[From University of Arizona student news site, but good points, in general.]
"As you begin to register for classes for next semester, I am sure the cost of tuition and textbooks are on your mind. Textbooks are expensive. If you are tired of trekking down to the basement of the University of Arizona Bookstore to spend a couple of hundred dollars every semester, here are some tips for you:
Wait to buy your textbooks
When your professors begin posting information to their D2L pages next semester, your first move should not be to go out and buy the required textbooks and reading material. Wait until the first week of classes before thinking about purchasing textbooks. In a few of my courses, my professors have loosened their required textbook policy after the first class or provided us the necessary readings." …
Agree. College book expenses have been far below what we anticipated (That’s the ONLY thing that costs less than we thought, lol). My DS (sophomore at a different state flagship) only spent $38 on reading material this semester!
My daughter’s book costs haven’t been onerous, but it wouldn’t have been good for her to skip buying the materials- the teachers do expect them to have them and start assigning from them the very first day. Only 2 of her 10 classes have had any books at all though.
As an instructor, I only require textbooks if I really expect students to use them. But waiting to get the syllabus is a good idea - I often say on there that a previous edition of the book will also work (and those are often much cheaper). I’d be disappointed if students were waiting until the 10th day to buy the book.
Sometimes I notice at the book store that the store has ordered the study guide that goes along with the book even though I did not request it. I don’t like it when they do that. That’s why looking at the syllabus is a good idea.
Another factor to consider is whether the book might have value to you in future years. If you’re planning to get a PhD in economics, for example, it be worth buying the textbooks for your econ classes, because the books may turn out to be useful to have on your bookshelf…
Great article, and yes reflects my kids’ current experiences with college textbooks. However, I must disagree with #2…first of all, it’s not easy to find out whether information in the textbooks will be on exams or graded assignments or not, and, it’s kind of an “it’s all about the grade” mentality.
The problem with waiting is that you miss the used books. My D goes to the bookstore as soon as she’s on campus and almost always can get one of the few used books available for most classes - they obviously go first.
Do other schools not have the same return policy - full refund a week into classes? That’s enough time to see if there were any listed books that aren’t really needed, so they can be returned?
My D has been renting most of her books. Way cheaper than buying materials that will be obsolete quickly. Many profs also put their materials online free of charge.
As others have noted, book costs are way less than we anticipated.
Depends on the major. My D (accounting major) uses all the textbook assigned. No way around buying or renting them. And they are expensive and often require online access codes. the She rents for classes she won’t need again.
The online access codes are the biggest rip off going! S17 is taking a required language class - the cost of the books are triple any other class!! The book itself was $130; the online access code was another $150!!! He borrowed the text from the language office. Luckily we held off on the code because of the price and it seems the professor is letting them do the assignments on paper instead of having to buy the code to submit assignments online. Hope he keeps it up all semester!
My D rented or bought used what she could. She still had to buy access codes.
The new books came with access codes which was sometimes cheaper.
My S is in music education. His books were expensive to buy in the first semester but the theory books were good for four semesters and he is keeping all of his music books for student teaching and teaching later.
He was able to check out a few books that he only needed from the school library.
@silverglass D rents her text books from Amazon. Usually she spends time researching costs before deciding. Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy used. It totally depends on the class and if she’ll need the book for more than one.
Funny that since she pays for her own books, she’s a very frugal, smart shopper ; )
^^amazing how frugal when it’s their own money. Amazon, Chegg and many others to get used /rent books. Lots of my sons professors gave them pdf links for their own books… That’s a turning of the tide. Also the kids find books online somehow… I stopped asking… But some books are good reference books as mentioned so I leave it up to my kids what they want to do.
Many profs where I teach also put a copy of the book on reserve at the library. It’s less convenient than having it at hand at home, but can save students some cash.
I got a degree in engineering and that is where my career was (now retired). I bought all the textbooks that related to engineering and math. They became the START of my professional library. Over the course of my career, I bought a whole lot more reference books.
The books related to courses outside my major were the ones that I tried to get used and I would typically sell after I was thru with the class.
I remember that if you wanted a nice used book, you went to the bookstore as early as possible. It sold nice used books for the same price as beat-up falling-apart heavily-written-in used books.