School loans and books

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2014

Can you not purchase used versions or previous editions of the textbooks off Ebay, Amazon, Textbook Wheel or some other retailer and have them shipped in an expedited manner to you?

Personally, the previous editions work just fine and tend to cost no more than $10 to $20 per textbook. Good luck with whatever you decide.

aspiringrn1987 · Aug 13, 2014

The big package is in a brown box and you can not see what is inside. From what I understand you need all of the access codes. There are assigned videos from the online access codes to be reviewed before the first day. If it is possible, it is very difficult to discern what is needed with any confidence.

mrsboots87 · Aug 13, 2014

Even though you were told not to buy the books yet, why were you not saving money for when you could purchase them? As frustrating as this you, either way you would need that money to buy the books, yet since you couldn't buy them early, you didn't save the money you would have used to buy them earlier is what I am understanding. You are part to blame for this stressful situation you are in. Part of the reason they say not to purchase early is because they wait to see if new editions come out, or if an instructor wants to change which books they want to teach out of. In most cases buying an older edition doesn't matter, but a complete book change would. It is also possible another book was added to the package or that the online access has become more expensive, hence the price change. And I recently learned that nursing schools pretty much break even and do not make money because the program is expensive to run. The books in the bookstore being slightly higher priced helps offset the cost of the course. This does not stop me from purchasing on Amazon or chegg or whatever to save money, but I at least understand the price difference.

See if a classmate who buys the bookstore package would be willing to give you the ISBN numbers from all the books in the package so you can start to purchase the books cheaper. On Amazon, the listing will tell you if access codes are included or not. I saved over $200 by not purchasing from the bookstore on campus. Also, see what books your assigned reading is out of. I doubt they are having you read from all of your books before day one. Purchase just the books that your required reading comes from until you can get your FA to purchase the rest. Some of them will likely be lab value, nursing diagnoses, and skill books that you wont use in the first week anyway. My block 1 didn't have a very large pre start homework load, but my block 2 that starts on 08/25 has reading, 2 quizzes, and 2 online lectures to get through by the first day. Welcome to nursing school, where you have no life for 4 months at a time lol. GL

mrsboots87 · Aug 13, 2014

I forgot to suggest also, have you checked to see if your school FA office offers book advances, or even a bookstore "account". My school used to give a $600 bookstore credit. You didn't actually get any money, but you could go to the bookstore and they would tack on the cost of the bookstore purchase to the tuition due for the semester. Then when the aid money was released, it paid the tuition and bookstore charge, then refunded the rest. ABout 2-3 years ago, they switched to a book advance. I had to opt into it, but basically about 1-2 weeks before my first class, up to $600 is refunded to me to purchase school supplies. Then when FA is actually released, it gets paid with the tuition and the remainder refunded. Very similar process except that with the book advance I can use the money anywhere. I hope they have something for you. I totally understand how overwhelming it is to have to pay for so much before you even start.

aspiringrn1987 · Aug 13, 2014

Well the reason I was not saving for them is personal, but had I known that this would happen, I would have started purchasing them one at a time back in June. They were aware of what the books were back then, I know how their text selection works and the instructors don't even choose them. I didn't need to save for them since FA reps stated repeatedly that the loans would be disbursed on the 29th and the website still says the 29th, so I had a loan planned out from someone.

I appreciate where you are coming from about it being partly my own fault however I have dealt with an array of personal circumstances this summer that have made this transition difficult and a little heads up would have been helpful in this situation.

aspiringrn1987 · Aug 13, 2014

I forgot to suggest also, have you checked to see if your school FA office offers book advances, or even a bookstore "account". My school used to give a $600 bookstore credit. You didn't actually get any money, but you could go to the bookstore and they would tack on the cost of the bookstore purchase to the tuition due for the semester. Then when the aid money was released, it paid the tuition and bookstore charge, then refunded the rest. ABout 2-3 years ago, they switched to a book advance. I had to opt into it, but basically about 1-2 weeks before my first class, up to $600 is refunded to me to purchase school supplies. Then when FA is actually released, it gets paid with the tuition and the remainder refunded. Very similar process except that with the book advance I can use the money anywhere. I hope they have something for you. I totally understand how overwhelming it is to have to pay for so much before you even start.

I actually did find out from a classmate that there is an emergency book loan that is offered, but $500 is the maximum and they have just raised the large package to $675. I will probably utilize that and then find a way to come up with the other 500 dollars (or less depending on which books I can get by without).

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the emergency book loan can only be utilized through the campus bookstore though, hence me being stuck with the 675 package. Still sounds like the way that I will need to come up with the least money out of pocket at the moment though.

TLizS · Aug 13, 2014

our financial aid doesn't disperse until the first week of september either...luckily the bookstore on campus will charge your books to your financial aid. Annoying because I can always find them much cheaper online.....but luckily I bought all of my books used this semester from other students except for one. I'm just going to go ahead and buy that one from the book store even though I found it much cheaper online.

