<p>In the big book of forms they ask how many Obie dollars we want to contribute to our son's Obie dollar account. Well I don't have a clue. Can anyone provide some direction on this one? Thanks.</p>
<p>My son had an on campus job, where paychecks were deposited into his savings account at one of the local banks (Lorain). This account had a debit card for him to pay for incidental expenses and carry around cash. We could pretty quickly transfer money to him, if need be, but that did not happen last year. So, he really didn’t need Obie dollars at all, but occasionally, I would deposit some $$ into the Obie account (mail a $25 check) for an extra treat. I think you can use Obiedollars at several of the stores in Tappan Sq and the book store.</p>
<p>There is not a lot of things to spend money on in Oberlin. Last year, he took a theater class and it was mandatory to attend several productions. I guess I was in NYC mode and was thinking “this is going to cost a bundle”. Well, most of the productions were free because the prof got the class into the dress rehearsal, and the few that he had to pay for out of pocket might have cost him $2 or $3.</p>
<p>As far as I know, there are only two things you can do with Obie Dollars that you can’t do with real money: use campus photocopiers, and get coffee from Azariah’s (the cafe in the library). In a year at Oberlin, I’ve photocopied exactly two pages (= 14 cents) and never bought anything at Azariah’s; YMMV. You can also spend Obie Dollars at Decafe, the science center cart, and some of the stores downtown. Obviously these places accept cash as well, and some take credit/debit.</p>
<p>The convenience of Obie Dollars is walking around with a single card that will act as ID, let you into buildings, and pay for things - no need to worry about wallets, credit cards, or cash. On the flip side, it’s got all the cons of other forms of plastic money, and you don’t often need to use it. So, it depends on personal preference.</p>
<p>I put $100 on my card, just in case. I ended up spending all of it (just to use it up) and didn’t add more. But I think it’s a good idea to start out with something in the account, just to figure out whether it’s useful.</p>
<p>Quaere, my older son–who goes to another college in a small town like Oberlin–has a similar card and we load money on it to buy textbooks, do laundry and supplies. Would an Oberlin student use the Obie card in the same way–especially textbooks and bookstore purchases?</p>
<p>You can’t use them for laundry - need old fashioned quarters for that. You can use them for the bookstore, but you really should check out buying the books online. Freshman are allowed to register for 2 classes ahead of time and you can find out what books you will need for those classes at [Welcome</a> to Oberlin College Bookstore](<a href=“http://oberlin.bncollege.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BNCBHomePage?storeId=43060&catalogId=10001&langId=-1]Welcome”>http://oberlin.bncollege.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BNCBHomePage?storeId=43060&catalogId=10001&langId=-1) </p>
<p>We bought used books last year from half.com and managed to spend less than $100 per semester. For the second semester, son ordered books during winter term and had them delivered straight to school.</p>
<p>There really isn’t a need for Obie dollars that I can think of, if you have a debit card.</p>
<p>What need2learn said. For laundry, stick a roll of quarters into a care package every once in a while and you will be very loved… For books, you could use Obie Dollars at the bookstore (or a B&N gift card), but you’ll find better prices elsewhere. There’s an independent, used bookstore in town called Mindfair that carries lots of textbooks and will order anything you need that they don’t have. They’re often cheaper than the college bookstore (and their end-of-semester buyback prices are better) - plus they fight corporate hegemony and good stuff like that ;)</p>
<p>I was told (over the phone) by a staff person in the residence hall office that there is an effort underway to convert the washers and dryers to card access (Dickinson College is set up this way), but they still have a ways to go. Still, the decision to go with Obie Dollars and/or Debit card is perplexing. I guess a debit card can be used anywhere Obie Dollars can be used? Plus any mall, the Cleveland Airport (if need be), shuttle buses to the airport, etc.?</p>
<p>In her first year, we purchased $100 worth of Obie dollars for our daughter, but she rarely used them. She was on a traditional meal plan, which included flex points for use in Decafe. This year she switched to a coop dining plan, which doesn’t include flex points, and she’s used up her Obie dollars. So, you may want to consider what to do in the context of dining plans.</p>
