COLUMN: Textbook tips for savvy students
It’s textbook season once again, and many of us are reluctantly clicking on to the Central Michigan University Bookstore website to find out just what the damage will be this semester.
After seven semesters of book-buying, I would not call myself an expert necessarily, but I have developed a few habits and tricks that make paying for my education a little less bank-breaking.
Disclaimer: There are some majors, fields and classes for which I can offer no help. My experience with the few non-liberal courses I’ve taken has shown me that there aren’t many options for getting around perpetually expensive textbooks required for hard science and technical fields.
For those of you in softer fields, however, try out these tips if you haven’t already, and you may be pleasantly surprised with what’s left in your bank account come the start of school.
First, never assume the CMU Bookstore is your only option for textbooks. While it is much easier to pick up and return books on campus, the prices are almost always higher than those you’ll find elsewhere.
You may have noticed that the bookstore website now has a handy comparison tool to show you the prices of your book in question on other textbook sites. Warning: do not take these prices at face value. I’ve often found that actually going to the site and looking up the book myself yields a different price than what is listed by the comparison tool.
After nearly four years of school, I’ve found Bookrenter.com, the ever trusty Amazon.com and Chegg.com to be the most useful as alternatives for buying or renting.
This leads me to my next tip. Don’t rule out renting your textbooks over buying them each semester. Sure, you can get money back for your books when you’re done with them, but chances are your return is going to be next to nothing, whereas renting books in the first place is generally much cheaper. Plus, you don’t have to pay to ship them back.
Finally, never underestimate the power of a friend or acquaintance who has taken the same class before you. Either they still have the book, know where to get it for the best price or at least have some advice on whether you’ll actually be cracking it during the semester.
I am proud to say that in all my time at CMU, I have never spent more than $180 on textbooks in one semester. Follow these tips and you just might be able to say the same thing.