I will hopefully be starting the nursing program in January so I went ahead and took out my full FA loan this semester. That way I can use what is left to buy my books/etc before the program starts.

ours nursing books are sold in a bundle like that too....I looked online and they aren't listed...just listed as the nursing bundle.

RookieRoo · Aug 14, 2014

I was in this exact situation last semester. Here is my advice:

one, your school's library. Use it! They will probably have copies of your textbooks that you can check out and use for your homework. The edition might be off- 2nd vs 3rd, etc, but you can cross check with a classmate's book to make sure you are reading the correct section even if it isn't the same page numbers. My school's library was a lifesaver that I accidentally stumbled on out of sheer desperation and having homework assignments due! Now, this semester, I am purposely not buying some of those expensive books because my library has them for free!

second, check with your school about an emergency loan. As long as you are expecting a financial aid refund, you should be able to borrow a small part of that financial aid (for my school it was $250) in advance of your actual disbursement and then pay it back once you get your money. Again, this was something I had no idea existed until I had to go to the financial aid office to desperately ask them for help! Definitely check on this.

three, your classmates. I know this one is a bit awkward since you haven't technically started yet and they are essentially strangers, but if you can make a friend and have "homework date night" using their books, you will be set! Plus you'll have found a friend in the process.

four, you can always camp out at your local bookstore! Find the nursing section of your local Barnes and noble and then find one of their comfy chairs. Read away! It's not a long term solution (none of these are) but they will help you until you get your aide money.

fifth, relax. I know how stressful the

money part of this is, since I'm going through it myself. But just remember, you are working towards a well-paying and gratifying career! It will all be worth it in the end. Breathe!

aspiringrn1987 · Aug 14, 2014

I was in this exact situation last semester. Here is my advice:
one, your school's library. Use it! They will probably have copies of your textbooks that you can check out and use for your homework. The edition might be off- 2nd vs 3rd, etc, but you can cross check with a classmate's book to make sure you are reading the correct section even if it isn't the same page numbers. My school's library was a lifesaver that I accidentally stumbled on out of sheer desperation and having homework assignments due! Now, this semester, I am purposely not buying some of those expensive books because my library has them for free!
second, check with your school about an emergency loan. As long as you are expecting a financial aid refund, you should be able to borrow a small part of that financial aid (for my school it was $250) in advance of your actual disbursement and then pay it back once you get your money. Again, this was something I had no idea existed until I had to go to the financial aid office to desperately ask them for help! Definitely check on this.
three, your classmates. I know this one is a bit awkward since you haven't technically started yet and they are essentially strangers, but if you can make a friend and have "homework date night" using their books, you will be set! Plus you'll have found a friend in the process.
four, you can always camp out at your local bookstore! Find the nursing section of your local Barnes and noble and then find one of their comfy chairs. Read away! It's not a long term solution (none of these are) but they will help you until you get your aide money.
fifth, relax. I know how stressful the
money part of this is, since I'm going through it myself. But just remember, you are working towards a well-paying and gratifying career! It will all be worth it in the end. Breathe!

I got a 500 dollar emergency book loan from the bookstore and my little brother loaned me the other 500. Got all my books, thank goodness! Also the bookstore was doing something shady. There are 4 different campuses for the school I go to and ONLY the campus I attend's bookstore raised the book package price. They were made to change it back, so I am not sure what happened there. When I went in to get my books I was ready to fight a little as the price was listed as $590 still through the bookstore's website and it was marked $675, but when I asked they said "No it is $590" and later that night there was an email from the nursing department stating that anybody who paid the $675 would be able to go in with their receipt and get a refund for the difference. So that made the total $965.

mrsboots87 · Aug 15, 2014

I got a 500 dollar emergency book loan from the bookstore and my little brother loaned me the other 500. Got all my books, thank goodness! Also the bookstore was doing something shady. There are 4 different campuses for the school I go to and ONLY the campus I attend's bookstore raised the book package price. They were made to change it back, so I am not sure what happened there. When I went in to get my books I was ready to fight a little as the price was listed as $590 still through the bookstore's website and it was marked $675, but when I asked they said "No it is $590" and later that night there was an email from the nursing department stating that anybody who paid the $675 would be able to go in with their receipt and get a refund for the difference. So that made the total $965.

That's crazy. I know the bookstores don't make much money, but geez. Students struggle as it is to then get a price jump for no good reason. Glad the school was on it and made them refund whoever was overcharged. I bet students complained about the price difference between the campuses and online.

aspiringrn1987 · Aug 17, 2014

During the orientation the instructors were like "why does everyone keep talking about 1000 dollars for books? the package is 590" And then someone said "yes the main package is 590 but there are several other books which make the total 1000", then a couple of people were like "NOPE! It WAS 590 and the bookstore just raised it to 675 so I did not have enough money to buy them". Some people were also angry because they paid the 675 while others had only paid 590.

I am assuming that after that happened the instructors were in contact with the bookstore and found out that only one campus' bookstore had raised the price. As for the rest, I have no idea, but they were made to lower the price. The tag on the shelf was still printed as 675 when I went to purchase mine but the 590 price was honored.