<p>School is about to start and I was wondering how early do professor expect to students to have their books. I think the first week, but probably not on the first day.</p>
<p>Best advice is wait until you absolutely need it. If your professor tells you to go read chapter 1 for day 1, just screw it. It’s not worth the $100+ that you could be paying and all he wants you do is read the first chapter. Then later in the class you find out its not at all necessary you need the book. So just wait. Plus, don’t go to the bookstore unless you absolutely have to. Their prices are through the roof, and you will find cheaper options on Half.com, Amazon.com, and Abebooks.com Abebooks has international versions which are simply paperback/non-color versions of the real thing and they are at drastically reduced prices. The problem is, you can’t sell them back to the bookstore.</p>
<p>Bottomline, many professors don’t use the textbook they assign, and if they do, they do so sparingly. So for those cases, find some poor soul who has actually paid $150 for that book at the bookstore, and borrow their book.</p>
<p>Find out if the library has a copy. If they do then check it out and find out which chapters you’ll be covering. Grab a digital camera/scanner and go to town.</p>
<p>Afterward figure up how much time you’ve spent and how much money you’ve saved. Calculate your hourly rate. Seem low? Welcome to college.</p>
<p>Look and see if the prof says recommended or mandatory. Rec probably means you will never crack it open. Mandatory is a different story.</p>
<p>We always buy used for our children whenever possible. The main reason why is somebody else has already highlighted it and wrote notes in the margin to help you.</p>
<p>Yeah; I would suggest not buying a book until the second week of classes. By then, you should have some perception of how the class will be run.</p>
<p>In many circumstances ‘mandatory’ is very very loose on its meaning.</p>
<p>Also; in the classes where you’re only going to need the book once or twice (and especially in those with flexible deadlines), borrowing and sharing books can be a helpful gateway into meeting people and preparing yourself to work in groups in your higher level courses.</p>
<p>I bought books from the bookstore because I had no idea what I needed and let me tell you, that was a GIANT mistake!</p>
<p>1st off, online options are MUCH cheaper. Online sites have already been reccomended to you.</p>
<p>2nd, Don’t even buy them until you see the professor first. I bought the Chem book but my proffesor doesn’t even teach from it. So thats a wasted 100+ bucks because I opened the package.</p>
<p>Which brings me to another point. If you do happen to buy a book before class starts… DONT open the package in case you really don’t need it. that way you can return it.</p>
<p>If you must buy from the bookstore, as some books are made specifically for VT & can’t be found elsewhere, go & purchase from BookHolders which is right off Main St across the road near Wachovia - they are always cheaper, even if only $6.</p>