[Phantom Hoover]

I really do appreciate that my university's maths department has so far never required me to buy any reference materials.

[Nakura]

I really do appreciate that my university's maths department has so far never required me to buy any reference materials.

Sounds nice, I have to pay for virtually everything, which is bizarre since I go to a government-run community college. The only thing free here is tutoring and that isn't really free, they just take the money from our tuition.

[Kopachris]

I've only taken one college class (Aural Skills I), and I was happy to shell out ~$75 for the two books I needed because I was excited about having my first job.  However, if I were in your position, I would be outraged and would probably have turned to piracy before buying a second license.

[Nakura]

I've only taken one college class (Aural Skills I), and I was happy to shell out ~$75 for the two books I needed because I was excited about having my first job.  However, if I were in your position, I would be outraged and would probably have turned to piracy before buying a second license.

Unfortunately you can't pirate this, or well, you could probably pirate the book. But I need the online code to do the online homework for the class, which is online and each class has a different online portal through the book company.

Having just spoken with their support team, they said that it's a known issue and they are working to fix it. Apparently it's caused by too many people using the site at once, causing the server to glitch (or so they say). They said to wait and try again later, and that they would have only billed me if it worked. Eh, I guess I'll try again tomorrow.

[Klaustrophobia]

the college textbook hustle has gotten worse since i was in school.  every once in a while a textbook had an online access component, but those didn't contain the homework and weren't required.  the universal online homework system had a fee of like $15 per class or there was a flat unlimited one that was cheaper if you had 3 or more classes that used it.  sometimes a 'free' key would be included in the class's textbook if you bought it new.  i guess the digital textbook thing was just catching on.  some books were available as e-books for a little bit cheaper, but i don't know what the format was, or if it was permanent or a license kind of thing.

if the books WERE 'required' by the professor, you could almost always get by without it.  the most common way we got ****ed by the book publishers was them issuing new editions every couple years where the only thing that changed were the practice/homework problems, thus making sure you couldn't get a used version if the professor assigned homework from the book.  i learned pretty quickly to not buy any 'required' books until a week or two into the semester, after finding out if they were REALLY required, and if the professor would work with you if you didn't have/had an old edition of the book. 

[Nakura]

the college textbook hustle has gotten worse since i was in school.  every once in a while a textbook had an online access component, but those didn't contain the homework and weren't required.  the universal online homework system had a fee of like $15 per class or there was a flat unlimited one that was cheaper if you had 3 or more classes that used it.  sometimes a 'free' key would be included in the class's textbook if you bought it new.  i guess the digital textbook thing was just catching on.  some books were available as e-books for a little bit cheaper, but i don't know what the format was, or if it was permanent or a license kind of thing.

if the books WERE 'required' by the professor, you could almost always get by without it.  the most common way we got ****ed by the book publishers was them issuing new editions every couple years where the only thing that changed were the practice/homework problems, thus making sure you couldn't get a used version if the professor assigned homework from the book.  i learned pretty quickly to not buy any 'required' books until a week or two into the semester, after finding out if they were REALLY required, and if the professor would work with you if you didn't have/had an old edition of the book.

Now it seems like most classes have a required online component, and it virtually always costs money to use and your 'license' to use it expires when the class ends. My college seems to use the exact same publisher for almost all of their books, including the online component, so it's more streamlined and you don't have to remember 10 different login names and passwords, but it also means that they can charge just about anything they want and you're forced to buy it.

Also, good point about the whole "required books" thing, I've been burned on that a few times. I remember spending nearly a hundred dollars on a "required book" for my astronomy class, only to never use the book. I also bought the book for my gym class, but never used it. This was particularly a waste since the only reason I bought it was to study for a single online test in the class, but I ended up finding all of the answers online (Google) and passed the test with flying colors without even opening the book.

Waiting to the last minute to buy books though can really be a double-edged sword. For instance, if you need the book in the first few days of class, then you are pretty much stuck paying whatever ridiculous price the book store is charging, since you don't have time to check Amazon or other stores, due to shipping.

[Scotty]

Got a second (third) job at Target.

$9 an hour is comfortably above minimum wage, so this is a good thing.

[Nakura]

Got a second (third) job at Target.

$9 an hour is comfortably above minimum wage, so this is a good thing.

You're working three jobs? The money must be nice, but is it really worth never having any time to spend it?

One of my co-workers has three jobs, is trying to get a fourth, and goes to college full-time. He seems to think that it's worth it.

[Dark Hunter]

Well, if you're going to college at the same time, the usual expectation is that you can drop a couple of jobs for one very well-paying one after you graduate. So in that case it makes some sense to consider it "worth it".

[Nakura]

Well, if you're going to college at the same time, the usual expectation is that you can drop a couple of jobs for one very well-paying one after you graduate. So in that case it makes some sense to consider it "worth it".

A good point, I imagine that takes a great deal of dedication though. Nothing wrong with that, of course, dedication is an admirable quality.

[Nuke]

when i got my degree they handed out books in class. after the semester was over i took the books over to the college used book store and sold them back. no online bull**** what so ever.

Got a second (third) job at Target.

$9 an hour is comfortably above minimum wage, so this is a good thing.

its sad we live in a world where you have to work 3 jobs just to get the same lifestyle as your typical welfare bum.

[Nakura]

when i got my degree they handed out books in class. after the semester was over i took the books over to the college used book store and sold them back. no online bull**** what so ever.

Get this, a new thing that the book publishers are doing is they're only selling "unbound" books. In other words, the "text books" are little more than a few hundred loose leaf pieces of paper. These pieces of paper tear incredibly easily and you have to buy your own binding (good luck finding a big enough binder). And to top it all off, you can't really trade them in or sell them. All the while, they still charge you over a hundred dollars for each of these books.

