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Plenty of anecdotal evidence states different, including my own. I have been to three universities, all had the same theme regarding use of textbooks, I do not think it is a coincidence. I of course know plenty of college grads from different universities and it is the same theme regarding textbooks.
If the goal is to save money, it is best to wait until class starts to determine if you will need the textbook. If you do need it, you can order and get two day delivery, and you can borrow from the library at the same time or off a fellow class mate. Every professor except one in a language class never gave work from a book on the expectations that not everyone will have the book, that is one heck of a statistic for me.
It is a gamble on the two day delivery price, along with the price of the book needing to get it last minute, but like in life, risks come with rewards, and a person who waits will come away financially ahead in regards to book purchases over someone who purchases every book for every class.
A person can even go to coursesmart (if remember correctly) and get a book and they have around a week or two of use until they cannot cancel and receive a full refund. So with all of these options to obtain a textbook, it is ridiculous to purchase a book before you know if you need it or not.
This was not my experience in college. For the majority of my classes that actually stated REQUIRED text, we used the book. A lot. But Rutgers also made profs list whether a book was optional or mandatory.
I would suggest the OP find the college confidential page for the students school and ask whether mandatory really means mandatory with regards to texts at that specific school.
Again, my sincere and humble thanks. I am copying my stepdaughter on all these replies and hope she will use the suggestions.
She hopes to transfer after two years to Montclair State for her education degree. Cost was the main reason she's local. I expect both my kids (ages 7 and 10) will be taking the same route, as I see no reason to spend tends of thousands of dollars extra each year for English 101 and Algebra 101 pre-reqs before the meat of a major is tackled.
Gettingouttahere - I just noticed the above bolded statement. My daughter went out of state for an education degree and she had quite a few hoops to jump through to get certified in PA. Teacher certification does not easily cross state lines, if nothing else there are usually additional tests to take (not inexpensive) and sometimes classes as well. In every college, the ed majors will be certified for the state that they are in, but not necessarily adjoining states.
I had looked into reciprocity before she started college and saw that her college state had a reciprocity agreement with Pennsylvania, but didn't realize that all that meant was that they recognize her ed degree the same as one from PA. She still had to take two Praxis tests and get an endorsement by the administration of the school where she had been hired.
We really weren't sure where our daughter would be teaching/living after college so that wasn't a deal breaker for us but I wish we had been more aware so she could have taken the tests she needed when it was more convenient. As it was, we did tell her that being certified in PA was something we were requiring from her in case she ended up here. She did teach here for a year, so that was a good thing.
Also, you'll want to make sure that all of those Community College classes will be accepted by Montclair State. One of the best things about our Pennsylvania CC's is that they have articulation agreements with most of our state colleges in the PASSHE system Welcome to the PA State System of Higher Education I know students every year that start at a CC and then finish in two more years at Kutztown, Lock Haven, Bloomsburg, etc.
And back on topic I just found out the other day that a statistic book that my son bought last year ($110, used) was NOT used. The Prof had meant to list it as optional! Fortunately, my son was able to re-sell it for the same as we bought it.
Thank you, toobusy. She lived in Jersey all her life until the sudden move to our place. I was assuming she would be teaching there after graduation (not here, IOW). But who knows; maybe she'll love it here. It's too early yet and plans tend to change dramatically at that age. (She just got a part-time job today at Great Wolf and is walking on air. So that's a great start.)
Thanks for the tip about double-checking on classes and whether they'll be accepted.
And lkb, great advice on collegeconfidential. Thanks also.
College Confidential is a great site, but no way will they have gettingouttahere's daughter community college listed. The do have a forum for Montclair State though - Montclair State University - College Confidential
My stepdaughter has just moved in with us and will start NCC in the next week or so. Suddenly we have to worry about tuition and textbooks (not to mention juggling two cars with three adults in the house and two younger kids to chauffeur around).
On the textbook front, is there any advice anyone can offer on how to get them cheaply? I remember textbook cost being way out of line even decades ago; didn't think I'd have to research this for a few more years with my own kids, but here we are.
Craigslist? Underground black market? Kindle? Freecycle???
Guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Most colleges and universities have a used textbook dept. in the textbook store.
On the textbook front, is there any advice anyone can offer on how to get them cheaply? I remember textbook cost being way out of line even decades ago; didn't think I'd have to research this for a few more years with my own kids, but here we are.
Craigslist? Underground black market? Kindle? Freecycle???
Guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Buy the previous edition of the textbook. For the most part, the previous edition is mostly identical to the new edition. Some of the end-of-chapter questions my be different, some chapters might be different (Chapter 1 in the previous edition might be split into Chapters 1 and 2 in the new edition, but practically word-for-word the same), and some other minor changes, but can still be used for the course. If, in some cases, the newest edition is absolutely necessary, just talk to the Prof, they tend to be understanding and more-often-than-not are familiar with the former edition and can point out the differences. I went to college 15 years ago, and am back again now. I have the college experience to know. Outside of finding an International Edition, this is the cheapest way you can go.
For the record, I am a "lifetime" learner. I am in my late 30s, went to school at the traditional age back-in-the-day, am in school now, and have been in school periodically ever since I first began. I have been to private and public schools, community colleges, and universities; in five different states. Believe me, just buy the older edition.
If for what-ever reason buying the older edition concerns you, just email the professor and ask.
If the goal is to save money, it is best to wait until class starts to determine if you will need the textbook. If you do need it, you can order and get two day delivery, and you can borrow from the library at the same time or off a fellow class mate. Every professor except one in a language class never gave work from a book on the expectations that not everyone will have the book, that is one heck of a statistic for me.
This is true. Many times the text is not absolutely needed.
Some Profs but the course textbook in reserve in the library, too.
I just graduated from college a couple months ago. My advice:
Don't buy them. Seriously. Even if the professor says it's required, 95% of the time you can get by without them. And NEVER buy them before the class starts. Give it a week or two to see if you really need it. In my four years of schools, I probably bought 25% of the "required" text books for class, and I graduated with honors. Most of the ones I bought were for my major classes.
This is the best advice. I completely agree. I rarely needed to read any of my textbooks, however my major were the ones I kept after I completed the classes.
I would go on textbook rental websites such as chegg.com, amazon.com, collegebookrenter.com, textbookrentals.com. Also check the schools bookstore you can even rent books or buy used ones. Also sometimes textbook publishers have it where you can rent the ebook. I have done this for my books for the upcoming semester and spent $205 for 6 books plus this iclicker thing I needed. I saved a lot of money.
Again, my thanks. Her classes start in 10 days and I will update y'all on her experiences and final bill.
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I just found out the other day that a statistic book that my son bought last year ($110, used) was NOT used. The Prof had meant to list it as optional! Fortunately, my son was able to re-sell it for the same as we bought it.
