Actually, you might want to call me Chris, as in Christopher Columbus. My original idea for this post was an experiment to prove that you can navigate the St. George campus by bathroom graffiti alone. I had in the past…
Healthy, tasty and cheap food on campus? It’s possible!
Happy All Saints Day, dear readers! Did you dress up yesterday? For once, I didn't dress as myself this year; I was a Professional Procrastinator! ...I'll be in the corner ducking bricks now, thanks. But if my Halloween was any…
The Give and Take: UTSU’s Food and Clothing Bank
Did you know the University of Toronto has a food and clothing bank for students? It’s true and it is open to any student provided they register and present a valid TCard and a current timetable. Being in school fulltime…
What’s in your pantry? Ingredients for success in writing
You enter your kitchen. You know you have to eat, but you are loathing the fact that you have to cook. You hear a rustling in the pantry. You think it might be a mouse. You are afraid of mice.…
U of T’s planetarium: zoom in from the edge of the universe!
I remember when I was a wee little thing, I'd lie in my bed at night and stare at the ceiling, wishing I could somehow transform the white paint into the night sky. Years later, a friend came back from…
Not Hot Air / Campus Bike Repair!
It rhymes…I did that on purpose. So as you may or may not have guessed this week I will be sharing with you some information about an amazing resource for students on two (non-motorized) wheels. My story begins on a…
The Story of Willcocks Commons: a car-free pedestrian-only zone
It was a calm and breezy evening as I walked down St. George when something shiny caught my eye. I stopped near the hot dog stand and stared at the stretch of road between Sid Smith and Lash Miller. It…
Happy New Year!
I’ve always thought of the New Year starting in September. Maybe it’s to do with my cultural background (in Judaism, we celebrate the New Year in the fall... actually, right now). But I suspect it has more to do with…
Just text me!
Okay, so everyone anticipates university being expensive. Tuition costs can be found online, and you can also look up how much it’ll cost to live on or near campus. Of course, you’ll still have to mortgage your iPod and maybe set up a payment plan on your liver, but there’s comfort in knowing how much you have to pay. In fact, the costs associated with university are generally set, or slightly variable under your control—your phone plan, food, rent, are all chosen by you, at least to a degree. Your tuition, gym membership etc. are set, and also invariable, so they can be planned for.
This leaves the big unknown, the real outlier, the forever elusive… textbook costs. Sometimes, a class will have a course materials pack costing $20 flat (though there are the hidden costs of the copy store potentially being swarmed by cops and “busted”). Other times there will be a textbook for $175, or a whole bunch of books (and the prof always says the specific editions matter…) for a cumulative $250.
All totaled, textbooks can cost as much as $1000 in a given semester, or as little as $250, in my experience, and their prices are completely out of your control.
EXCEPT! Oh, happy day! As in all things money-related the market has worked its magic and ways to save money (with additional costs in the form of time, travel and inconvenience, unfortunately) have appeared over the years.
Leader of the pack
When I was packing for university, it was more like I was packing for The Island than Canada’s capitalist capital. I would stress out that I had to buy, like, a stapler before I left, and my mother would tease me mercilessly: “You do realize there may be a few stores in Toronto, Lizzie?” or “Yes, if need be we can ship you deodorant, but I think you’ll be OK just buying 17 sticks for now.”
As a jaded fourth-year, I can happily say that I was both right and wrong in my packing technique. Here’s my philosophy: you can buy anything you need in Toronto. Or, at least, if you can buy it elsewhere in Canada, you can probably get it here. That said, when you’re new to a city with so much to adjust to, it’s comforting to already have everything you really need. If you don't take it from me, take it from her. (I was going to embed the link, but the words "storage," "spruce" and "dorm room" lost their meaning.)