cost of settling into uni? (1 Viewer)

[a-m-e-e-e]

could anyone give me a vague idea of how much money I'm going to need to have when I move to canberra? for textbooks etc, and anything else you can think of... and possibly before I get the chance to find a job.. what would be reasonable?

 

[jas0nt]

hi there,

usually text books are the killer in terms of expenses, depending if you're a sucker or not. if you're a sucker you would be the first in line in the Coop bookshop to buy the text books (i remember when i did this it set me back $500). or, you can find a second hand text book which would cost at least half the price you would pay new. new text books aren't cheap, they usually cost around the $100 mark, many going up to $130. a huge rort i know (even my one of my lecturer admits it which is why his course don't use them )

cant really think of any other expenses if you're moving your stuff over.

any questions, add me on msn.

 

[Davo1111]

Text books are a tricky one, speak to older students about what text books they actually used/needed. Becareful of bias (if they're trying to sell you the book). I got most of my first year texts really cheap. But you have to be prepared to look for them.

As for living expenses. Which college do you think you will be moving into? If its self-catered then you will need to acquire all the things related to cooking, from utensils, to basics + (obviously ingredients).

Elsewhere its the little things that all add up. Like washing powder, power cords, stationary etc. Really depends how strapped you are for cash, but you can pack most of your junk from home if you create a good list

 

[a-m-e-e-e]

ok, thanks.
I'm put B&G as my first choice, Bruce as my second, so depending what happens there that will make a bit of a difference to how much money I have..
yeah, I figured textbooks were the biggest expense, and since I expect to have all my stuff from home that should be ok, just wondering if there was anything people had to buy that they hadn't expected would be necessary?

also, where can you find secondhand textbooks?

 

[neo o]

ok, thanks.
I'm put B&G as my first choice, Bruce as my second, so depending what happens there that will make a bit of a difference to how much money I have..
yeah, I figured textbooks were the biggest expense, and since I expect to have all my stuff from home that should be ok, just wondering if there was anything people had to buy that they hadn't expected would be necessary?

also, where can you find secondhand textbooks?

Try borrowing them from people at college or on billboard.anu.edu.au. You can also try the student second hand bookstore on campus, but it's expensive. Depending on what subjects you're doing, I'd suggest just reading the textbooks in the library instead of buying them.

 

[Davo1111]

Alot of first year books are available in the library on 2hr loan. So if you're prepared to stay in the library, then you can save a shit load.

 

[jas0nt]

i don't recommend the 2-hour loan especially for first year text books. come exam time, a potential of 700 people (micro/macro 1) fighting for 3 or so books in the library... aint pretty.

if you're doing maths i learnt that a text book is not a necessary tool to own yourself. if you're doing STAT1008 this can also be said. if you're doing micro/macro/law, then i believe a text book is essential.

what subjects are you enrolling in?

 

[blacksunset]

your subjects will be essential to where you can get textbooks. im at b&g and there wil be HEAPSSSS of people selling them.. including myself.
so we should be able to help you out

 

[Evilo]

As per above, but it really depends what subjects you're doing. If your course has heaps of people, you're very likely to get a 2nd hand textbook from older year students. In a smaller faculty, it becomes a bit more of a challenge.

EDIT: just be careful with bias. If you ask someone 'what books do i really need when doing this course? and they're trying to sell you that textbook, they may tell a fib to sell on the expensive books.'

 

[babikakez]

Use textbookexchange.com.au for second hand textbooks if you need to

 

[jas0nt]

EDIT: just be careful with bias. If you ask someone 'what books do i really need when doing this course? and they're trying to sell you that textbook, they may tell a fib to sell on the expensive books.'

i was a mean son of a bitch when selling my first year stat book to a first year kid. i told them it's a necessary resource and it's impossible to go through the course without it (i got a mid-D in that course without opening the book)

 

[Hercules6]

i was a mean son of a bitch when selling my first year stat book to a first year kid. i told them it's a necessary resource and it's impossible to go through the course without it (i got a mid-D in that course without opening the book)

proud?

 

[jas0nt]

proud?

i think it's obvious that i was.

 

[blacksunset]

i think it's obvious that i was.

hahahahaha good stuff.

 

[unco_wannabe]

Hey guys,
i recently moved into a place that wasnt on campus - but was a full-furnished house with housemates. ive written up a general list of things you might need initially to set you up and some on going costs:

1 Text Books - depends on your course really
2 )Bond Money - (this can vary from 4 weeks rent to 6 weeks rent in advance depending on if the house is furnished or not) - for those moving onto colleges, im pretty sure the uni expects you to pay some form of bond before hand.
3) 2 weeks rent in advance - this is a bullshit extra fee they milk out of you when getting your own place - once again im not too sure about colleges wanting this.
4) you would want atleast two plates, two bowls, two cups, two sets of knives and forks just for your own private use - Best thing to do for this is find the roommate nxt to you and go halves in a 20 set piece from Big W - it will come down to 10 bux a head, bringing something from a far away location can be a bit of a hassle.
5) food supplies - i recommend having food stored away in your rooms at all times, extra packet of noodles, some chips, cans of tuna etc etc - get a balance of everything really but dont go over the top. this shold be around $40 - this isnt your 'main stash of food'.
6) Internet modem - the uni does offer internet connectivity at 1c/mb ( its gonna cost a bit to thrash facebook everynight) - get something wireless for yourself.
7) come to uni with an extra $200 bux to spend if anything pops up , chances are if its anything important you might need a bit more.
8) Bring a laptop - its usually tough to get computers. you dont need to bring a laptop to lecture, its sometimes not worth the extra hassle, but you will need one for looking up articles and wirting up papers - when doing an allnighter you would rather be in the comfort of your room with your food supplies (5) then in some computer lap. Harvey norman and other places have pretty decent computers for under a grand. you dont need a massive 19 inch 2342 gb, 10 gig ram computer to do word docs on...."netbooks" can be a positive alternative, but its can be painful to watch movies (ofcourse your gonna watch movies) on it and long papers can be painful too.
9) If anything else pops up you can get it from Big W and Woolies
10) i recommend getting a little pack of 5 or something, plastic containers this way you can put ur coffee, sugar, etc in without the stuff going off - but dont worry you can pick it up in big w or woolies.
11) Migoreng Noodles - if you havent heard of these then 'omg' ur missing out, these were lifesavers in first year and are VERY awesome.

woops this is turning into a 'what you need to bring' list....

okay back to the topic

a) if your moving into uni accom--> most things are covered dont worry bring around 200-300 bux of money u can spend on stuff such as plates, maybe coat hangers, cups etc etc ...the less you bring with you the less of a hassle it is.
b) if your moving into non-uni accom i.e a place with housemates ---> if the place is ful-furnished then 95 percent of the work is done for you.
c) if you moving into a non-uni accom that IS NOT full-furnished (or even semi-furnished) then may the heavens help you ...nah its not that bad....just give me a buzz and ill be glad to write up a post of the things you need.

cheers