<p>I am going to be a freshman at UIUC this fall, and I am SO confused about my books... when i looked up my book list it only confused me. Should I wait to get my books until after the first class? Will my prof tell more of exactly what i will need? If I wait that long, will I get them in time?</p>
<p>you can return them at no penalty within the first week of class. so buy it so you have a better chance of getting a used one which are considerably cheaper and if it turns out you don't need it, you can return it. don't hesitate to ask the teacher if you need a specific book (or even just e-mail them now), sometimes the bookstores list bogus books that you don't need and even the teachers will tell u u don't need it.</p>
<p>Wait until classes start to get your books. At that time, you should use Illini Book Exchange (it's like Craigslist, but for UIUC textbooks), and you'll save a lot of money.</p>
<p>Don't buy used textbooks directly from the bookstore, unless you like throwing away money. </p>
<p>Another good reason to wait until classes begin: you'll be able to determine whether or not you actually NEED to buy the book. Seriously, there are some textbooks that the professors want you to buy, but that you never read from, and from which test questions are never based on. I can think of at least TWO books I bought which I never opened (and still got As in the classes).</p>