Senior Brianna Wildgoose-Lister didn't know about account limits at the UNM Bookstore until she went over the limit one semester.
"I went to buy books, and I could only go up to the limit," Wildgoose-Lister said. "I had to put the difference on my credit card."
The UNM Bookstore provides loans to students for books and supplies.
Student accounts at the bookstore were set at $500 in previous semesters. The bookstore increased the limit last spring to $600.
Melanie Sparks, director of the UNM Bookstore, said the limit keeps students from having a large bill they are unable to pay off.
She said $600 should be enough to cover textbook purchases.
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Purchases made through a student account are billed directly to the Bursar's Office.
Wildgoose-Lister said she didn't understand why there was a limit at the bookstore, because students have so much money set up in their Bursar's account, and they should be able to use it.
"I have an account set up," she said. "I don't know why they set an arbitrary limit."
Wildgoose-Lister said the limit on the bookstore account should be the amount in the Bursar's account because students have scholarships or parental support that goes directly to it.
She has the Presidential Scholarship, which provides more than the cost of tuition.
"We should only have to deal with one institution," she said.
In the spring, bookstore policies made student accounts more lenient. Students used to be able to open an account at the bookstore only if they were employed, had financial aid or had parental support.
During the summer, students could only open an account if they had financial aid.
Now, any student can open an account at the bookstore, but limit the amount they can spend to $600.
Sparks said the only reason students might go over the limit is if they are buying other items besides textbooks.
The bookstore will make exceptions if a student's textbooks costs exceed the account limit.
The bookstore assesses the limit every year and the limit on student accounts is set for the duration of the semester.
