I won't claim to know a lot about graphics tablets, but I'm fairly sure you can get a solid one for way less than $350, unless you want actual screen on your tablet as well which would make it much more expensive.
In my university we use Wacom Intuos Pro which works like a charm, but it has many quite useless features for an amateur, like 5000 or more sensitivity levels and gesture support which you probably don't need. I believe it goes for around $300, but if you want something really basic you can get a good beginner tablet in $100-200 range.