After the desire to become a dr floated in my thoughts since a child, I finally made the decision to go for it! I applied to UNO as transfer student(sophomore) and it went downhill from there. I just found out that my paperwork wasn't forwarded in a timely manner and that I wouldn't receive my $ for books for 4-6 wks. I can't afford to buy them on my own. So, I withdrew and I am waiting for our next move OR will apply at Tulane(and hope I can get in). The only delightful part of this whole experience is discovering my GPA is even higher than I thought at 3.91. :yes:

I am just so . I knew you guys would understand. The people around me say,"Another year or so off will be fun." I'm a 31 yr. old mom of seven and I'm scared that the older I get the slimmer my chances for getting into med school will be. With no $ in the bank I have no options. :weeping:

I know how expensive books can be. I just bought all of mine and it was $400. And I go to a community college, so I can only imagine what UNO would be.
My school lets me charge mine until my loans and pell grants come in. Does yours do that?
Congratulations for such a really great GPA! That is really something to be extremely proud of. And SEVEN kids? Did I read that right, SEVEN?
Holy cow girl, you must be a really hard worker! I think I work hard and I have only 2 kids, and you have 7. You have an awesome GPA. You will look back on this someday and think, wow, I got through that. Good Luck and keep your chin up!!!Erin

I understand, something very similar has happened to me this semester...I got randomly selected for independent verification and while that was all fine, I have been left at the mercy of my FA advisors and they are not very merciful....
My paperwork has been put off for so long I will not be able to charge my books and will not recieve my loans for another 6 weeks and school starts Wednesday!!! While I am not going to shell out the $ 475 my books are this semester, I plan to do reading in the library where they always have copies of text books and study with a friend of mine that has some of my classes. My school, along with many others, offers a book rental at a fraction of the cost of the book...justs omething to look into...also, why do you have to wait a year and not just a semester?
ALlison

Erin,
Thanks so much for the encouragement. I have an awesome Lord, Jesus, who mercifully gave me an unbelieveable husband and seven really great kids. That GPA belongs to him and them, too!

UNO will not let me charge my books. I can't get a book voucher until the monies are in my account at the school.

I could go next semester BUT after the fiasco with UNO I know it is not where I need or want to be. They are too disorganized and way too difficult to communicate with. If I choose to apply to Tulane I can't go until next fall because I will be applying for scholarships, otherwise I could not pay for it. Not even with student loans.

Allison,

Thank you for your reply. Book prices are through the roof. I never considered going to the library to do my work with reference textbooks. It is a great idea but it would never work for my family. My husband works full time and goes to seminary full time, too. We'd never see one another.

Best of luck to you this semester!!! Thanks again.

Have you tried www.campusi.com? they are by far the cheapest place to get books cheap online...and yes most of the times they pay for shipping...

Thank you for the tip. I've tried TotalCampus and other websites but I haven't heard of this one yet.

Another great website is www.half.com. I discovered it my junior year of college and don't know how I paid so much for books my first two years! They have categories based on condition and if you don't mind highlights and stubby edges, you can get amazing deals. Plus, after the term is over you can sell your old books on the same site... in theory, you could actually pay nothing for the book if you just sell it for the same price you bought it for! Hope this helps, it definitely saved me a lot of money.

Hi, I'm new here but I saw your post and I can relate. Book prices are rediculous. I have also bought some books online (at campusi etc.), but I will also go through worldcat in a pinch. I don't know where you live, but you should be able to order books through worldcat from your local library. Here in Ohio, we have a library system called ohiolink. Worlcat is a library database that covers thousands of libraries all over the world. It isn't always fun to use, but basically you search for the book you need, and worldcat will come back with libraries all over the world that carry that book. Then you have to find all those libraries yourself, make sure the book is available and isn't a shelf reserve (as most textbooks tend to be) then go to your school or local library and request an interlibrary loan for that book. Usually it takes 1 to 3 weeks for the book to come in, and my local library won't allow these books to be renewed, but my college library allows 1 renewal. Either way, it's enough time to either get your money so you can buy the books yourself, or order another copy and keep rotating library books through the semester. Like I said, it's a pain, but if you're a poor premed like me, it's a port in a storm.

Hazel,
Thanks for the info. I was too nervous to start without books so I withdrew. I'm glad I did though. It wasn't kind of atmosphere I could excel in academically. The good Lord knew what He was doing when He closed that door. I just couldn't see it through the tears. I applied to Tulane yesterday online. We'll see how that goes. It is certainly the kind of school I prefer to attend(class sizes, etc.) BUT I will have to get "a full tuition ride" to attend. :scratchchin: