<p>I was wondering when we should get our textbooks? I've heard that it's cheaper to order online (but wouldn't it take time to ship/cost a bit extra for faster shipment), so do the professors give you enough time to get your books for class/alternatives if you're order doesn't come? (I just recently had a bad experience with ordering online...my book never came.) Would it be advisable to buy the textbooks you need in advance for the classes you def. will take?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>it won't be a big deal if you don't have them right away... get them just before classes start, or a couple weeks later if you want. Second semester I didn't buy my books until there was only a month left in the term... :-/</p>
<p>Does the COOP buy textbooks that were not bought from its store?</p>
<p>The best way to get textbooks is to buy them off of upperclassmen. This way you get them for a LOT cheaper than from the COOP. You will have an orientation-leader when you get there so even if you don't know anyone, you will have at least one upperclass connection.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.half.com%5B/url%5D">www.half.com</a> is a great website for books...</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bigwords.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.bigwords.com</a> is my favorite -- textbook search engine!</p>
<p>If you know for sure you're going to be taking a certain set of classes, go ahead and order the books ASAP if you want... but know that a lot of classes don't post the book they're using on the class website until late August -- and a lot of classes (particularly HASSes) have Stellar sites (<a href="http://stellar.mit.edu%5B/url%5D">http://stellar.mit.edu</a>) which won't let you access them until some time after registration day. </p>
<p>The Coop will probably get books in around Aug 15-20, so you can head there when you arrive for Orientiation, write down the ISBNs of the books you need, and see if you can get them significantly cheaper online.</p>
<p>But I second mitsoph's plug for upperclassmen, so long as the book they used is the book which is still being used. The textbook companies love to update the editions so you have to buy new instead of used.</p>