<p>Parents of 04 grads - did your freshpeople take any of their high school texts to college? If so, which ones, were they useful or a waste, etc?
DD was planning on taking her MLA Handbook, Elements of Style, etc, a few favorite novels, but we're wondering about calculus, chemistry, etc.
Everything has to go by air or UPS</p>
<p>Don't take anything where the same information is available on-line (like dictionaries). Unless the college uses the same textbooks, don't bother with the old ones.</p>
<p>cangel:</p>
<p>Sometimes, profs post their syllabi on their coursewebsites ahead of time. My S did not check and bought copies of books we already had at home, so now we have two copies of several titles.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Everything has to go by air or UPS
[/quote]
</p>
<p>My understanding is that USPS "Media Mail"
rate (what used to be called "book rate")
is much cheaper than UPS or similar ground
carrier rates--and it shouldn't be THAT much
slower either (except at peak times near
Christmas.)</p>
<p>The media mail rate can be also be used
for shipping cd's, dvd's, etc.</p>
<p>As to whether those high school textbooks
are helpful references in college--I suspect
this differs a good deal from student to student.</p>
<p>Many public school students don't even have the
option of hanging on to thei high school textbooks,
since they were required to turn them back in at
the end of the year, and I haven't heard of students
bemoaning their loss!</p>
<p>My daughter took a bunch of courses in local
colleges during her high school years and was generally
happy to sell her textbooks back at the end of the
semester, except for some advanced courses in
her planned major.</p>
<p>If in doubt, I'd say leave the books at home. You can
always ship particular books she'd find helpful to her
later if she starts to miss them.</p>
<p>My daughter faced different constraints on her choices--
we were driving her to college, so the big constraint on
books was not the cost of shipping but the fact that she
had grown up surrounded by books spilling all over the
house in every room, many of them old familiar friends...
she liked the idea of having some familiar favorites surrounding
her at college but it was hard to pick out a reasonable
number...as I recall, there were very few textbooks that
made the cut. </p>
<p>I told her I'd be happy to mail her anything she wanted
later on if she identified a need, but she never did ask for
any!</p>
<p>i had to buy elements of style for a writing class (even though i was required to read it, i never opened it) and i think the MLA book was used by another writing class.. depends on the professor.. but it wouldn't hurt to bring those two books.. honestly, i would check what books are needed and send them if so needed.. :)</p>
<p>She take the elements of style (they use it in the writing and the first year seminar class) and the MLA Handbook (papers written in MLA format) Forget about lugging the Calc and Chem books leave em home. The math and the chem department will have the books that they are using listed on their websites. In addition, students send out blitzes for books which they are selling and looking to purchase.</p>
<p>Large bookstore similar to B&N is on Main street. D goes there, picks up a book, plops in a chair and reads to relax.</p>
<p>You are confirming what we were thinking.
She went to a private high school, and sold some of her books back, and kept other books. Also, DH teaches high school, and served on a textbook committee last year, so we have an inordinate number of high school chemistry books, mostly freebies. She briefly thought that having a familiar book available, in case some of the explanations didn't make sense would be a good idea, plus having additonal practice examples - Dad said, you can get all the practice problems you need online, then she thought about it and decided the book wasn't all that great anyway.</p>
<p>As far as familiar books - that will be a real problem, although I just about gave up recreational reading in college.</p>
<p>My D brought her AP chem notes and labs and found them helpful; I think she also brought her dictionary and style book but not much else. Resources at school seem to be more than sufficient.</p>
<p>Some schools have their own style manuals. MLA is not universally accepted in either the hard sciences, or social sciences (I do this for a living), though Strunk & White is a terrific book, as is the Chicago Manual of Style. Smith has its own style manual, pointing out what is different between MLA and what is commonly used in other academic areas.</p>
<p>Anyhow, take as few books as possible. That's what college libraries (and browsing in bookstores) are for.</p>
<p>It's a 35-year-old memory, but I distinctly recall hauling a boxful of my favorite books to college w/me...and I read them all, several times. For me (one of the world's "weirdos" who rereads favorite books...), having those books was as necessary (more necessary?) as having clean clothes! But unless your D is one who checks various reference books for her own pleasure/benefit, she probably won't need/find useful "former" textbooks...</p>