<p>A person in the Financial Aid office told me they recommend (when asked) that parents deposit $500 into the Obie Dollars account. This way the kids can even buy their text books using their Obie ID.</p>
<p>I’m just repeating what I was told.</p>
<p>Why would you want to put so much $$ into a non interest bearing account? I can see the advantage for Oberlin - 2800 students x $500 = $1,400,000, nothing to sneeze at, but why would you want to part with $500 when a debit card could do the same job?</p>
<p>You raise a good point, need2learn, but how much interest can you earn on an account that will likely have a balance of less than 100 bucks, immediately after books are purchased? I’m not talking about a running balance of $500. I realize some folks want to squeeze every penny they can out of the system, but 2 bucks in interest isn’t worth my time. Moreover, a Debit card is just another card to worry about if it gets lost or stolen. The fewer cards she has the better, IMHO. </p>
<p>My older daughter, a college sophomore, had her Debit card stolen by a trusted friend, of all people, and $400 bucks (the daily limit) disappeared from my D’s account. I went through hell trying to recover it. There are no photos on Debit cards.</p>
<p>Like I said, the fewer cards she has the better off she’ll be.</p>
<p>Finally, wouldn’t you rather see your child’s college earn a little instead of some a-hole bank? Either you’re giving your money to the college or you’re giving it to a bank. I’d rather the college benefit.</p>
<p>We spent less than $100 a semester by buying used books online. Check out the Oberlin Bookstore site</p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to Oberlin College Bookstore](<a href=“http://oberlin.bncollege.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BNCBHomePage?storeId=43060&catalogId=10001&langId=-1]Welcome”>http://oberlin.bncollege.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BNCBHomePage?storeId=43060&catalogId=10001&langId=-1)</p>
<p>scroll about halfway down on the left - you can put in the course # and it will direct you to the books needed for the course - it will give you the Oberlin cost and then you can search sites like Amazon and half.com to see if you can get a better deal. I don’t know if it’s been updated yet but last year son had the books for the two courses he was allowed to register for in advance, bought off the internet in mid summer and had a significant amount of reading done before school began.</p>
<p>As with the Obie dollars, you of course know what’s best for your family, I’m just telling you what worked for us.</p>
<p>In general I agree with need2learn. But I would strongly caution against buying books in mid-summer for a course you’ve registered for unless you’re absolutely certain you’ll stay in it. Many students drop at least one of the courses they’ve registered for in advance, once they get to campus and see what their other options are.</p>
<p>Good point Dave. We’ve been lucky that he hasn’t dropped a class or the reading list hasn’t significantly changed, but since he participates in a fall sport it is great for him to have a jump start on the reading.</p>
<p>Son also mentioned that borrowing books from Ohio Link is a good way to save $$ on textbooks.</p>
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<p>This. One of my friends (a history major) spent nothing on books last semester, thanks to OhioLINK. It’s not a good option for big textbooks that you’ll want to mark up a lot (e.g., science and math books)… but for something that you’ll read once, won’t write in, and will never need again, it’s definitely the best option.</p>
<p>About buying books over the summer for courses registered for now…how do you know if you got into the course?</p>
<p>These are all good tips, but I agree with Inquisitive Mom. How do you know you got into the course? And, how do you know you won’t change a course or two? And, how do you know in advance if the course textbook is one you’ll want to highlight and mark up or not?</p>
<p>I can’t remember specifically, but I’m going to wager a guess that the classes appeared on Presto sometime over the summer.</p>
<p>Yep, it says in the BBoF that we’ll get the results of our registration request in PRESTO by August 14.</p>
<p>You can sometimes save a significant amount on Amazon - but you can’t return books after a couple of weeks. Also, sometimes it turns out not to be necessary to purchase some or all of the books ordered for a course…if you would keep the book anyway then it could be worth the risk.</p>