<p>DD is an engineering major with 16 hours. Her book bill was more than $600. That IS WITH buying as many as possible used on Amazon and used from the bookstore. There were several that were not available anywhere EXCEPT from the school bookstore, and there was software required. And yes, some (Physics and Calculus) will be good for next semester too. But $600 is not unusual for some majors.</p>
<p>My son rents his textbooks and saves lots of money. Shipping both ways in included. </p>
<p>I think all freshmen (sons included) just buy new books at the campus bookstore first year until they know better!!!</p>
<p>Sometimes you don’t have any choice but to buy new, esp with classes like math etc that have an online component…</p>
<p>Textbooks are more expensive in the college bookstore than anywhere. Sometimes they try to discourage students from getting their books elsewhere, but if you do you can save a lot of money. I buy them online used in good condition and resell them after the class is over. Sometimes I can even make a profit (especially if I play my cards right). The International Editions are usually the exact same as the U.S. Editions. Sometimes only the page numbering is off. Go here for what I do every semester: [Saving</a> Money on Textbooks](<a href=“http://www.squidoo.com/saving-money-on-textbooks2]Saving”>http://www.squidoo.com/saving-money-on-textbooks2)</p>
<p>My son’s first semester we bought the Chem book which was $280 from the bookstore. The instructor had indicated he wanted students to use this new edition. However, the bookstore bought the book back for $160 dollars since he was first to get there and sell it back. So he really used a new book for $120. You may be able to sell back books to the bookstore or anyplace else you get them so in the end the cost may not be so great.</p>
<p>I know this thread is a bit dated but I wanted to throw my 2 cents in since Lake Jr. just began his engineering major in earnest, and the cost of books at the college bookstore made me weak in the knees.</p>
<p>Like I said in other posts, we have saved money with three options;</p>
<ol>
<li>International Editions</li>
<li>The previous edition</li>
<li>Other online sources</li>
</ol>
<p>We avoid the lower-quality I.E. books from India. There’s a reason why they are inexpensive. Identical text (usually) but the paper is the quality of newsprint. A buyer should always look for a book description that indicates “in color” or “high quality paper, same as U.S.” If it doesn’t say so in the description, then ask the seller to clarify.</p>
<p>One note of caution when purchasing the previous edition; investigate to find out if there is a significant difference between say, Edition 6 and Edition 5. We’ve discovered that with Lake Jr.'s engineering texts, the two are essentially identical. That was true of a Chemistry book, too. Edition 11 (2012), $200+. Edition 10 (2010), $60. The books were virtually the same.</p>
<p>S is a biology major, and his profs in his upper level courses will give them a heads-up if there are significant changes in the textbook from the prior edition. This is relatively common in his classes.</p>