<p>Should I buy the listed textbooks before the first class? Is there a chance that a certain professor doesn't use the standard listed textbook? I want to get the textbooks online, and not at the bookstore (cheaper) but I don't want to risk the book not arriving in time for when I'll need it. Thanks!</p>
<p>You don't need to have the textbook on the first day of class. As long as you have it within a week of the beginning of the semester you're fine. My advice is to email the professor to find out exactly what book you'll be using and then to purchase it online.</p>
<p>I usually wait until after the first week. Sometimes an instructor will have you purchase several books that are never actually used.
It's more of saving money than anything else.</p>
<p>I also wait until 2nd week.</p>
<p>Has anyone ever had an incident where the textbook you're looking for happens to be out of stock (if you wait to buy them)?</p>
<p>My S buys the books online through follett.com and then they are waiting at the bookstore for him. This way he is assured that the books are available. They give him used or new depending on his preferences. He has a week to return them if there is a change.</p>
<p>He has had situations in the past when the bookstore has run out of a book he needed for class and he ended up ordering it through amazon next day and paying all that extra, so don't want that to happen again.</p>
<p>I have a similiar question--how do you even find out what books you need? I registered for classes last month but they never told me what books i needed.</p>
<p>all605, look through each department's website and see if they list course descriptions and textbooks used. If there is any sort of online book ordering through your university's bookstore that website might also have the information (or you can go to the book store in person within a week or two before classes because they may just post it there). Other than that, you could try search for the class department + number (e.g. "math 415" + your university in google) see if you can find a recent or current syllabus (although since then there may be a new edition so be careful) or you'll find a web page with the information that you missed while searching the website earlier. If all else fails you can always try and e-mail the professor directly; this way you can also find if an old edition will suffice.</p>
<p>Another consideration is that the college library may have several copies of the book on hold so you can study there and not have to buy the book at all.</p>
<p>As you can see, I always try and purchase my books ahead of time when possible. Sometimes it's not much cheaper online or I'm not absolutely sure of what book will be used so I'll just go to the bookstore after classes start but I've saved a couple hundred dollars in just the past year... some highlights were the physics textbook I purchased for $5.00 including shipping and the calculus book I purchased new for $25 only to turn around at the end of the semester to sell it back to the bookstore for $65.</p>
<p>I would be wary of relying on the department's website. Course descriptions there tend not to get updated very often and are determined by the department.</p>
<p>Individual professors, on the other hand, generally have to submit paperwork to the bookstore about what books they are requiring and/or recommending for each section. Different professors teaching different sections of the same course in the same semester can have completely different texts. (In principle, a professor could have different texts for different sections of the same class in the same semester, but I've never heard of it.) So the bookstore ought to have accurate information regarding required and recommended texts for each section.</p>
<p>And of course just as professors can assign different books in the same course in the same semester, they can assign different books in different semesters. Some professors regularly rework even freshman-level classes so that they stay interested or because something didn't work as well as they thought it would.</p>
<p>The only time I've heard of the book changing after the bookstore got the order is when something has happened and whoever was teaching the course originally has been replaced. If you take a completely different approach to the subject than someone else does it may be very hard to work with their texts.</p>
<p>So I would encourage you to get the information from the bookstore and to only purchase the required books ahead of time. Not all classes have recommended books, and not all those that do have recommended books that would be useful for everybody. But I do suggest that you try to have the books in your hand before the first day of class. You are likely to be expected to show up for the second day with some preparation done (and some profs will email you information about work you're supposed to have finished before the first day).</p>
<p>Yes, that didn't happen at my last college (every college is different) but restructuring does happen, and different sections may use different books. Along with new editions of textbooks the website may not have the updated information so information straight from the bookstore in the weeks before classes start (or directly from the prof) would be the most reliable.</p>
<p>Maybe it just depends on the nature of the class, but the textbooks can still be fairly predictable. I'm only speaking from personal experience as a student, but if your college's standard biology class usually uses Campbell's Biology that may very well be some kind of university or department made decision and isn't likely to change. Worst that could happen is that you go ahead and purchase the 7th edition and your class uses the 8th edition but with how much textbooks of that nature change it still may not make much of difference anyway except that you saved even more money.</p>
<p>I think it does depend on the nature of the class.</p>
<p>I've been reading Rudbeckia Hirta's blog for awhile, and she details the process her school is going through as they pick a new calculus textbook, which will be standardized.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I know places where everyone uses the same textbook (frequently the textbook author is in the department), but that's just common agreement -- an adjunct or new hire who isn't socialized in the department can pick a different one.</p>
<p>thanks nmike! You're right--my college bookstore's web site gives me the info i need.</p>
<p>I almost always wait a week before buying the texbook unless it is a class in my major or something I will use to study for the DAT. Just keep an eye out for professors who will sometimes send you an e-mail or something in the mail saying they want you to come prepared the first day of class. I know in my o-chem and calc 2 we started lecture the first day. I took a government class and I didn't ever buy the book, hell I didn't even go to lecture unless it was an exam day.</p>
<p>there's a site that we can go to that shows our textbooks updated for each semester. usually i'll buy the main textbook for the course (i.e. econ textbook, stats book, etc., but not the supplemental stuff) online before school starts because i get better deals that way. for the other books, i'll wait and make sure i'll actually need it. if it's an english class where the required readings are mostly paperback novels, i'll just buy them as needed through the semester.</p>
<p>there have been times where the teachers didnt use the listed book</p>
<p>there have even been times when the prof told us not to buy the book at all</p>
<p>so i wait, not cause of that reason. more because im lazy, but hey it works</p>