<p>My S will be a freshman at Yale this fall. I was reading a thread in the Parents forum of CC regarding economical ways to buy textbooks (using half.com, amazon, etc) and was wondering how this could work at Yale. I am not new to buying textbooks, as I've had to buy them for the last four years at his private h.s. and have been buying them online from such sources (and then re-selling what I can on half.com). But can this work with Yale's "Shopping Period"? Do students have the time to order needed books online? I guess what I want to know is what the process is and the timing. Any info/advice?
Thanks!</p>
<p>The process is the same - you get your list of books, find the cheapest/most convenient way of obtaining them and you buy them.</p>
<p>The timing is a little tricky. Some classes don’t use the textbooks right away, and some have more than one textbooks, so that most will be received on time. Chances are your son won’t receive the textbooks in time, which is fine. For one, it would only be a few days behind and the textbooks are usually on hold in the library for students to check out while they wait for their textbooks to arrive. Some classmates will already have the textbook so he could also just ask one of them to borrow it for a day or something.</p>
<p>Some classes also have Tyco packets, which can’t be bought on Amazon and are rather bought from Tyco. These are usually ready within a day so there isn’t much delay. Professors also realize that students need some time to order books and such, so most of them won’t assign readings in them until after shopping period or at least gives a few days of breathing room.</p>
<p>I bought all my books from the bookstore/Labyrinth only because it was more convenient. But it does make sense sometimes to get them for cheaper online. You basically order them and depending on where you buy them from and which delivery system they use, it’ll either go to your P.O. Box or to your Master’s office. Fairly simple.</p>