<p>Thanks Marite, I will try that. But syllabi, unfortunately, are usually only distributed at the time the class starts.</p>
<p>Knock yourself out: I am going to wait until the nyu site lists the books later this week before rushing into ordering anything. I used this from past semester info. BTW this is just for 2 classes! He already has the french and I'm not sure about one class since the official info isn't on the website yet. </p>
<p>Over $300 in books for 2 classes. I don't know about 1 other class that is sure have 2 or more books costing another $150 or so.</p>
<p>9780078160585<br>
writing the essay: sciences w/mayfield handbook. Author Mckenzie $ 104.75 Can't find anywhere</p>
<p>9780536462763
LB essentials NYU custom (!) author aaron 38.50</p>
<p>9781413012064
occasions for writing Author diyanni $57 (I do see this on Half.com for cheap ~$20)</p>
<p>9782000002611 Mercer street 2007-2008 Author expository writing, publisher NYU expository writing program $15.75 No wonder I can't find this online!</p>
<p>9781933116990
Priciples of International Politics w/applying the strategic
Author mesquita $92.95 (I found this from abesbooks for $90 incl shipping - I won't buy from overseas)</p>
<p>I usually email my professors a couple of weeks before classes start to get the book name and the edition so I can start looking online for bargains. I'm taking all science classes so pretty much all my books are mandatory. </p>
<p>I've used Amazon, Half, and eBay with great success, and I usually price-compare among those three for the best bargain...the only time I used abebooks, I got burned, so I won't use it again. I've also sold a lot of my books online, which is nice, and they usually sell pretty quickly, as long as a new edition isn't coming out the next semester. I listed my philosophy book right after I took my final on a Monday afternoon, and it sold two days later on Wednesday. :)</p>
<p>In the fall semester my son was able to get the isbn numbers from just one professor. He ended up calling me from the bookstore and reading the isbn numbers for the rest of them to me by cell phone. I got on-line and was able to order a couple, but the bookstores used copies were compareable to the on-line ones when you added in expedited shipping. There was one book that kept disappearing from my shopping bag every time I tried to purchase it, I guess it was very popular.</p>
<p>lderochi:</p>
<p>While syllabi may only be distributed on the first day of classes, profs must ready them for duplication earlier, and send in their list of required readings to the college bookstore sometimes months in advance. So if your student is interested in a class and the prof has not posted the syllabus on the class website, it may be very helpful to email the prof and ask for a copy of the syllabus or at least reading list a couple of weeks in advance as jubajive does. Most likely, the prof already knows what books will be assigned even if s/he has not yet finalized the exact page numbers or problems in the book.</p>
<p>I think the barnes and noble campus bookstores are universally bad. But I transferred to a school with its own bookstore, and several times I've ordered books online, only to sell them back to the campus bookstore for more than I paid for them. I don't see how our campus bookstore stays open, it's too generous. </p>
<p>But I usually write, underline, and highlight in my books, so I don't sell them back. For me it would be too costly academically to keep my books pristine only to sell them back for a couple bucks. I'm not willing to abandon my study strategies for some extra cash.</p>
<p><<the international="" politics="" book="" is="" on="" amazon="" for="" $25.="">></the></p>
<p>awesome. as soon as I see that this book is on the 'official' list I will buy it!</p>
<p>sueinphilly, it seems the books in question are specially published for NYU, and may even be self-published, in which case there's not much that can be done. It's a shame really.</p>
<p>sue in philly
here are listings Priciples of International Politics w/applying the strategic
Author mesquita $92.95 for this book found on amazons link to used books
Amazon.com:</a> Used and New: PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS: People's Power, Preferences, And Perceptions</p>
<p>I agree with Menloparkmom,</p>
<p>Amazon has the text book on sale new for 78.35</p>
<p>the applying strategy book is 29.95</p>
<p>And you can get it used for as low as $22.00!
My son just received all his textbooks for the Spring semester, all bought through Amazon or the used book sellers listed on Amazon. All were for 25% off or more than full price. 2 were used, in excellent condition at 50% of list.</p>
<p>iderochi, the edition rarely makes any significant difference. Our son has been buying older editions of assigned texts at huge savings and has never had a problem whatsoever. Occasionally problems sets will be renumbered but he just confirms that with friends or the prof who has the current edition. He typically saves at least 75% on texts using this gambit.</p>
<p>Re course packs mentioned by marite, it is becoming more commonplace for profs to include these on the on-line course page and essentially all colleges have subscriptions to on line journals where articles can be read.</p>
<p>These days it is quite easy for a student to buy the semester's assigned books for less than $100 as our DS has demonstrated. And he typically retrieves most of the cost by selling them on-line the next semester.</p>
<p>International editions of textbooks are a godsend--they have the same exact content but are sold for about half the price of US editions (two of my textbooks freshman year actually had "Not for sale in the US and Canada" stickers on them). They usually come in paperback, which I personally find useful when I'm lugging all my books to the library.</p>
<p>Re: Different editions.</p>
<p>One year, my S took an introductory Bio class that had an expensive textbook. The prof mentioned that the 6th edition differed from the 5th for only one chapter. However, the problems had all been renumbered, and he could not take the time to establish the correspondence between the 5th and 6th edition. He would assign problems as numbered in the 6th edition. My S, who did not know anyone in the class, decided to buy the 6th edition.</p>
<p>On the online "coursepacks" originaloog is correct. More and more colleges buy copyright permissions to post articles online. Some of the journal subscriptions are outrageously high. I heard of three journals, all in science, costing around $20k per year.</p>
<p>My sons (why cant I type an apostrophe?) friend offered him a text that the friend "gently" used last semester. Any suggestions as to how much should he pay him for it? It costs about $160 new. My S said his friend just wants to give it to him (he has good friends - cant take them to take gas money for rides home either) I said to offer him half. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>This semester my son is using his roommate's calc book for calc 3. Roommate used it last semester for calc 2, and will use it again in a semester or so for calc 3. I think he's using a chem book that belongs to other friends. I'm sure if anyone needs his books he's doing the same thing.</p>
<p>The book thing is a RACKET, and if the kids can get together and plan, they can buy and share.</p>
<p>Ordering books online sounds like a great option. Typically, how do you find out which books you need? Do you have to wait until you attend the first class or is there some other way that you find out which book(s) go with the course? Just curious how the mechanics work.</p>
<p>DD will be a freshman this fall - I'm looking for any way to save a couple bucks!!</p>
<p>^ It really depends on the school - some schools have online bookstores or post the syllabi online, so the student can start shopping around as soon as he/she knows the courses he/she is taking.</p>
<p>At my school, we don't have online syllabi or anything, and the textbook portion of the bookstore doesn't open up until a few days before classes start, so (as I said above), I typically email my professors a while before classes start so I can shop around for bargains.</p>
<p>Some students may say that you shouldn't buy your books until after you've gone to the first class, because you might drop or you might not really need the book. Well, I'm majoring in sciences so I know I'm probably going to need the book, and if I end up not needing it, then I can usually sell it back online for at least as much as I paid for it. </p>
<p>Also, IMO, it's better to buy your books online as soon as you can, and not right before classes start. For example, I bought my books for fall semester in July, and they were about $150 cheaper than they would have been in August. With the supply and demand, prices will go up right before the semester starts.</p>
<p>gusaspara: I'd check the online resources (half.com, etc.) for the book and find the average of the used book price and offer that.</p>
<p>Thanks "just". I checked and 1/2 is just about right.</p>