Cost of a textbook at UC Davis (rental, how much)

[moonman239]

Hi everyone,

I am interested in attending UC Davis and want to know how much I can expect to pay for textbooks, on the average.

It would be nice to get some feedback from current students, but I'll take a number from anyone as long as I know when they left UC Davis.

Edit: Please include where you purchased the textbooks, as this will likely influence the total price I pay for textbooks.

[caligirlz]

You might want to contact student services to find out if there is an alternative for cheaper or used books.

When I was recently looking to school, there was an option to buy virtual books online vs a hard copy. So you might want to check that out too.

[My Other Self]

This is an extremely broad and impossible question to answer. The textbooks are contingent on the professor and the class. No one can give you an average - there are too many variables.

[cb73]

Try looking at the online class schedule for the current semester to get an idea of what books they're using in your field. Or go to the online bookstore and just browse. (Edit: Just checked and all the classes are listed, but no book lists are available yet.)

I just finished my last class in a local community college, and my books were running $200 to $350 each, and a friend laughed that her anatomy and chemistry books cost a lot more than that.

Best bet is find what book is required, get the ISBN and then shop it all over the country for the best deal. Good luck.

[My Other Self]

Originally Posted by cb73

I just finished my last class in a local community college, and my books were running $200 to $350 each, and a friend laughed that her anatomy and chemistry books cost a lot more than that.

I'm finishing up community college in the Fall and the most expensive book I've ever had was $250 (which was for a hardcover accounting text) - the average price has been all over depending on the class. My history class this past semester had a textbook for $8, while my communications class was $150.

The OP is only considering attending Davis. The choice of university really has no bearing on how much the textbook costs. I' had a teacher who taught at Davis and ARC, utilizing the same textbook, and that was about $50. Depends on what the OPs major is.

[anderscl]

Yes, your cost will depend greatly on the major. English paperbacks cost considerably less than specialized business or engineering books.

[Malloric]

Too variable.

1) Do not buy textbooks until you actually need the textbook. I didn't learn that very quickly. UC Davis uses standardized textbooks in most of the colleges (engineering, letters & science anyway). Just because a textbook is on the syllabus doesn't mean you'll use it. Some professors are upfront about that and will tell you on the first day to return it. They're tenured and can defy the institution. A lecturer, which is who will be teaching many of your classes, cannot. Don't buy textbooks until you need them. Certain classes like chemistry or calculus, you probably will. Online is an option to save money there but you also could end up buying a book you won't use, so use caution.

2) Textbooks are on reserve at the library for many classes. You can reserve them for two hours at a time. If it's not a textbook you'll use frequently, it's a good route to go. If it's a textbook you're married to for the class, it won't work especially during midterms/finals and you'll need to buy it. I'd say for about half my classes, I never bought text books and just used the ones on reserve with occasional photocopying of necessary sections.

3) The real book store is off-campus conveniently located at 3rd and A Street. They don't always have everything so sometimes you'll have to resort to the overpriced bookstore. The real bookstore doesn't have a great return policy and can run out of some books.

If you're a science major, you'll use the calculus/basic chem books. I think I paid $90 for the chem book and $120 for calculus, both used from the real book store. By the time I was through with them they were falling apart. They're by far the best value I had of any textbook. Worst was a first edition engineer text book that was $200 something, poorly made, barely used, came out with a second edition and was just a paperweight at that point. Speaking of which, you can often use the previous edition and then just photocopy problem sets. They like to change the page numbers to force universities to buy new books for no reason so they'll be the same damn book with different page numbers. Sometimes the professors will just give you the page numbers for both editions since nobody likes that racket.

[ryuns]

If you can swing, buy the previous editions online. They're crazy cheap for some subjects. They do make changes to ********* into buying a new edition, but if, for instance, your class isn't relying on numbered questions in the book, it might not make any difference. If you're feeling bold, saunter up to the prof and ask if there's an issue with using the previous edition. If they didn't write the book, they'll probably tell you straight-up.

[prosin]

Purchase a second monitor for your computer and go digital instead of print. I recommend checking out a Web site such as CourseSmart (CourseSmart: Our Products). Several publishers including biggies such as Cengage, Pearson, and McGraw/Hill have their e-texts available for rental at a deep discount. The most expensive text my students purchase costs about $215 new, but a six-month e-text rental is around $54. E-texts can also be opened on tablets and smartphones--no heavy lifting! And you can print pages out, if needed, but you must be online to print. Most e-texts are available for 180, 360, or 540 days; you pick the term.

The campus bookstore at the college where I work (not UC Davis) also offers students a "rent" option which is about 1/3 to 1/2 the price of new print. But you must return it by the due date or you will be charged full price. That may be an option.