Foo - I guess you learn from your mistakes

And today, I learned that campus book stores are a total rip off. I even went to the independent book seller, who sells mostly used copies of books (because you can sell them back for a fraction of what you paid). People around me paying 4 or 500 dollars....for two classes! My english professor told me that the official university book store just wants to make money, and they they have a list of books that are required by classes. But apparently, it's a list of books they think are required. A few girls in my class were all studious and bought the books on the list, only to find that 1/2 of them are useless for this class. So the best way is to wait for the syllabus.

But this independent book seller just disgusts me, they're trying to take advantage of college students. If they were not right in the campus, they would never get away with charging such astronomical prices.
I bought one book and called it a day, because I am now going to use my brain. Rather than buy all the books at once like every other freshmen (and it seems like it was mostly freshmen waiting in the 1/2 mile long line), I will read my syllabus. If a book is required for an assignment due the next class after the syllabus is received, then I buy it locally. But a lot of these are books you won't use for a month or two, so I will shop around for these very carefully online.

Or just drop out. That's what I did and it's working wonderfully for me.

My english professor told me that the official university book store just wants to make money, and they they have a list of books that are required by classes. But apparently, it's a list of books they think are required. A few girls in my class were all studious and bought the books on the list, only to find that 1/2 of them are useless for this class. So the best way is to wait for the syllabus.


Oh yeah...I remember that. Two more ideas:
1: For popular technical books, there was a huge problem with piracy in developing countries. To combat that, publishers put out versions of their books just for those countries, pushing the production values as low as possible. The result is a book that isn't as sturdy as a usual hardcover textbook, but it's much cheaper.

The covers will say: "Notice: Sale of this book outside <named countries> is unauthorized." (Not *illegal*, mark you -- just unauthorized.) They've been getting easier to find in the last few years.

2: Even better than online bookstores are online bookstore search engines. I like addall.com, but not for a good reason; I'm sure there are other ones around.

Thanks for the advice. Thumbing through eBay, it appears that they have just what I need. I think now is the best time since people know the semester has begun

Thanks for the advice. Thumbing through eBay, it appears that they have just what I need. I think now is the best time since people know the semester has begun

You should also check to see if there's a book on hold for your class. If there is, you may not even need to buy!

Unfortunately, it seems all college booksellers rip students off like this. It's just another small thing. :)

The internet is your friend. Spent 130 on books for 5 classes this year.

I was in college before the wonderful internet changed life as we know it. During this time I had a semester abroad in England. I was shocked that I did not need to buy any text books during the semester. The reason? They were all available for students to borrow through the campus library.

The internet is your friend. Spent 130 on books for 5 classes this year.

You couldn't be more correct:D.
This is why it was almost all freshmen in the lines. The more experience students learned after getting screwed for a year.
On eBay, a 40 dollar book is now a 9 dollar investment on my end. An 11 dollar book is now a a 3 dollar book.

Don't forget your friendly local library...also a good place to borrow movies.

Welcome to college :)

I think I will like college. I'm always finding more ways that they're trying to extract that extra little bit of cash from you though. I'm going to make it a game to avoid all that crap. A fee that I don't pay is 50 dollars I put into my educational IRA, which has a pretty hefty rate of return on it. I'm very happy that I am a commuter student and living at home though. I want my space, my privacy, and my general independence.
I've actually found it amusing that highschool kids are walking through the campus. I think it's so they can peak at the abundance of beautiful females :D
If all goes according to calculations, I'll be 100% loan free this year. And my IRA will have grown enough that I'll have probably 2/3 of my senior year of college paid for. If I stick with UNH, I'll have enough to cover the full year's cost with a little surplus.

A local Jr college offers a program that brings in 9th graders and takes they through 12th grade and at the end of the high school time they graduate with a high school diploma and an AA/AS degree.

What a deal, four years of high school and it counts as two years of college. There are many good things about this, so maybe the high school students you saw there were actually attending school. ? :)

Steven

UNH, eh? Watch out for certain cute looking girls. They're devious.

A local Jr college offers a program that brings in 9th graders and takes they through 12th grade and at the end of the high school time they graduate with a high school diploma and an AA/AS degree.

What a deal, four years of high school and it counts as two years of college. There are many good things about this, so maybe the high school students you saw there were actually attending school. ? :)

Steven

Well, at my school you could take AP classes. I think you were limited to one AP class in your junior year though. If you pass the AP exam with a certain grade, you get the credit. I took some honors classes instead though. I'll be able to test out of a few classes if I desire though