College Textbooks

Do you remember in elementary school or high school when you would receive your books for the year? There they would sit, on your desk, in a big stack. Yes, some of the pages were torn, and a mischievous student of former years might have drawn cartoons all over the margins, but it was kind of fun looking at the list of names at the front of the book to see which kid in your big brother’s class had this book. And the best part about this, at least for your parents, was (at least if you went to public school) that the books were absolutely free.

So the college freshman sits in his dorm room with his big stack of college textbooks staring in disbelief at the huge receipt that is almost trailing on the floor. Yes, these are your college textbooks and yours alone. But is it worth all the money?

The best way to obtain affordable college textbooks is to buy them used. Most college bookstores have second-hand college textbooks for sale. Better yet, try to find a friend who is a year ahead of you who might offer you a lower price for his college textbooks than you would get at the bookstore out of sympathy or because he likes you. There are many websites that offer cheap college textbooks and have searches that allow you to browse by subject, such as Engineering, Law or Science.

The reading list for English subjects is usually quite daunting, not just because of the sheer volume of work required, but also because of the number of books you are required to obtain. Since many of these books are not college textbooks but well-known literary classics, it might be easier to find cheap copies. You might consider borrowing the books from the library as need and to take careful notes on theme, characterization and other things you might be asked to write about on an exam. Or share your novels with your room mate. This way you’ll have the books you need at half price and a study partner.