hi,
I am an international student who goes to U of Alabama this year.
I got a full tuition scholarship and dont get me wrong, I am very happy to have this scholarship.
However I registered for the classes recently(really late due to a really frustrating bureaucracy issue) and until then I didnt realize extra cost like webassign and owl2 onlime homework program…I should have known but I was just too busy with my situation. I somehow managed to get textbooks for those classes but the cost for the online homework code is…well I simply dont have money for these for now because I didnt know about them.
I am VERY sure that there are students or parents whose children faced similar situation regarding this unexpected cost…international or not. If there is anyone who dealt with this kind of issue before, hoe did you deal with it? Did you have to pay for them anyway or what kind of solutions did you find?
And…are webassign/owl2 codes are book specific? For example, if I just buy any webassign code in amazon, can I use it for any classes?
Thank you, and please ask me if I need to clarify something.
Also, to answer another question, webassign codes are specific to the book + semester, so you need the specific one for the course, and they are often only valid from the school bookstore, not Amazon. In many courses, they are required as they are used for HW, which is part of the grade.
WebAssign usually comes with the textbook for that course (the most popular is the Calculus one). American colleges will be hitting you with fees like this throughout your undergraduate career. They’ll seem to come out of no where. I suggest talking to your family about a possible budget for this or, if that isn’t possible, talking to the school’s administration about possible solutions. Also, look around for scholarships within the university that you could apply towards such things.
Well the professors seem to have no free code, and unfortunately int office isnr helping ;( also there isnt any other scholarship othan than my engineering scholarship but that starts on next term…guess I have to figure it own on my own
Are you a member of any particular religious faith? Back in the day, my college chaplain often helped people with problems like this. He’d take $ from the collection and give or lend it to kids who were short on funds.
I know that may sound strange, but…he saw his job as helping his flock and he’d give $ to kids when issues like this arose. It may be hard for you to ask, but sometimes you really do need help and the chaplains understand that. At least mine certainly did.
Even if (s)he does not have funs to disburse, he may know what hidden bureaucracy at your school has money that can be used for such purposes. So, swallow your pride, and go talk to the chaplain.
You may find a student who needed it first semester but doesn’t need it anymore. My daughter has several books (chem, calc) and they codes were good for two semesters but she doesn’t need chem now (unless she switches her major from civil to chem engg again). I don’t know if they would sell the disk outright, but maybe would allow you to borrow. Also, the library may have some of the materials. Not convenient, but cheap. One of my kids goes to a school that has an emergency fund. It is parent funded and is for things like running out of money, an emergency trip home, medical costs. Are there any educational loans in your country?
this is not a UA thing. It could happen at any university in the country. The issue is how you purchased your books. Some textbook providers have online supplemental programs that work with the book. the professor is simply opting to implement the supplementary material for his class (as do professors across the country.). You may find you need a clicker as well. (I do t know if UA uses those, but my other college kids have had to use them in large freshman level classes. Our ds at UA hasnt needed one.).
when you buy textbooks that require a code, check to make sure the code can be activated. Most of the time you can buy codes at the university bookstore separately. (Again, I dont know about UA specifically, but my kids have done it at other schools.). Whether that is cheaper than simply purchasing the book with the code is a different question.
I’m sorry this was unexpected. Textbook purchases are huge budgetary factor. It can take a couple of semesters to master how to buy books the most cost effective way while making sure your codes will activate, etc.
Do you have FB? Post that you need a code & would be willing to trade services maybe? Helping to tutor maybe? As my nana would always say…There is always more than one way to skin a cat.