<p>Any help here?</p>
<p>You are over the CC map with questions...lol</p>
<p>When you get to school and confirm your class schedule (class section and professor), you'll check to see what books and other materials are required for a class. Then you'll have to decide whether you want new or used books. Both have pros and cons. New books are more expensive and used books sometimes already have important text and data highlighted from previous students.</p>
<p>The Bucknell bookstore does offer some online access to textbook info, but I don't find it easy to use at this time...
<a href="http://www.bucknellbookstore.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.bucknellbookstore.com/</a></p>
<p>Does anyone know of any good discount websites/systems?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bigwords.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.bigwords.com</a></p>
<p>It's a search engine for textbooks, and it will let you compare all your books at all the stores to see where you'll get the best price. Fabulous.</p>
<p>amazon.com or barnesandnoble will have used books.</p>
<p>Will we have enough time to order books online between the time we find out which ones we need and the time classes start?</p>
<p>Mavin, it will depend on when you register. Some schools will have orientation in the middle of the summer, and if you register during orientation, you'll have enough time to order books over the internet. If you, like me my freshman year, register two days before classes begin, you probably wont have time to order books online. If you're taking a class that uses multiple books (i.e. a literature class) you might be able to just buy the first book at your campus bookstore and then buy the rest of them online.</p>
<p>When you're an upperclassman, you'll register well in advance, and you should have no problem getting books online.</p>
<p>What do you guys think of buying as few of the texts as possible and then borrowing from friends and using the ones in the library and taking notes so you won't be in a jam when reading period starts and everyone needs to use the book?</p>
<p>Sounds good to me.</p>
<p>You really have to evaluate your own attitude/habits as a student when deciding whether to buy textbooks. Some people don't read them or study from them -- they're just not book learners -- so why pay the ridiculous amounts of money for a book you're not going to use?</p>
<p>here's what i do.</p>
<p>I usually buy a book directly from the bookstore first. After i get the professor to verfy the book, i then order a used, and much cheaper copy from half. After i receive my books from half, I return the first book i brought from the book store.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You really have to evaluate your own attitude/habits as a student when deciding whether to buy textbooks. Some people don't read them or study from them -- they're just not book learners -- so why pay the ridiculous amounts of money for a book you're not going to use?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>How else do they learn the material? </p>
<p>Sorry, it is just inconceivable that one could perform well in a Top 25 school without being a 'book learner'.</p>
<p>Edit: Since I tend to keep the books I buy, I usually purchase them from amazon.com. One can find better deals on 'new' books in the 'used' section. I usually save from $4 to $20.</p>
<p>I always get new books, because I like them.</p>
<p>If you get a used book and it's already highlighted, don't assume the person who had the book before is smart/highlighted the right stuff. That can get you into trouble.</p>
<p>As for time, you don't need the books right away. Professors know that some people order their books.</p>
<p>At my school in the bookstore they are put out at the beginning of every semester by subject (chem, math etc) and then class (101, 252 etc) and then section (if there are more than one of the same class, sometimes with diff teachers).</p>
<p>"What do you guys think of buying as few of the texts as possible and then borrowing from friends and using the ones in the library and taking notes so you won't be in a jam when reading period starts and everyone needs to use the book?"</p>
<p>I don't know if the library has text books. I don't see why it wouldn't I guess. If you don't have a book, and you need to refer to something there that's not in your notes, that's bad. If you're in a class with like 15 people, you probably definitely need the book. If you're in a class with like 300 people, you can probably borrow a book pretty easily, with the exception of during study times for exams.</p>
<p>
[quote]
How else do they learn the material? </p>
<p>Sorry, it is just inconceivable that one could perform well in a Top 25 school without being a 'book learner'
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Some of them go to class -- lecture, recitation, office hours, anything. For those people, it's easier to hear the material than to read it.</p>
<p>Some people, frankly, are just brilliant.</p>
<p>Personally, I didn't start reading my textbooks religiously until this past semester (second semester junior year). Sure, I do better in class when I'm reading the book, but my GPA wasn't shabby when I wasn't reading. Maybe it's an MIT thing, though -- a lot of classes don't even have textbooks, so maybe there's less of an emphasis on books than at other top 25 schools.</p>