<p>Hi, I am taking Math 53 and Physics 7A this fall. Is the Cal Student Store the best place to buy books for these two subjects? And if I do buy it from the Cal Student Store, do I pick it up when school starts? What is the logistics behind buying these textbooks and by what time do I need them? Thanks!</p>
<p>No, and no, unless you’re a big fan of overpaying for books and/or helping to fund the ASUC. Best place to find books for 53 and 7A are second/third-year students WHO ALREADY HAVE THEM. Don’t buy books for lower-div engineering/science pre-reqs unless the professor insists on using a new edition (with new problems, etc.), because tons of people just HAVE them (sitting on bookshelves, in bags, collecting dust…).</p>
<p>Make friends quick during Welcome Week (esp. second-years in your dorm/major, I’d say), and drop the question casually, haha.</p>
<p>But if you insist on having the books for yourself, sign up for Amazon Student Prime and order books (free 2-day shipping!) that way. Or if you don’t like buying books online, Ned’s (on the other side of Bancroft) is generally cheaper (comparison shop!) than the ASUC Bookstore. Also make friends with members of student groups (RCSA, AAA, Panhellenics, etc.), because the ASUC offers them special discount bookbuying nights that would definitely be worth your while attending.</p>
<p>Eh, the 53 and Physics 7 books are pretty darn cheap. Chump change compared to the chemistry and chemical engineering books I’ve had to buy. </p>
<p>Also, a note about Physics 7: if you do end up buying the textbook off someone you know, you still need the mastering physics code and a workbook (from which you will tear out labs to turn them in). The mastering physics code is 58 dollars on amazon, and the workbook should be about 17 dollars. Well, that is already like 75 dollars. You can buy the package INCLUDING the textbook from the student store for 85 dollars new or 65 dollars used…so it’s pretty useless to buy it from someone else unless you can find someone with an unused mastering physics subscription.</p>
<p>I’m seriously dreading buying textbooks…apart from the tuition (rising), fees, SHIP, dorms, meal plans, I just got back from adding an entire winter/fall section to my wardrobe (Berkeley is so cold!), minifridge, bed linens, bathrooms/toiletries, my plane ticket to fly into Berkeley (out-of-state), and now textbooks??? </p>
<p>Fuuuuuuuuuudge.</p>
<p>Yeah, I just spent 450 dollars on textbooks for the fall. Would’ve been 600 if I had bought from the student store.</p>