Dangit! You've put me right off bagels...
As for the alternator, they're easy to refurbish yourself by replacing whatever internal component(s) need replacing. If the bearings are OK and it's not an open or shorted coil, it's most often the regulator and/or diodes. I don't recall exactly when Ford went to internal regulators on their alternators.
Doesn't matter with the Probe because it's a Mazda under the hood.
As an alternative to swapping in a rebuilt alternator, check around for an automotive electric repair shop that rebuilds starters, alternators themselves. Might find a sympathetic person who'll help out a college student.