, criminal law and forensic books are so rare that they cost a heap and were just about out of date when you started to read them.
No matter what, they will find a way to bleed you dry.
As for the cheap pi$$, never took part as all the pot heads used to roll up to these turns and take over, them there were the feminists with their bloody womyns room, us poor blokes had nowhere to hide.
The ultimate (for which I copped a bollocking) was the campus spiritual guyidance centre (church???), had a big sign out for the upcoming Sunday 'Services...Catholic 9.00am...Non Catholic 10.00am' I changed it to Protestant and NOn Protestant, the clergy were not amused and refused to see it my way, so much for Martin Luthers efforts:((

[wheelinround]

A
The ultimate (for which I copped a bollocking) was the campus spiritual guyidance centre (church???), had a big sign out for the upcoming Sunday 'Services...Catholic 9.00am...Non Catholic 10.00am' I changed it to Protestant and NOn Protestant, the clergy were not amused and refused to see it my way, so much for Martin Luthers efforts:((

:o:o Copped a bollocking from religous people nah never they don't do things like that.

RRFLMAO Catholic & Non but Prod's and Non prod's isn't allowed bit like Nun's and Morman woman can ware head covering but Muslim woman can't.

[RufflyRustic]

Sounds like the mid-degree study blues. You are in the middle of the degree, the honeymoon period is definitely over and you realise that you seem to be in the middle of a looooooonnnnnnggg tunnel and can't see either end any more. You will. You will get through this semester and the next and believe me, when you walk across that stage with your name called out for all to hear that you have graduated, when you shake hands with the Chancellor and receive your degree, you will be so happy and relieved and proud that you kept going to finish it.

Yes, it's a hard slog, for all the reasons you've stated, but it doesn't last forever. And ps, that light at the end of the tunnel, it's not a train, it's the bright lights of the Graduation Ceremony!!

Cheers
Wendy

[Metal Head]

Hi Matt,

It appears that Wendy has hit the nail on the head by the fact you are feeling a bit down in the dumps wondering if it going to be worth all the expense someday. At least you are in a fortunate position of being able to afford the books:wink:. When I left school and started my apprenticeship, a fellow school colleague (the brightest student in our year) left to go to another school to do his "A" levels and then went on to Uni. He his now a senior chemist at Glaxco in England on mega bucks:2tsup:. I caught up with him 18 years ago, just 5 weeks after I had emigrated here. I reminded him the last time I saw him (just after I had left school), about how he was concerned that he may not ever get on an even keel (financially wise) with most of us dumb buggers. He as of course overtaken most of us and will continue to pull further away as the years go by. However, money hasn't been a motivating force to me in deciding which jobs I've have had. I am content with what I have knowing that I am in the top 15% wealthiest people in the World and living in the BEST country in the World.

MH

[Frank&Earnest]

I am content with what I have knowing that I am in the top 15% wealthiest people in the World and living in the BEST country in the World.

MH

Top 15% in the world? Sorry to hear that you are so far under the Australian poverty line. However, a reasonably high average income is one of the reasons this is (arguably) the best country in the world. Dropped dramatically in the past 30 years, though.

Matt, cheer up. I don't know how it works over there, but often there are ways around buying books, for some subjects it's easier than others. Juditious use of a photocopier (one chapter per book does not breach copyright-swap with friends:wink: ) might work.

[Terry B]

Sounds like the mid-degree study blues. You are in the middle of the degree, the honeymoon period is definitely over and you realise that you seem to be in the middle of a looooooonnnnnnggg tunnel and can't see either end any more. You will. You will get through this semester and the next and believe me, when you walk across that stage with your name called out for all to hear that you have graduated, when you shake hands with the Chancellor and receive your degree, you will be so happy and relieved and proud that you kept going to finish it.

Yes, it's a hard slog, for all the reasons you've stated, but it doesn't last forever. And ps, that light at the end of the tunnel, it's not a train, it's the bright lights of the Graduation Ceremony!!

Cheers
Wendy
I remember the feeling when you have your name read out and you get handed that very important bit of paper that you worked very hard for. I also remember thinking at the time that I will never put myself through another exam and study.
Some years later I have done a masters and other higher professional qualifications. So much for no more study. The books don't get cheaper but the motivation improves. I found that I was studying because I wanted to rather than because I had to. It then becomes much easier. Keep at it.:U

[Metal Head]

Top 15% in the world?


