<p>Ok so I'm totally new at this whole college thing. When and where do we get books for our classes??? How can I get them used/cheap?</p>
<p>The most convenient way to get your textbooks is through the Vanderbilt Bookstore during fall orientation. Really anytime is great as you really wont need your book until a week into classes. Half of the entire second floor is devoted to textbooks. All books are arranged by subject, course number, and section, so all you need is your schedule. Where possible there will a selection of used book and new books, but for some courses, the selection is limited. In other cases, the textbook is a new edition and you're a plum outta luck. The bookstore route's advantage is that is convenient, the disadvantage is price (it's too high).</p>
<p>The other realistic route at Vanderbilt is buy your textbooks in advance online. The best way to do so is go to the bookstore website (<a href="http://www.vanderbiltbookstore.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.vanderbiltbookstore.com/</a>) and search by class for all your texts. Almost always, books will be listed to author, name, edition, publisher, and publication year. Using this information, use google to find what is known as the ISBN of the textbook. This is an ID number unique to a book and edition. You must be careful to get the right edition though, and the bookstore will not give you ISBNs as they want all the business they can get. </p>
<p>The advantage of this route is the savings you get. The disadvantages that sometimes you'll not same that much money unless you get what is called an "international edition". This a book that is exactly the same as the US edition but it is made for sell outside North America. The content is the same but usually the cover is paperback and has a different appearance than the US edition. Occasionally, especially in the past, the cover is actually a shruken image of the US edition cover was an ugly white border around the front and "INTERNATION EDITION" written on it. This usually for international hardcovers; for international paperback editions, the appearance differences are more subtle. The other disadvantage to ordering online is the time you to have to wait while books are in transit in the mail.</p>
<p>I just bought them online and plan to resell them at the end of the semester. I can do that right? At a used price of course. I bought all mine used.</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>how did you guys find out what books you would need for your classes?</p>