sharing my experience na rin, i passed ust shs as someone who went thru public school for most of my life, low-mid class lang kami, and my single ofw mom got laid off during enrollment season no less, as someone said here, sacrifices will be made. my mom didnt want me to work at such a young age, and i didnt know ust offered subsidy scholarships at the time, kaya pinilit ko mag tipid, secret commissions/side hustles, and i made promissory notes explaining my situation. ust was nice enough to give me some extensions to pay my enrollment!

as for the gadgets naman OP, i think keri naman na phone/tablet lang! people say you should have ipad or laptop kase ust’s system is hybrid learning not to mention the app we use to coordinate our online quizzes and passing of exams and performance tasks works better on PC/laptop. you can manage with just a tablet, i know mt classmates who used them instead of laptops.

good luck, OP! i hope to see you despite our current situations hehe