Sorry F&E, I stand corrected. I am less than 8% so I am even more fortunate that I thought previously:2tsup:.

[Frank&Earnest]

Thanks for your reference MH... I will print it, enlarge it and pin it up prominently in my children's rooms...:)

[Matt88s]

Hi Matt,

It appears that Wendy has hit the nail on the head by the fact you are feeling a bit down in the dumps wondering if it going to be worth all the expense someday. At least you are in a fortunate position of being able to afford the books. When I left school and started my apprenticeship, a fellow school colleague (the brightest student in our year) left to go to another school to do his "A" levels and then went on to Uni. He his now a senior chemist at Glaxco in England on mega bucks. I caught up with him 18 years ago, just 5 weeks after I had emigrated here. I reminded him the last time I saw him (just after I had left school), about how he was concerned that he may not ever get on an even keel (financially wise) with most of us dumb buggers. He as of course overtaken most of us and will continue to pull further away as the years go by. However, money hasn't been a motivating force to me in deciding which jobs I've have had. I am content with what I have knowing that I am in the top 15% wealthiest people in the World and living in the BEST country in the World.

MH

I suppose, thats probably it. I've been going at it full throttle for the last two years, full load in the semester, then a class or two in the summers as well, that might have something to do with it too. I don't know though, I might just feel worse if I took a summer off.

I can afford the books but just barely. I'm lucky in that we have some of the cheapest tuition rates in the nation here in my state. I'm also lucky that I haven't transferred to a graduate uni yet either, I hear horrible tales of $3-4-500 used book prices from such places. :oo: One my my mates went to such a place for one semester and racked up something like $25-30,000. :C It was fun while it lasted he said. :q

We can often buy used books as well, but about every other semester they upgrade to the "new" edition, which usually consists of a new picture, a rearrangement inside, and an extra picture or tidbit on some recently scientific finding. Basically just enough to justify calling it a new edition so they can convince all the uni's that they really need to keep on the cutting edge and provide their students with current textbooks. :~ I remember my Zoo book, it was a new edition, they'd found some new thing out, just had to update the book, and by the time school started the "new scientific discovery" that had prompted the new edition had been found to be in error so our new $170 was more incorrect than the old used $80-90 copy would have been. :roll:

Such silliness. Its all about the $$$. Can you blame them though? It's their business.

I think I am just getting a bit bummed out. I'm more of a learn it apply it type of person, and with some of these classes we know what we learn we will never apply and when you finish the semester and you realize shortly you won't remember a thing from it because you won't use any of it again, well, it gets frustrating.

Like Organic Chem. For my field, for 90% of people taking it, they won't ever use it. Still have to jump through the hoop though. Seems like a waste of time, money, effort, brain cells, etc, etc.

To be honest though, I really didn't have to take Organic. :B However since this Uni does not have a undergrad for my specific degree/field (DPT), they just pigeonholed into the next closest one, which is Pre-Med. The reason being is with a degree all my credits will transfer smoothly, they won't without a degree. So even though I'm just taking pre-requisites, before transferring to a OU/OSU to get my bachelors (30 hours two semesters yay :U) before transferring to OU which has the DPT program (3-1/2 years, no yay :no: ), I really needed to finish out the pre-med degree. No biggy, Organic I is really the only class I have to take in addition to my DPT pre-requisites. But darn I'm sick of chem and stick figures and molecules and things that I can't see and that may or may not really work they way they say they do and meh meh meh.

So once the smoke has cleared and the dust settled I'll have spent 6-7 years at uni. One of my mates is trying to get me to go into surgery with him. Sometimes I wonder why not, at that point whats a few more years? :; I'd like surgery, I'm good with a carving knife. :p That whole area is a mess right now though, with all the lawsuits and all the malpractice insurance you have to have , crazy hours, and blah blah blah, too much trouble IMO.

Nope, give my me my DPT, let me work 9-5, maybe not make as much money, but you can make a comfortable living at it and thats all I need.

I wish I could be a carpenter sometimes though.

[Gingermick]

But organic chemistry is sooo cool. All those long chain hydrocarbons mmmmmmmmmm, hydrocarbons