<p>When do most professors want you to have your books? I wanted to wait and see the syllabus before I buy anything because the book store lists several versions for my history and science class (multiple versions of a book with an online code) on what to get. Should I just go ahead and get everything but those or how can I determine what to get?</p>
<p>For my history it has this listed:
REQUIRED
*UNT Dept of History Reader in American History (VI) (V1)
*American Journey: A History of the United States, Concise Edition, Volume 1
(Digital Edition)
then it says "Choose the package or select from the components"
American Journey PKG For UNT V.I (V1) or American Journey: Concise Ed (V1) </p>
<p>Science (environmental science if it helps):
REQUIRED
*MasteringEnvironmentalScience Access Code
*MasteringEnvironmental Science w/ETX Access Code
*ESSENTL ENVIRONMENT & NEW MAST ETX VP ACC</p>
<p>If you can afford it, buy everything. That’s what I usually do, making sure there’s a good return policy, and then return what I figure I don’t need after about a week of classes.</p>
<p>If you can’t/don’t want to do that, most of the time professors will tell you what you really need the first few days of class and then you can get your books - but you’ll have to make sure you can buy them from the bookstore because you’ll get work out of them right away and you won’t be able to wait a week for shipping.</p>
<p>That seems like a lot. I would wait untill the first day or email the professor before buying everything. Ive had classes where the prof. Said that the required book is wrong or not needed or the wrong edition. I just don’t want you wasting money.</p>
<p>i get my books cheaper online so i buy them in advanced. however if you dont want to do that, wait till first day and ask or email. or meet up with someone and share the cost among a few people</p>
<p>At my school, professors expect you to have everything starting the day after the Add/Drop date, which is usually about five class days into the school year. So for a M/W/F class, that might be the fourth meeting and for a T/Th class, it’d be the third meeting.</p>
<p>Usually you definitely don’t need your books the first day. The first day is all about going over the syllabus, expectations… introductions… maybe you’ll start in on the class if it’s a long one…
I’ve found that my professors generally don’t expect you to have the book for the first few days or week. Which is nice because sometimes a book that is said is required, sometimes actually isn’t needed at all.</p>
<p>As was said above, you don’t need books the first day, and chances are you don’t need 'em the first week. But it’s almost always cheaper to buy over amazon or online, and by the time they come it can be weeks into the class. So if you do that buy before, and if you use the school bookstore buy the second you KNOW what you need.</p>
<p>Most professors want you to have your books by the second week of school. They know it takes time to order and get the textbooks, so most profs respect that. As mentioned, get your books from Amazon or Ebay, they are usually cheaper from there.</p>
<p>However, if your classes need a college-specific books/manuals…they you’re outta luck. I had to buy 3 textbooks and a lab manual from my school’s bookstore… because it’s sold only from the school and nowhere else (only the college’s authorized to print and sell em). It kinds suck, since that forces me to buy from the school and they’re a total of $136.77 for the school-specific books alone (not counting the Amazon ones I bought)…ouch!</p>
<p>You see…
All my previous calc classes have said “Mymathlab” is required.
It is not. That software is used as a supplement to the student. And quite frankly I hate any online homework from Pearson, WileyPlus, etc – Damn you physics and stats. If I bought them without going to class first, that is just money down the drain since I sure as hell wouldn’t us it.</p>
<p>But yeah. I would advise buying online if you do. MasteringPhysics is like $50+ buying directly, but I got it for $12. The same would probably be true for MasteringEnvironmentalScience.</p>
<p>“Never needed a book before the end of second week in my 8 semesters.”
This has been true for me too.</p>
<p>Another thing you can do if you’re waiting on textbooks to come in from Amazon or Ebay is to check if you can get a “Trial” E-Copy. A lot of people did this in my French course last semester. It lasted for like 30 or 60 days, long enough to get you through.</p>
<p>You can also check to see if your school’s library has a copy. Mine does for all classes with 100+ students that have textbooks that cost more than $100. We can only check them out for 2 hours at a time and only use them in the library, but it’s a free alternative.</p>
<p>And if you have any friends in your class, you can ask if you can photocopy pages. I actually had a professor who knew that a lot of people were waiting on back-ordered books from the bookstore and she took it upon herself to upload photocopies onto Black Board.</p>
<p>I would try emailing the professor in advance and asking what version of the textbook you should get. If possible, get everything you know is required before school starts. It’s stressful trying to get necessary books after the semester begins, and some Amazon/Ebay sellers take a really long time to ship the books. You don’t want to be stuck without it for weeks.</p>
<p>Are there really some who don’t need their books before the end of the second week? If I haven’t started studying the material by then, I already feel behind. But maybe it’s because I rely on my books a lot since I’m not an excellent note taker.</p>
<p>My first quarter in college was the first and last time that I got books on time lol. I usually wait a few days to see what I actually need and will use.</p>