Can't afford my textbooks :(

I’m attending a community college because I can’t afford to go elsewhere. I was awarded a grant for the first two years, but now that I’m in my third year all of a sudden I’m only receiving half the grant I normally get. Normally it’d cover everything (textbooks, tuition, supplies). But it didn’t even fully cover tuition. And of course I was told about this very late, I didn’t have enough time to save. So I owe my school $500, and I have to pay for books out of pocket. I do work part-time (and even picked up a second job to help). I signed up for a payment plan to pay off the tuition (I hate the idea of student loans), and I should be okay paying that off. But books are going to cost me at least $300. I’ve been searching around on Amazon to find them cheaper, but 3 of the books I need are brand new editions so I can’t even buy them used.

I’ve only just now started my classes, and I’m waiting until I attend each class before buying the text book so I know what the coursework would be, and if I even need the textbooks (I’ve had so many classes where the teacher requires a textbook but we never use it).

Any suggestions?? It’s too late to apply for scholarships to help me out right now (though I will be applying to a ton of them for next semester, as well as saving up money).

I have read a number of posts on here about students who get through college and never actually purchase a book. I am not entirely sure how they do this, though I believe one poster said that at his/her school there is a copy of each textbook in the library and he/she uses those. Borrowing or renting from a student who already took the class might also be an option. Try poking around some other posts with similar title as yours.

First off, wait. You may luck out and the textbooks turn out to be purely reference material or they’re used so sporadically that you can borrow them from a fellow student. I’ve had that happen in about 65% of my classes.

If you do need a textbook and the course lists the most recent edition, reach out to the professor and ask if you need that specific edition or if an older one would suffice. You can find older editions of textbooks with prices slashed by almost 90% that of the newer book. The likelihood of another edition being acceptable is probably going to occur more frequently in classes that are more thematic and don’t rely on specific problem sets.

Check to see if your library has copies of those texts on reserve.

I agree with things mentioned above.

  1. You can ask the professor if an older edition will suffice. I think at least one person asks this in every class I take. Typically, older versions are fine.
  2. Find a class buddy who may be kind enough to share a book with you or make photocopies of chapters or specific parts of the readings that are essential. You can even offer to split the cost of the textbook with them for helping you out, which may be cheaper than buying it yourself, new or used.
  3. Consider renting (which I imagine you have). I've found brand new $300+ textbooks for rent on Amazon for under $40, but I'm sure it varies.
  4. Most all (good) professors will have one copy, or more, of their required textbooks on reserve at the campus library. Typically students can check-out the library's copy of the text in 1-hour increments, and although you can't take it out of the library (like, to take it home), you should have no problem getting a hold of it if the library is open. You can also consider making copies of certain pages of the reading if you do want to take the reading home or elsewhere; copies should be like 5 cents or something, which still may be cheaper than the alternative.

I’ve looked around on Amazon, eBay, cengage and I haven’t had much luck. One book will be significantly cheaper on Amazon than the book store. But the others are only a $10 or so difference. Which will help somewhat, but no matter what way I look at it, it looks like I’m going to be spending at least $250.

I’m a paralegal major and the only classes I have left are the actual paralegal classes. And a lot of the textbooks will have recent case examples, which is why I’m worried about getting an older edition.

Are there other websites I can look at? As of right now I know that I need one textbook, I’ll find out the rest next week.

Have you checked with your financial aid office to see if there are any one time grants? Sometimes they have small amounts available.

If I were you, I’d check with the FA office to see how much more aid you qualify for and registration to find out when you’ll graduate. If you eat thru all your undergrad aid at a cc, when/if you want to go to a 4-year school you may not have any aid left.

Like other said:

  1. Follow up with Financial Aid and find out why the change
  2. Talk to your professor about which books are required, if you can use an older one, or if you can use an older one but get the homework problems (if they changed) from a new one. Find out if they have one on reserve in the library.
    Can you rent used textbooks? That is the cheapest way.

