alternator problems?

About a week ago, after no warning signs that I could see, I drove to the supermarket, went in for five minutes, and came out to find that my battery doesn't start. Got jumped and was on my way. Didn't take a long time to charge enough to start either. Put on the cable and started right away.

In the time since then, the car has either taken a long time to start (and when it would, the clock would be at 12:00, so it was dead at some point), or wouldn't start at all without a jump.

The battery light has not been on. I haven't had any heater or dashboard dimming problems.

I was just away for a few days, and my dad bought and installed a new battery for me. I wish I had brought it in to get the alternator checked before that, but this is my first car, so i'm learning as I go.

I just got it checked, and the volts were hovering around 12.8 (the guy said it should be around 13.8 or 14

Is there any possible fixes you might be able to see here than "you need a new alternator"? It sucks because a) I only need the car for 6 more months b) my dad just spent $100 on a new battery, and c) i dont really have the money for a new alternator I don't think.

Any thoughts? Could the belt just need to be tightened or something? How much is this gonna cost me if I need a new one would you guess?

The guy also said 'the alternator was in a pain in the ass spot' (it's a 1998), which made me think it was under the engine block or something like that and was gonna be a ton of labor cost... Is that true?

Thanks guys.

yeah need a alternator could go used labor should'nt be bad on the
3.0l ohv dont no about ohc engines

Defently sounds like the alt, but could be a bad battery, or a fuse. As was said, the OHV engines are CAKE!! 10 min tops. Never done a OHC one