<p>At my school, the individual professors are the ones who submit the book lists for their classes, and even then, they sometimes say that you don’t need the textbook. Often, they have it as a reference, but many will specifically state that they recommend the reading but they won’t test you on it. I’ve also had professors who didn’t have a textbook, but eventually added one after years of students asking for it. They still said they didn’t use it, but if you wanted a textbook, they recommended that one.</p>
<p>After my first quarter, I always waited until the first day of classes to figure out if I wanted to get the textbook or not (and you can also ask if you can use old editions, etc). The professors will also be able to tell you if you need access codes or things like that. I never had a problem getting the textbook, nor did you usually need the textbook for the first week or so. I ordered most of my books on Amazon and I had Amazon prime (free 2-day shipping), so I always got my books for cheaper prices and quickly enough to use it from my classes (and I was on the quarter system, so the pace is faster). The one time I needed to have the textbook quickly, I just bought it from the bookstore and then returned it after my book came.</p>
<p>Trust me, it’s just as frustrating to have the professors post the book list a couple days before classes start vs. months before (I don’t think my school had any deadline for professors because they posted it whenever they wanted to). At least if they post it early, you can budget for potential prices for the books, even if you don’t end up getting them.</p>
<p>It’s unfortunate, but this is exactly why I tell everyone to either wait until classes start to see if you need the textbook (or would use it if you got it) or to make sure that you can return the textbook in the event that you don’t need it.</p>