Textbooks & School Supplies-- 'Tis the Season

[Ice_nine]

you should always check for international versions too as those are usually a lot cheaper and pretty much the same material. They aren't always as readily available but it's always worth looking. Apparently it's illegal to sell them though or something? IDK

I've also rented from Chegg.com without problems

[CatherineM]

The guy who was selling foreign editions won the lawsuit. 

[LittleWaySoul]

http://www.bigwords.com/ is a helpful textbook price comparison site that I use.

[HopefulHeart]

My semester starts on the 31st, and I have begun looking at textbooks. I'm an English major, so my literature classes typically require a number of smaller, relatively inexpensive books. Luckily, my Latin and Greek courses use the same textbooks from last semester. I'm excited to start classes, especially since this is my senior year of undergrad.

[franciscanheart]

August 29th, here.

[truthfinder]

Goodness, you guys start early.  With Labour day being 'late-ish' and my university's propensity for fresher week - or whatever they call it - term doesn't really start going until Sept. 14 ish, but TAs will often not start teaching until 1-3 weeks after this.

Last year was the first year I didn't have to buy books - it was amesome.  I had the misfortune the year before to take a course which my supervisor wanted me to take and I enrolled late. With around 10 books that cost around $40-50 each and all the other copies being taken out of the library, it was a very expensive surprise. At least the course was really good. 

[Gabriela]

If you're really strapped for cash, you can usually get the professor to put the book on hold at the library, so you can go there and read it for free. Or you can check out a copy at the library, if you get there fast enough. Not sure how long undergrads are allowed to keep books at uni libraries these days, but for me (as a grad student), it was about the whole semester. And when I needed it longer, I could renew it (unless some jerk recalled it).

 

On 8/5/2016 at 2:35 AM, LittleWaySoul said:

Ha, the grad school textbook life has been quite nice thus far. This semester's cost to buy used books was a total of about ~$70. Much better than my undergrad book expenses.  

Wait.

[LittleWaySoul]

14 minutes ago, Gabriela said:

Wait.

To be fair, though, I just remembered that a few of the more pricey books needed are ones I already own. Two were given to me, too, so I didn't pay for those. With those the cost might've been more like $150-$200. 

[Gabriela]

12 minutes ago, LittleWaySoul said:

To be fair, though, I just remembered that a few of the more pricey books needed are ones I already own. Two were given to me, too, so I didn't pay for those. With those the cost might've been more like $150-$200. 

Depending on what you're studying, professors may eventually assign outrageously expensive disciplinary "handbooks" that are not just overpriced but sinfully boring. And then there are all the books you'll need for your thesis/dissertation and other research projects, which your library may or may not have/be able to get for you, and which you'll eventually just spring for cuz you're so exhausted and it's easier to get them off Amazon than to deal with having to take them back to the library every # weeks/months.

Trust me, unless you're a golden girl, there's nothing cheap about grad school. Except your stipend.

 

I'm not trying to be mean or contradictory. I just don't want you to get the impression in your first semester (is it your first semester?) that you'll have more disposable income than you actually will. Save as much as possible, cuz what next semester's profs/projects will spring on you, you can't know.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Gabriela

[LittleWaySoul]

1 hour ago, Gabriela said:

Depending on what you're studying, professors may eventually assign outrageously expensive disciplinary "handbooks" that are not just overpriced but sinfully boring. And then there are all the books you'll need for your thesis/dissertation and other research projects, which your library may or may not have/be able to get for you, and which you'll eventually just spring for cuz you're so exhausted and it's easier to get them off Amazon than to deal with having to take them back to the library every # weeks/months.

Trust me, unless you're a golden girl, there's nothing cheap about grad school. Except your stipend.

 

I'm not trying to be mean or contradictory. I just don't want you to get the impression in your first semester (is it your first semester?) that you'll have more disposable income than you actually will. Save as much as possible, cuz what next semester's profs/projects will spring on you, you can't know.

Lol, don't worry. Trust me, I know.

No stipend + Catholic school tuition = frugality to the max.