Save the greenbacks

As soon as you cross the bricks at the main entrance to the University of Maryland you are entering the zone of no return: wallet edition.

Before even crossing the brownish brick road you will be hit hard by tuition first. I think in state rates are bad enough, however I really feel for my out of staters, those just hurt. Then there all the random "mandatory fees." If they are mandatory than why not add that into the cost of tuition instead of getting my hopes up on a decent tuition rate?

If you cross in a vehicle you WILL be spending at least $10 minimum just for parking. Free parking and UMD are an oxymoron such as a good Soulja Boy. So you have three choices; get a permit (day or semester), meter king/queen, or park illegally and take the $75 minimum ticket. Once you leave your vehicle that is when the real fun starts.

As a student you will soon realize a lot of the professors you encounter have their own books of some form so more than likely you will have to shell out serious dough to get these custom editions that might only say UMD on them and be done. Or if your in a science major you will realize that the publishers like to update the books every t=2.5 seconds which trickles down to us. woohoo!

If you are a sciency major, you will realize that technology is going to be your lover and hater. You will have to have your own personal computer, and pretty much get a laptop since group projects will become your new friend. You have to have applications on your computer to make it useful too, so be prepared to shell out money for wonderful programs such as MATLAB. This is where the colleges wonderful secrets start coming out.

First of all, a good 75% of the time when a new edition of a book rolls out the professor claims you need the newer edition when in reality the old edition will suffice. You might have to get one or two problems from a friend or add a couple pages to an assignment to get to the right place but other wise its all good.

MATLAB is available on the computers in the WAM lab. The professors say it would be a wise investment to buy said program for your own personal use. If you live off campus where you cannot access the UMD servers this is true. HOWEVER, if you live on campus or have access to the UMD servers you can get MATLAB running on your computer without spending a dime. XliveCD Xming with Putty. Do some research on it then go become friendly with the help desk. They'll help you right after you shell out a little bit of knowledge.

So at our fine institution we really do embody the importance of knowledge espicially in a recession. Know shit and save money is the moral of this story. Plus, work on your hustle.