<p>I have heard that there are sties where you can order your testbooks from overseas for a HUGE discount. Does anyone know the sites?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.varsitybooks.com%5B/url%5D">www.varsitybooks.com</a> has both used and new testbooks. Discounts vary a LOT so check your college bookstore first. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ABEbooks.com%5B/url%5D">www.ABEbooks.com</a> sometimes has used textbooks</p>
<p><a href="http://www.powells.com%5B/url%5D">www.powells.com</a> sometimes has used textbooks (esp. if it's a "regular" book--like for an English class)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com%5B/url%5D">www.amazon.com</a> is worth checking</p>
<p>Just a comment --- Our school just started using varsity books this past year for our book list. I have found that in nearly EVERY case, Amazon is cheaper for text books, especially when you factor in Amazon ships orders over $25 for free and that Varsity charges tax while Amazon still doesn't. Amazon also is a great source for used books and also a good place to re-sell your books. I have made a tidy profit over the years selling books on Amazon --- they deposit the money right to your checking account. Bottomline, it pays to cross-shop online services.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.Ecampus.com%5B/url%5D">www.Ecampus.com</a> is another source, although, we found the website to be somewhat cumbersome.</p>
<p>we have purchased a few books used from Amazon notably a brand new biology text book with Cd that saved about $100.
Bestbookbuy <a href="http://www.bestwebbuys.com/books/%5B/url%5D">http://www.bestwebbuys.com/books/</a>
Is another place to find used books
I did find however that for several books- the school bookstore had a comparable price.
D didn't really take many books to school- I did make her take a health book so she would know if it was worth it to go to the clinic or not ( and if they were giving her accurate information when she did- not always the case)
She also didn't buy all recommended books- but used them on reserve- however a WARNING- she did not buy the very pricey organic chemistry book and modeling set- using instead a dorm mates and the librarys. This was in spite of my admonition that she probably needed her own book-( we did pay all her book store charges- she could have easily got the book)
For whatever reason- mainly because she flunked the final and therefore flunked the class- get the textbooks and the study guides if recommended- yes they are expensive- but more expensive is paying for the course twice!</p>
<p>abebooks had people on its site that sold international versions of American textbooks. The international versions often had soft covers, but were very cheap--a calculus book that costs $120 on amazon new hardcover might cost $50 new softcover. Shipping was about $6. What I don't know is how to order books directly from overseas and cutting out the middleman.</p>
<p>My D's high school also started using varsity books for the student books, and told the parents we could only buy them online from there. The only reason I could think for the school using them was that they got some kind of kickback from their sales. Exactly as alumother said, they charged full retail price for every book, shipping, and sales tax. Still I'm sure most parents obediently did as they were told....The only good thing was it was a convenient way for me to find the list of required books for each class, write down the isbn numbers, and then go find the same books for much less on amazon or half.com.</p>
<p>amazon has a uk site
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/468294/202-0986287-1883055%5B/url%5D">http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/468294/202-0986287-1883055</a></p>
<p>Here's a great source for books. Their specialty is K-12 but they also have a lot of books used in college. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.academicbookservices.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.academicbookservices.com/</a></p>
<p>The trick to find great price is to look up the ISBN and google it to death. For ordering from overseas, remember that Amazon does have foreign divisions. For instance, ordering textbooks for Economics or Math from England is a breeze. Even with the expensive dollar and shipping costs, you should come WAY ahead of the pricey college store. The only difference is usually that foreign editions have soft covers.</p>
<p>My D opted to forego her AP credits in Calc and Chem and took her AP notes and any books she had. She found them VERY helpful. She
also took a dictionary and thesaurus and said it was a "waste of space".
I'm advising my son, heading off this fall, to only take his AP Stats as he'll retake. Otherwise, MLA and a few personal favorites are probably the only ones to make the cut.</p>