[Beskargam]

when i got my degree they handed out books in class. after the semester was over i took the books over to the college used book store and sold them back. no online bull**** what so ever.

Get this, a new thing that the book publishers are doing is they're only selling "unbound" books. In other words, the "text books" are little more than a few hundred loose leaf pieces of paper. These pieces of paper tear incredibly easily and you have to buy your own binding (good luck finding a big enough binder). And to top it all off, you can't really trade them in or sell them. All the while, they still charge you over a hundred dollars for each of these books.

These are an absolute pain in the ass. I hate em. The lack of trade in value makes them useless. Very common in math classes at my college. I'm slightly lucky in that I'm rooming with several science majors and I'm in an applied chem frat which means we can share a lot of books (Though I sometimes prefer to keep some of my hard sci text books). On the ebook format, I understand they're cheaper, but I just prefer to study with a real book. It works better for me, and I am less distracted/more motivated than when using a comp to "read" my book. For the most part my text books have been useful, most teacher's don't teach from the book, but it does make an extraordinarily useful supplement. Sometimes not tho, and those classes suck.

[FlamingCobra]

I went to Bali Hai with Anime Club. The food was okay.

Brady started selling anime out of the back of his car and people started crowding around and buying it up like he was selling drugs

I bought the Ergo Proxy boxed set. With four trading cards.

[Scotty]

I just got a job at Target, I work as a bagger at the local Commissary, and have my stint in the reserves still.  Total hours per week is something around 30 or 40, depending on the shifts I get.

I also live significantly better than your typical welfare bum, thank you very much.

[MP-Ryan]

Protip from a guy with two university degrees obtained over 7 years:

The only textbooks you should ever buy are those that meet ALL the following criteria:
1.  Are listed as 'required' on the course syllabus;
2.  The professor confirms to you, in person, contain exercises that are mandatory course work for the class and which cannot be obtained elsewhere;
3.  Cannot be obtained from a student in the previous semester or year class
4.  Do not have copies maintained in the facility library/ies
5.  Are significantly different from previous editions in the book in content, and not just page numbering
6.  You cannot buy one copy and share between a few friends.

By the third year of my first degree, I managed to buy only 1-2 books per semester.  One semester I bought no textbooks.  My second degree was filled with a lot of sociology/psychology/history, and had quite a bit of required reading necessitating my own books, but they tended to be $20-$30 per book, not the several hundred that some of my genetics and biochemistry books cost (and could not be resold due to edition changes).

My first year of university, I spent over $1300 on textbooks.  My last, I spent $140.

University- and college-level textbooks are an extortionate scheme by publishing companies (and the professors that write the books).  Often, the sole difference between one edition and the next is nothing more than page numbering.  I cannot emphasize enough how little you should or need to support this horrible exercise in monopolistic capitalism.

[MP-Ryan]

Went on 5-day "vacation" with parents, wife, kid, and friends.  Spent the majority of the time chasing said kid (21 months old) across the beach, trying to feed said kid amidst the chaos, trying to get said kid to bed, and trying to get the non-camping-lover wife to relax and enjoy herself.  Managed one evening of fishing, caught a decent rainbow trout that made for a delicious addition to steak dinner the next day.  Then drove 8.5 hours home.

I now need a vacation from my vacation.

Except I am now about to be on-call for two weeks.  All prayers and/or crossed fingers for NO PIPELINE BREAKS AND/OR OIL SPILLS IN THE MIDDLE OF ****ING NOWHERE AND/OR FORT MCMURRAY are very much appreciated.

[Nakura]

Protip from a guy with two university degrees obtained over 7 years:

The only textbooks you should ever buy are those that meet ALL the following criteria:
1.  Are listed as 'required' on the course syllabus;
2.  The professor confirms to you, in person, contain exercises that are mandatory course work for the class and which cannot be obtained elsewhere;
3.  Cannot be obtained from a student in the previous semester or year class
4.  Do not have copies maintained in the facility library/ies
5.  Are significantly different from previous editions in the book in content, and not just page numbering
6.  You cannot buy one copy and share between a few friends.

By the third year of my first degree, I managed to buy only 1-2 books per semester.  One semester I bought no textbooks.  My second degree was filled with a lot of sociology/psychology/history, and had quite a bit of required reading necessitating my own books, but they tended to be $20-$30 per book, not the several hundred that some of my genetics and biochemistry books cost (and could not be resold due to edition changes).

My first year of university, I spent over $1300 on textbooks.  My last, I spent $140.

University- and college-level textbooks are an extortionate scheme by publishing companies (and the professors that write the books).  Often, the sole difference between one edition and the next is nothing more than page numbering.  I cannot emphasize enough how little you should or need to support this horrible exercise in monopolistic capitalism.

Some solid advice there, thanks, Ryan! I've already taken up some of it. I managed to save $70 two semesters ago by getting my books at the library. It sucks though with these new online codes that are required though, as you are pretty much forced to buy the book (or at least the online version) in order to even take the class.

[CommanderDJ]

Got an interview with Microsoft next week for an internship position over the Christmas holidays. I'd be super stoked if I got in, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Just gonna do my best.

[Nakura]

Been feeling pretty down lately. This isn't anything new to me though, I used to feel alone and borderline depressed nearly every night in high school. Nowadays I still occasionally feel alone and sad for seemingly no reason, and it's virtually always at night. I don't know what's causing me to feel this way...

Got an interview with Microsoft next week for an internship position over the Christmas holidays. I'd be super stoked if I got in, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Just gonna do my best.

Good luck, DJ! Hopefully you get the job! It seems like everyone on HLP is getting a job recently, or getting interviews at least.