Hi readers! It's Monday. I'd like to ignore all the nasty stuff that I'm going to have to deal with this week. I feel like a chained escape artist with four walls closing in who just found out the key…
“Can’t manage without …”
New School-year Resolution Le Deux. This year I will… 2. Manage my time better … Though I really, really don’t want to jinx myself, I usually do pretty well in school. And I should… after all, as any of you…
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.)
The kids are alright!
Hello student lifers! Here’s the thing about campus in the summer: it looks the same, it sounds the same, but it just doesn’t feel the same. This being my third summer on campus-ish (first summer I lived on campus, second I took…
Now is the summer of our discontent?
Summer school can be brutal. No matter how much I rationalize, justify and bargain with myself about it, summer rolls around and I just can’t bring myself to go back to school. That was certainly the case last summer. I…
The keener’s perspective on doing stuff at U of T
"I feel like I missed out on undergrad." I said it out loud to no one in particular and was overcome by a fleeting moment of emptiness before being yanked back to reality. It was Saturday night and my friend…
Research project poster presentations
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the deadlines for undergraduate research courses are looming before us. Two related events - ones that could be really helpful for students thinking of applying to any one of these courses - are…
Your College at U of T: Woodsworth
Oh-em-gee, dear readers! My series — "THE COLLEGES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO—ST. GEORGE: AN EPIC, HEPTADIC SAGA" — is coming to an end. Amazing how fast time has passed! For our final interview, we have Jennifer Guyatt, Associate Registrar…
Seeing clearly
A perk of being an optometrist’s daughter is that you get to test out revolutionary technology. As a self-proclaimed, passionate anti-glasses individual, I've looked far and wide for a solution, and orthokeratology (ortho-k) is the answer. What is ortho-k, you…