<p>Hey guys. I'll be a freshman spider in the fall of 09... and, well, I had some questions about books. There's still PLENTY of time left to even think about this, but I've been wondering about how people buy books needed for classes... </p>
<p>Allow me to explain: when and where do you buy the books (is there a list that will be up during the summer after course registration that says what books you'll need? Is it better to buy the books right away, or buy them as the teacher says you'll start using them in class? Would you suggest buying them from the bookstore located in the university, or what are other places to get the books)? Also, how much would you say you spend a semester in books--an estimated average. </p>
<p>Sorry if this question has been asked before (I didn't see it), or if it seems a bit silly to be asking so early in the game, but I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity. Thanks in advance to anyone out there that can answer my questions.</p>
<p>avant, you can get all the books you need from the bookstore once you arrive on campus. Once you get the list of required books (can’t remember if you get that after you’re on campus or not), you could also purchase some for cheaper on websites such as half dot com. The bookstore is usually pretty expensive (someone makes a killing on textbooks and the bookstore swears it isn’t them), so you might want to look elsewhere. If you think there’s a chance you may add/drop a course or two, you may want to hold off on getting books until you’re sure your schedule won’t change, so that you won’t spend money on books you won’t end up using.</p>
<p>My son was a freshman last year. The bookstore provides course booklists incl. IBSN online, but for many courses the list may not be posted until a week before classes start, which doesn’t give much time to order and receive the books. My son bought almost all of his books from online discount places and saved quite a bit of money. He probably spent around $600 for both semesters.</p>
<p>As I recall the booklist for CORE was available early on and it’s not a class you can skip. You should be able to safely get those online at a discount. CORE requires 10-12 paperbacks for the first semester and about the same for the second.</p>
<p>I really recommend half.com. that’s what I used for the first and second semester of my freshman year and had no issues. You can order the books and have them sent to your UR mailing address so you can just pick them up from the post office when you get there. I got some major deals last semester especially - when you get books from the bookstore you don’t realize how much their value depreciates. There was a paperback textbook we needed for sociology that my friend bought for the list price of 70 dollars. I ordered it off half.com where they were all listed for 5 to 10 dollars. The book was the exact same book. There are also people who paid 190 dollars for our chemistry book that I paid 60 dollars for on half.com that was in excellent condition. I’ve been really happy with my experience there and it’s a widely used website.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend overstock.com for history and literature paperbacks. They are always cheaper than Amazon and have a fixed shipping cost. For my son who is graduating from college this week, we used a combination of half.com and overstock.com fairly successfully. </p>
<p>Kelliebm, is there a post office on campus for pickup or do students have to go elsewhere for bulk mail deliveries?</p>
<p>Yep, there is just one post office on campus for all mail/package deliveries. I know at some schools they deliver paper mail to your dorm and packages to the post office, but at UR all mail goes to your mailbox at the post office, which I think is a lot simpler. If it’s small enough to stick in your mailbox they just do that, but if not, you get a package slip in there that you bring to the front and give to them, so that they can get your package for you.</p>
<p>avantgarde–Core books change a little bit every year. During my freshman year we read…Plato (Symposium and Phaedo), Nietzsche, Freud, Marx…Age of Iron, House of Mirth, Second Sex, some of Genesis, Darwin…hm. some of Adrienne Rich’s poetry and prose essays. I think we read some Confucian philosophy. Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. </p>
<p>Each professor also has the option to introduce another book of their choice into the curriculum. For the fall semester, my professor (Dr. Givens) had us read Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. I can’t remember what we read during the second semester.</p>
<p>The bookstore website will have a list of the books required for each class about 1-2 weeks before classes begin. Just keep checking it. I use the ISBN numbers from the bookstore website and search for them on Amazon to buy used books, then have them ship to my campus address. All my books have arrived on time. Even new books are cheaper on Amazon (or other websites) then they are in the bookstore.</p>
<p>From my experience, any book listed for the course will be used. Occasionally if you’re taking a language class and need to purchase a grammar reference book it might only be used a few times, but it’s better to have it. Or a book might come with a CD that the prof. never uses.</p>
<p>My freshman year I spent between $250-400 (4 classes), and last semester I spent almost $500 (I took 6 classes). I would have spent over $700 if I had purchased from the bookstore. The only advantage to purchasing from the bookstore is finding a book that has already been highlighted or has notes in it (might help you in CORE).</p>
<p>Also, Amazon (and other websites) offers an easy way to sell back your books once you’re done with them. You might not get much for CORE books, but I’ve sold several this semester for $50-$100. At the end of the semester the bookstore does buy back books but it generally doesn’t give you as much as you could make if you sold them online.</p>
<p>thanks Mary… glad to know I could get the books in on time from amazon. I was really worried about the idea of buying online and then not having them in time for classes. Have you met anyone who had that problem? (if you have, what did they do?)</p>
<p>You could always share with someone for the first few days of class or pay extra for really fast shipping from an online retailer. But as long as it isn’t a workbook you have to write in, you could buy the book from the bookstore and then return it once yours arrives. It would be annoying to pay for the book twice but as long as you have the receipt and it is in the original condition you can return it within a week or two. The online return policy is here ([Customer</a> Service | UR Spider Shop](<a href=“Customer Service | UR SpiderShop”>Customer Service | UR SpiderShop)) but I would clarify when you buy the book that you’ll be able to return it.</p>