<p>hello!
i want to know when i should buy the textbooks.
ive heard that some preofessors dont require them so im hesitating if i should wait.</p>
<p>also, fro myWM, i can see the course materials for each clsses.
there are more than one textbooks. some says, required and some says bookstore recommended.
how do i know which one to buy?</p>
<p>FYI, im taking calc1, microeconomics, intro to org,eco and cross cultural perspectives.</p>
<p>thank you in advance!</p>
<p>If it says required, then you have to have it unless the professor tells you otherwise. </p>
<p>You can email your profs and ask. Sometimes they don’t use certain books even if it says “required.”</p>
<p>Recommended is usually like “extra information.” It’s not necessary, but if you want extra knowledge, then buy it.</p>
<p>For my classes, I know the texts are needed. And by the sounds of yours (e.g. Calc), I’m pretty sure you’ll need the required books. Problem sets and all that.</p>
<p>But if you’re not entirely sure, then email the profs. Once they answer you, you can spend the time before Move In looking for the best pricing. Most of the time, it ends up being not the college bookstore. </p>
<p>I’d try amazon and half.com.</p>
<p>I’ve never ordered a textbook before getting to campus, for several reasons.</p>
<ol>
<li>My class schedule was almost never set. Returns to the bookstore are not too difficult (up to a certain date), but returns for online purchases can be much harder. And I tended to order most of my books online because the bookstore is usually wayyyyy more expensive.</li>
<li>Sometimes professors don’t require the newest edition of the book or will post the relevant parts of the book online for you. Some will post the first couple of chapters until everyone gets the book, especially if the bookstore has trouble keeping the text in stock. I’ve almost never had a professor do this in advance; the ones I’ve had do this tell you the first day.</li>
<li>You may find a hallmate who is taking the same class and you can share a book.</li>
<li>You may get the feeling the professor will never actually reference any of the material in a textbook (despite it being “required”) and decide not to order it. These are few and far between, but by correctly sizing up a couple professors like this I probably saved $700 and didn’t learn any less.</li>
</ol>
<p>Keep in mind that most Orientation Aids will take you and your hall to the Bookstore during Orientation to get textbooks if you decide to purchase them from the W&M Bookstore.</p>