As the daughter of an English Professor (and my mom has her Master’s Degree, too), it was never a question of WOULD I attend college, but more of WHICH college would I attend. Ergo/therefore, I am a big believer of post-high school secondary education. However/but, I am not a believer in the high cost of text books. Which brings me to today’s post, and this morning’s Fox 9 Buzz discussion.
How To Save Money On Your Text Books
If you haven’t started shopping for your college text books yet, it’s time to get going! According to the federal Higher Education Opportunity Act, effective July 1, colleges must list required course materials for students during registration. So as soon as you register for class, you know what materials you’ll need to buy. Here’s how to save:
Step One: Double-check your textbook list at the campus book store. Note the prices of the used text books available for comparison shopping. Also, see what editions (2nd, 3rd, 4th) you need, to ensure you buy the correct one. Last, make sure you have the ISBN number for each book. If your college/university doesn’t provide this number on your book list, you’ll have to find it yourself.
What is an ISBN number? The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. Each of your text books has one, located either above the bar code or on the copyright page. When a new edition of the text is published, it will be given a new ISBN number.
Step Two: Check your textbooks online by ISBN number and shop for the best deal. Some sites offering deals include bn.com (Barnes & Noble), amazon.com, and half.com. They all have textbook departments that allow you to search by the ISBN number.
Another great option – CampusBooks4Less.com. They comparison shop for you, providing a detailed chart per book of: The online store, the book price, a 1-5 star rating, shipping description and price, available coupons, and the final price (including shipping).
Step Three: Double-check the shipping time, to make sure you’ll get the books on time. Also, give yourself a 2-3 day leeway, to be on the safe side. Trust me, most professors (like my Dad) won’t take “my textbook didn’t arrive from Amazon on time” as an excuse.
Step Four: Check to see if you can rent the textbooks instead of buying. 1,300 campuses this year started rental programs, saving students up to 50% on books (according to USA Today). The U of M has a rental program, and Chegg.com is a national online rental company, who claim they are #1 in textbook rentals. You can also rent books at Barnes and Noble.
NOTE – if you rent a textbook instead of buying one, you can not write in it, highlight, spill on it, or leave it out in the rain! You must return it in the condition you received it.
Step Five: Recoup some of your expenditures by selling your books after the class is done. You can sell your books at – Chegg.com, Amazon.com, Half.com, and ECampus.com. You can also sell your books back at the campus store, but check first to see who will give you the best return.
2 Comments
If you know what classes you’ll be taking ahead of time, buy books at the end of the previous semester when they are cheapest. Oftentimes, you can buy directly for next to nothing from your fellow students. Reading lists rarely change.
excellent post and fun picture too!