School books really cost $$$$$.

[Duderonomy]

I've been taking night classes for my MBA. Some of the textbooks I needed were $200 a pop. I'm not picky so I found older copies online for more reasonable prices. If these books were a non-college requirement the real cost would be $30-40. What a sham. What I hate most is when you buy the book then the professor never even uses it.

[enayes]

Like you mentioned, buying the older editions is the way to go.

Most of my classes asked me to buy a book in the $100-150 range. I would go on eBay and buy an earlier edition for $10-20. Problem solved and the books are almost identical.

[TylerOO]

I haven't bought any books last 3 semesters. Waste of money and you can find any textbook online for free after some research.

[Rake2204]

I learned quickly to not buy my books until it's proven they're necessary. As mentioned, oftentimes there'd be a laundry list of books that were labeled as "absolutely required" by professors when in fact they'd never end up being used.

I would wait a few weeks to buy my books and if it became immediately imperative that I use one, the library would always have them on reserve in a pinch.

And yes, online purchases are recommended.

[ALBballer]

So you graduated and probably have had atleast 4 years of college experience and you finally realized textbooks are expensive?

[Fresh Kid]

hell yea i haven't been in college in 6 years and it cost about tha same for me like 200, 150 180, I use to hate that, especially around mid term and finals where tha damn bookstore gives you a low amount of money for your books too when you try to sell your books back to them very low amount

[Le Shaqtus]

I usually try to get away with not using textbooks at all, depending on the classes I'm taking. Otherwise if I really need to buy a book I usually find a cheaper one online.

[It's A VC3!!!]

It's embarrassing how we still use textbooks in 2013. School is one thing that technology and time have not changed. People are paying 20k+ a year for formal education and teachers reading out of books, which does not stimulate learning real life experiences whatsoever.

You'll learn more working for a Fortune 500 company in your desired field than school can ever teach you.

Sorry, my little rant on school. But yeah, books are absurdly expensive.

[TylerOO]

It's embarrassing how we still use textbooks in 2013. School is one thing that technology and time have not changed. People are paying 20k+ a year for formal education and teachers reading out of books, which does not stimulate learning real life experiences whatsoever.

You'll learn more working for a Fortune 500 company in your desired field than school can ever teach you.

Sorry, my little rant on school. But yeah, books are absurdly expensive.

I feel the same way

[DuMa]

ripoff. you can probably find a local place that will photocopy the book for you and put it in a binder for about 30-40% of the cost. I had one during my college days and it saved me nearly a thousand bucks a year.

[ace23]

I've just been torrenting, but I've realized that hard books are much easier to use for online assignments. It's a real pain having to go back between the question and the pdf when you're looking up how to solve something.

[2LeTTeRS]

I've just been torrenting, but I've realized that hard books are much easier to use for online assignments. It's a real pain having to go back between the question and the pdf when you're looking up how to solve something.

You might want to invest in a 2nd monitor man. Would do wonders for you.....