<p>Hi I'm a incoming freshman and I was wondering how often you use your textbooks in college. Is it possible to not buy them and just borrow it whenever you need them? I heard that you shouldn't buy textbooks because you don't need them. Any input from upper classmen would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I'm sorry for creating two threads. I created the first thread in a rush and there were a lot of mistakes.</p>
<p>no reply?? There has to be a USC student that knows :)</p>
<p>Depends on the class, some classes I used the textbook extensively and others not at all. Try to see if you can find them for cheap on the usc textbook exchange facebook group, and if not, try amazon used… if you can’t, then you could hold off on buying them for a bit and see if your class actually uses them before buying.</p>
<p>Yep, depends on the class as each one is different. For some you may be responsible for everything covered in the book while for some the book may just be supplemental material. I would suggest buying them after you actually attend class and read the syllabus and such. Also, buying online or from someone else or renting is usually cheaper than buying straight from the USC bookstore.</p>
<p>My daughter pulled up her book list and as I do for my son, I went to Amazon. Interestingly 2 of the books were USC special editions and only available through USC. One book (a German 1 workbook) could not be found by its ISBN. One book was the same price and one was $5 cheaper. I didn’t bother and I’m just going to have her buy at the bookstore this semester (used where possible). </p>
<p>FYI - I used to scour all of the college bookstores on-line but now just go to Amazon because the prices ate always comparable and it’s less work</p>
<p>Try using [BookFinder.com:</a> Search for New & Used Books, Textbooks, Out-of-Print and Rare Books](<a href=“http://www.bookfinder.com/]BookFinder.com:”>http://www.bookfinder.com/) and searching by ISBN as it searches more than one site whereas Amazon is not always the cheapest.</p>
<p>Also, just because the book is a USC special package or bundle doesn’t mean that you are forced to buy it at the bookstore. You need to see what is actually in the package or bundle because sometimes you can purchase the items separately for cheaper and they are just making it convenient for you (at a higher price).</p>
<p>I bought D’s textbooks yesterday, new copies at Amazon for less than the used price at the bookstore. I did an ISBN search,it just happened that Amazon was the best deal for both.</p>
<p>Mom2M, how did your D find out her book list? Was it listed online?</p>
<p>Book lists can be found on Oasis, but I hear some people say teachers don’t really expect you to have your books until around the 2nd week of class? Don’t quote me on that though.</p>
<p>The fall list is not yet up. 
They wait so long!!</p>
<p>^^ Depends on the class.</p>
<p>D is an incoming freshman. Her books were on Oasis yesterday–they were not there last week. She is missing the books for one class, but I went ahead with the others.</p>
<p>Does the edition really matter that much? I noticed that on all of S’s books the newest edition is listed yet there seems to be no difference in the 6th edition versus the 7th edition.</p>
<p>Most of the professors don’t want you to wantonly spend money on textbooks, so they and/or the TAs should tell you what you need or don’t need (or, if it’s a new edition, why you HAVE to have that edition, not the older, cheaper one)</p>
<p>Squiggles—it depends on the class and the textbook. Hold off until the at least the first class (maybe ask the professor?) before buying either edition.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine a situation where the professor expects students to have the textbooks by the first day of class unless he/she has already emailed the class telling them to have a certain book/chapter/section/whatever read for the first day. So don’t freak out, go to your first few days of class, then freak out once you get to the register at the bookstore! :)</p>
<p>Ask students that have already taken that specific class what materials they actually used/needed for past semesters. At least for science classes, the syllabi is typically similar from one semester to the next. This way, you’re able to buy books online beforehand, since books can take a while to get shipped. </p>
<p>For classes where you don’t know, my suggestion is to wait until the first week of classes to find out what exactly you need. Also, ask the instructor to find out if it’s okay to get an older version of the book BEFORE you buy. You don’t want to end up wasting extra money and being stuck with outdated editions.</p>
<p>My son found his book list in his “my usc” account, but no ISBNs or edition #s. Is there another place to find this information?</p>
<p>You can also check on OASIS or on the schedule of classes.</p>
<p>I found D’s list with ISBN in OASIS. Not all classes have textbooks listed, they seem to be added from time to time.</p>