<p>I have a few questions about money that im hoping some current hopkins students can help me answer. The j-cash semester budget we got through the mail says we need about $1225 to cover books and miscellaneous expenses. Does this sound about right? My books are already going to cost be about $610 and I was wondering if the remainder is enough to cover everything else. Besides the expenses on the j-card is it really recommended to have some money to cover anything unexpected, or is $1225 all you really need? Also, is the j-card really that usefull? Hopkins really seems to be overstating the usefullness. I plan to use cash/debit in college. Thanks a lot in advance...i'm on kind of a tight budget so I just want to know if everything is okay. =]</p>
<p>You don't really need jcash. Anything you can use the jcard for you can use cash for and you can put money on it at many machiens around campus at any point during the semester The only thing I used it for all year was laundry, where I put enough money on it for that weeks laundry. Oh, and if your books cost $610 please go to half.com, amazon, or just buy them used from the JHU bookstore. You'll thank yourself next year.</p>
<p>thanks magnum, any idea where i can get the isbn numbers for the books? if i buy them soon, do you think they will ship on time? also, is $1225 about right to cover a semester's expenses, or should i have more money to back myself up?</p>
<p>Just go to: <a href="http://www.campusstores.com/johns-hopkins/index.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.campusstores.com/johns-hopkins/index.asp</a>
Search for your class by number, find the book, and type it into amazon or whatever to find out what book you need. If you worried about edition, general rule of thumb is that if the new edition ahs been out for more than 1 semester, the professor is probably basing the course of it. Sometimes the old editions are still fine regardless tho.</p>
<p>$1225 a semester sounds about right for a Freshman. I have $2000 budgeted for myself this year as a Sophomore.</p>
<p>Youre right the school does tend to overstate the importance of the JCard. First semester of Freshman year, I had $1000 on my JCard, but second semester I ended up with $1500, which allowed me to eat out about every night for a month or two. I dont think you really need $1225 on your JCard, especially if youre putting yourself on a budget. You can certainly use that money to buy books and eat out and all that stuff, but you can also use credit cards, debit cards, and cash. JCards are really useful for laundry (we estimate $5/week), photocopying (depends on your classes), printing (depends on classes and if you have a printer), and vending machines (they also take cash). There are also machines all over campus where you can put cash onto your JCard, but you cannot take cash off of your JCard. You have more flexibility with your money if you only keep a few hundred on JCard for laundry and stuff, and then leave everything else in your account. </p>
<p>Have fun moving in...</p>
<p>does the cash on the J-card roll over from year to year?</p>
<p>I checked the J-Card website (<a href="http://www.idcs.jhu.edu/jcash.html)%5B/url%5D">http://www.idcs.jhu.edu/jcash.html)</a>, and here is what I found...</p>
<p>"The account can be used year round and your funds are carried over from one year to the next as long as you are a registered student or current faculty or staff member. Your account closes: </p>
<p>A. When you are no longer a registered student or current faculty or staff member. You have 24 months to request a refund for a balance of $10 or more. A refund check will be processed and forwarded to your home address. Please allow 2 - 4 weeks for processing. After 24 months any remaining funds will be forfeited. </p>
<p>B. If, as a registered student, current faculty or staff member, you have not used your account for 24 months. At this time, any remaining funds will be forfeited. "</p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>