<p>I am trying to work out our budget as best I can for the coming months and years. What should I realistically expect to pay for books for my Chem E major for her first year? She will be registering this week for Calc, the initial Eng courses, and Chem and a couple of Honors seminars, I think. I would hope to be able to find rental books as much as possible, but if any of you experienced parents could share what I should budget, I would greatly appreciate it! What would we pay new (ballpark) and what could we expect to save by renting?</p>
<p>Hmmm…</p>
<p>I would try to avoid buying all new books. Renting is an option, but also price how much buying used would be thru various websites. </p>
<p>My ChemE son was very careful to find used books. He never tried renting books. Each semester was a bit different. It seemed to me that the most expensive semesters were ones that had math, science, or Foreign Language books. However, with careful hunting, I think we typically spent $300 per semester (plus or minus $50).</p>
<p>That is good news. I had it in my head that books would cost about $1100 a year or so. Can you share the best sources of used books that you’ve found?</p>
<p>I’ve found the search engine directtextbook.com exceeding useful. They have over 50 booksellers (Amazon, B&N, Chegg, ebay, etc.) and they also include any rebates or discounts currently available. They have several categories -new, used, rental, ebook listings so you can compare & decide merits of each format. It’s very convenient to go through the links and get the information you need all in one place.</p>
<p>My D isn’t a Chem E major (she’s Econ/Math), but we didn’t come anywhere close to $1100 for books. I’d say it was under $400 for the year. We got most books for less than $30 - some were more like $5 plus shipping, and her Calc book was used for two semesters. The most expensive things we had to buy were access codes. Where it can get expensive is if a prof is using a new edition of a book, and in that case you could always ask if the old edition would work. We would check a variety of online sites (including Amazon, half.com and textbooks.com), and choose based on price, reviews and shipping times.</p>
<p>Amazon, half.com and textbooks.com</p>
<p>same here.</p>
<p>My EE S spent $385 for all of his books last year, plus approx. another $150 for some online access codes. We bought used (mostly from Amazon when we could). </p>
<p>If your student is taking calc, you are much better off buying a used book and a multi-session access code (providing the requirements stay the same between this year and last).</p>
<p>What are access codes?? What are they used for?</p>
<p>Web Assign (Wiley) codes.</p>
<p>[WebAssign</a> - Access Codes](<a href=“WebAssign - Not found, error 404”>WebAssign - Access Codes)</p>
<p>Thanks - never heard of that before!</p>
<p>The ISBN’s for the Calc and Physics books listed on the Alabama website seem like custom edition numbers (i.e. different last digit, etc). How can we tell which standard edition is equivalent to the one being used so I can search for online sources.</p>
<p>(FYI I am an EXPERT is finding textbooks cheap online for older DD. Was a little surprised to see all custom editions required by UA).</p>
<p>Which Calc and Physics classes?</p>
<p>The only custom book we bought for frosh. year was the EN 103 guidebook, which was a ridiculous $80 or so.</p>
<p>They may not be “custom” edition numbers so much as bundles. If you can figure out what’s included in the bundle, you can probably get the items separately (or not get the e-books that are usually included). I figured the calculus book out last year by going to the publisher’s website and checking out the different bundles. You have to watch the editions, though. My D started last fall with Calc 2, and although the same Calc book is used for Calc 1, 2 and 3, kids who started with Calc 1 last fall were using a newer edition of the book than the kids who started with Calc 2.</p>
<p>As for codes, my D needed WebAssign codes for Calc 2 and Calc 3, another code for Accounting, and another on-line code for MUS 121. They cost more than her books.</p>
<p>One thing no one has mentioned; are there any resources available at the school? Whether or not this is relevant to you, I am not sure, but there are some schools (mostly community colleges) with “textbook lending programs” for those who are disabled/first gen/low income.</p>
<p>If cost is in fact a huge issue, you could speak to FA or a counselor.</p>
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<p>C2012, when books were initially listed last year, the book listed for D’s EN103 class was an older edition, which we bought used online for significantly less than $80. Subsequently, the book was changed in MyBama, but since we already had the book, D just used it. I’m pretty sure she asked the prof about it and he told her not to buy another book. This was one of two instances we had where the book we bought was the wrong one (even though we bought what was listed).</p>
<p>^ Beth’s mom, I remember this well. It’s still a sore subject. Son was supposed to have asked prof. when class started if he could use earlier edition but he did not as wound up keeping the book we bought as left from early move in.</p>
<p>As for budgeting, some students (engineering included, not sure what else) should also budget for a clicker (response pad) used to record quiz answers. I think $50 - $60 new.</p>
<p>Brielle11, no idea if such a program exists at UA. FYI, my S and beth’s mom D are also northern IL.</p>
<p>I found the Webassign site and the access code costs 1/2 of what UA charges ($50ish versus $107) for Calculus 2. Don’t know if the price will change closer to the start of school on Webassign, but that would be significant savings as DD has 2 classes that require it (Calc and Physics).</p>
<p>Has anyone dealt directly with Webassign?</p>
<p>For Calc, buy a used textbook and the multi-level code directly from WebAssign (unless your student is starting in Calc III).</p>
<p>Son bought his codes directly online.</p>
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<p>Yes. As C2012 suggests, we bought the book used and then bought the multi-semester code directly from WebAssign. It was much cheaper than buying the bundled book and code, and you can get the code from WebAssign instantaneously. You can also use WebAssign for a few days and then buy the code - there’s a grace period. I’m pretty sure that’s what my D did.</p>
<p>My S spent $426.54 fall semester and $513.14 spring semester. We found some used (cheap!) for fall semester, except made the mistake of thinking he would really need new bundles for Chem and Calc III, in order to get the right codes, etc. He thought he would use the books more, so we got complete bundles. Stupid. He didn’t use the hard books…did everything online (but different kids are different). So…we waited until school started spring semester, hoping that he would be able to get things cheaper by only buying what he needed once classes started. The Diff EQ + Linear Alg were expensive (1 you HAD to buy the book for - nothing was online); and aero engineering courses can be expensive! Sheesh. It is easy to panic and think you are better off buying everything up front, but some classes it is best to wait and see what the professor says, as there are different options. Sorry to be murky, but this has been S’s experience with it. A pricey year for us.</p>