Yikes, books were expensive...

<p>Just saw the bill for the books that D preordered. They totaled $470. I guess there were not any used books available. At least I'll know for next semester.</p>

<p>kmkord,
Where did you find the bill? Was it online somewhere? </p>

<p>Also, does anyone know when they "post" the Carolina Card deposits? We put a deposit on S's Carolina Card account to cover books, expense money, etc. We chose this under "optional fees" and then it was added to our bill, which we have already paid several weeks ago. But, under VIP, under the "Show Me" Carolina Card deposits, it says $0 and it says "no meal plan" also.<br>
Does anyone show a deposit amount and a meal plan? Or have they just not posted yet?</p>

<p>We paid for the books using the carolina card. I had put money on the card separately from from the tuition/fees bill on VIP afew weeks ago. I only know how much the book bill was because I had put $700 on D's carolina card. When I looked at the carolina card transactions, it showed the debit for the books for $470.</p>

<p>Now I am really worried about S's Carolina Card. It shows $0 on the balance, and no transactions, although we put money on it and also pre-ordered his textbooks. I am going to call the Carolina Card office tomorrow.</p>

<p>greenville
Im pretty sure the debit for the books wont show until your S actually shows up and pays for them with the card. The meal plan wont show up until its usable,on the move in day. Not sure whether Carolina Cash deposits should show up,I just funded S's card today. Just give them a quick call tomorrow to verify.Did you print out a confirmation # when you added the $$ to the card?
to you both..S's books both semesters were in the 500$ range.</p>

<p>ok..I went to VIP and checked under "Carolina Card Options"..it does show the deposit I made today, with a "Y" in the active column. So you definitely should call.</p>

<p>Thanks, cathymee. I posted a new thread, (yes, in panic!) before I read your reply, because I got super worried. We put $500 in for his books, and $400 for expenses, and that was done back several weeks ago when we paid his bill via electronic check. Everything shows that the fees have been paid, etc...just nothing showing under his card. Now I'm afraid they might not have processed his books, either, since there "apparently" isn't any $ on the card...and we ordered his books June 8th.</p>

<p>Found out something interesting. I called Carolina Card (deposits post today if they were paid with tuition). Carolina Card person transferred me to bookstore, to check on S's book order, which was placed June 8. Bookstore employee (textbook manager)was very helpful, but said that they do not pull books by date. They are just doing "all the freshmen orders" starting this week. So it doesn't really matter if you order early, as far as used books go. They wait until close to school opens to give everyone a chance to finalize schedule, etc.</p>

<p>glad you were able to get all your questions answered promptly.hope you are feeling a little relieved!
one of the nice things about USC is the ability to call and speak to human beings who are helpful and seem to genuinely want to answer your questions!</p>

<p>Hi USC folks...I have to say, my daughter's book bill (not at USC...but at SCU...) was almost $1000 for her first term last year...but that included three science books that were used all year long (meaning much smaller bills for the subsequent terms). College books are costly. Both of my kids order their books online now and save tons of money. Regardless of the cost, there IS a savings ordering from the cheap textbook sites.</p>

<p>My other daughter (not at USC) now emails her professors ahead of time and gets the ISBN number for her textbooks. You will notice that B&N and other textbook sellers are not so forthcoming with those numbers. She has had no problem though getting the ISBNs from the professors. With this number she can order used or new textbooks from other sellers such as Amazon or Half.com at a much reduced price over the on-campus booksellers. My USC daughter will go the B&N route for first semester (her estimate is around $550 for a biology major) but after that she will contact the professors for ISBN numbers too and shop around. I would estimate that my other daughter saves 25-30% at least over used prices from the on-campus sellers.</p>

<p>Do be careful trying to buy textbooks over the internet from sellers other than B&N without the ISBN numbers. There are sooooooo many editions of textbooks out there and it can make a big difference.</p>

<p>don't underestimate the idea that your kid will decide at the last minute to change around their schedule as well,which would have created havoc with preordered books LOL...S did that yesterday!</p>

<p>After this semester (freshman year) I don't see us using the bookstore reserve service. Really if you know what textbooks and editions they need you can shop around and order them at your own leisure. There is at least one other non USC bookstore that sells textbooks near campus. I haven't checked their prices but maybe they have a good selection.</p>