<p>Shocked at the costs of dd's fall semester books. More than double what I paid last year per semester. We are renting, buying used and buying new when there is no choice. Not even buying most of the optional books. Crazy the explosion in costs. Calculus 1 & 2 cost $15 used and $20 new. DD is now taking Calculus 3 and the book is $43 used and $55 new. Math books tend to be the cheapest books. Don't get me started on the costs of chemistry books. </p>
<p>I guess I will have to plan for a higher costs for books for future semesters.</p>
<p>I would say that as time went on, I got smarter about textbook buying. I learned to avoid the campus book store whenever possible. I figured out which textbooks I must buy, and which textbooks I didn’t. I learned to search a variety of used textbook sites to find the best deal (there’s more than Amazon.com). I learned to use the library and books on reserve. I was also able to borrow more from friends/ upper class students. Also some disciplines become less textbook dependent at upper levels. </p>
<p>I don’t think book renting is a good deal. As long as the edition doesn’t change, the textbook can be sold at the end of the semester.</p>
<p>Like college_ruled, I got smarter about buying textbooks as time went on. For example, I realized that I didn’t need to buy most books at all. For about half of my courses, I could borrow the textbook from the library for the whole semester (borrowing periods are 30 days; I just kept renewing the loan). The library also kept copies of most textbooks on reserve; I used those in courses where the textbook was only used infrequently. </p>
<p>And then there were the professors who didn’t use a textbook at all. One more reason not to skip class! :)</p>
<p>I think my S’s books for this semester were more expensive than either semester last year. Physics seems to be a major culprit this time. His calculus text last year was closer to $100 used than $15 or even $43 though, so you got lucky, OP!</p>
<p>Yes, expenses do tend to go up - especially tuition/fee hikes.</p>
<p>“Calculus 1 & 2 cost $15 used and $20 new. DD is now taking Calculus 3 and the book is $43 used and $55 new.” - Are you a ■■■■■? Honestly that would have been very cheap for Calc books even back in my college days, early 1980s. DD’s first semester of engineering books I think cost over $500 (some were reused for follow-on course in subsequent semester).</p>
<p>D2 got stuck with needing some brand new editions. I think the Neuro book was around 150. I thought D1 was renting online, but it turns out the college bookstore has gotten into the rentals game, at competitive prices.</p>
<p>D1 was lucky, and was able to buy 2 books from an older friend in her major for $30, and bought one new for $80. As they get older, they can network more to borrow or buy books from other students.</p>
<p>Yes - D’s books grew more and more expensive every quarter. Many in her major field (accounting) were difficult to purchase used because new accounting rules and new tax regulations meant that the old version was out-of-date. It was a cause for celebration if the book bill was below $400. I remember one taxation book that cost $300 alone.</p>
<p>When possible, though, she rented books and bought used (especially for non-major classes). When she was taking English or philosophy classes, she used her city library card and checked those books out of the Chicago Public Library instead of buying them.</p>
<p>Oldest d attended a school with lots of reading.
Required freshman humanities course is about 15 required books. Per semester.
Fortunately, they were original sources and many could be easily found used at the school bookstore or at [url=<a href=“Powell’s Books | The World’s Largest Independent Bookstore”>http://www.powells.com/]Powells[/url</a>].
Science books are often so expensive- but we have found brand new overstocked books for about 1/4 of the price. I think list for an ochem book was $300!
My youngest often rents even though I point out some of those books can be used for reference later. But we also get good deals through Amazon, if she can’t find it from another student.</p>
<p>I think I win. 4 classes with books, 3 also have lab manuals. 4 brand new editions, nothing used available on amazon marketplace, half, or other sites. 3 bundle packs containing access codes and other online gizmos. Cost for the semester? $995. That exceeds the total of all last year. This summer, less than $40 for two classes (old editions okayed by instructor and buying used online). </p>
<p>I can give you the college bookstore information should you really want to check my facts. This year one of the calc books is $23 instead of $20. I am not complaining about the cost of the math books. Just wanted to give an example.</p>
<p>Dd is taking O Chem and physics so there are several books needed for both. I do find the science courses have expensive texts. I was suprised by the cost of her international relations course text though.</p>
<p>Older son, a physics major, has had great luck buying physics and math books through ebay. (Last year, he paid $5 for one of his upper level courses.) He and a friend also used interlibrary loan to get a computer science textbook for the semester. He enjoys hunting for bargains. In addition he has borrowed books from friends who took a course in a previous semester.
Younger son, the bassist, spent $100 for this fall semester compared to $700+ last fall. Fortunately, the expensive music theory books are used for 4 semesters!</p>