Have you tried your school’s library? As others have said, sometimes school libraries have books on reserve for their classes. I don’t know how common this is at community colleges but it is always worth looking it. If there are textbooks on reserve in the library but not the books for your classes, try speaking to your professor about requesting that the book be put on reserve in the library. In my experience, sometimes professors don’t know this service exists or how to use it. If your library has this service at all (putting textbooks on reserve), professors may also be able to bring in their own copies, if the library does not have a copy. I’ve known many professors who have brought in their own books to be put on reserve so that students can use them.

If there are no books on reserve at your library (and your school’s library does not have the textbook available for checkout), try look at other university libraries in your area. Other universities may have the textbook in their library, and sometimes members in the community can still check out books from the university library. Sometimes you can request the book be sent to your local library (or to your CC library). Sometimes you can get a library card at the university library to check out books. If the book is not being used for a course at the university, you may be able to check it out for a normal period of time. If the book is being used for a course at the university, you may be able to borrow it for restricted periods of time (or perhaps you could make friends with a student that would check it out to you for a very limited time!). You can make copies in the library, or there may be scanners available for you to scan pages or you could take pictures of pages you need. My university also had services that would allow you to request books from other participating libraries–have you tried to see if this service is available and if the books are available? I worked at my university’s library, and they had many, many resources that a lot of students never even knew existed. I don’t know what is commonly available at the CC level (and of course, different schools have different resources available), but it’s always good to make sure you have checked everything.

Have you tried selling back your old textbooks? Sometimes, you can make some of your money back by reselling your textbooks (although it’s often best to resell them as soon as you can before a new edition is published).

When I was a TA, I also had copies of the textbook and solutions manual, and I would let students use the books during my office hours. Some would use the solutions manual during office hours instead of purchasing it, some would take a picture of the problems at the end of the chapter, some would use it to look up something that they didn’t understand really quickly. Perhaps your professor or TA would be willing to let you use the book to compare it to an old edition to see what major changes have been made. If it’s just a couple of new case examples, perhaps, your professor would be willing to let you take a picture or read it during their office hours. If you explain your situation, they may be willing to help you out (within reason, of course). It’s not ideal, but you may be able to work something out.

Do you know anyone in your classes? Could the two of you split the cost of the book? Could you borrow a classmate’s text to copy or scan or take pictures of (perhaps, chipping in a small amount for their help)? Could you perhaps for a study group so you can meet other people in your classes?

Alternatively, do you have a friend or family member that you could borrow money from? It’s always hard to borrow money from people you know and it’s difficult to ask for, but if you’ve exhausted all of your options and still can’t get the books that you absolutely need for your classes, then sometimes you just have to ask for help. Work out how long it will take you to save up enough money for the books, and let them know exactly when you’ll be able to pay them back. When I was in college, I lent money to a friend before so they could make rent when they were a jam. It was a little awkward, but I was happy to do it. And they paid me back when they could.

Also, of course, make sure you absolutely need the book before purchasing it.

You could drop all fall courses, work and save money while you also pay off your debt. Then start in spring with money for books.

If you need a BA, then (as mentioned above) you must plan now for how long your access to federal financial aid will last through your final semester.

Thanks for all the quick replies! On Tuesday (when I have class again) I’ll check out the library and see if they have the textbooks I need. That would be the perfect solution, I’ve got plenty of time in-between classes so I’d be able to read the chapters in the library/do homework, etc.

I was super concerned but now I feel a little more at ease. If the school library has at least one textbook that could save me $100 or more. I’ll still check up with the FA dept to see why my grant isn’t as much as usual, I figured since my mom got a $3 raise, and I got a $1 raise that was the reason, since literally nothing else has changed. I’ve got a few friends who had grant issues and loan issues this semester, so maybe it’s just a mishap. Who knows.

Also, I heard that I still might have some grant money left specifically for the book store, I’m not sure. I’ll check that out on Tuesday, if I do have any, I doubt it’ll be much.

I also started trying to find a different job, one that pays a little more to help me out for next semester and the one after that. My goal is to graduate in Fall '16, and then I’ll have my certificate and I’ll be able to work as a paralegal. A Bachelor’s is totally optional, but I’ll probably try for it in a couple years.