What I always did was give it a few weeks of class before you buy your books. If you need it immediately your school library probably has a few copies, or borrow from a classmate or something.
Unless it is some really obscure book you can usually find it on google or a torrent. Just google "book's name author pdf ebook". It may take some sifting through results, but I managed to find every book I needed my Junior and Senior years.
Sometimes you can only find older editions of the book, which is usually ok as far as the material is concerned. Sometimes though they will add new practice problems at the end of chapters and the older editions won't have those. If your teacher has you doing these, you might need to buy the book (or just borrow it when you have homework).
College textbooks are one of the biggest scams in the world. I feel no shame in cheating the system while they've shamelessly cheated dirt poor college students for years.
What I always did was give it a few weeks of class before you buy your books. If you need it immediately your school library probably has a few copies, or borrow from a classmate or something.
Unless it is some really obscure book you can usually find it on google or a torrent. Just google "book's name author pdf ebook". It may take some sifting through results, but I managed to find every book I needed my Junior and Senior years.
Sometimes you can only find older editions of the book, which is usually ok as far as the material is concerned. Sometimes though they will add new practice problems at the end of chapters and the older editions won't have those. If your teacher has you doing these, you might need to buy the book (or just borrow it when you have homework).
College textbooks are one of the biggest scams in the world. I feel no shame in cheating the system while they've shamelessly cheated dirt poor college students for years.
What this guy said- you can easily find pdfs for most of the books online. If you have friends in your major, talk to them- there are probably a lot who already have these pdfs.
^That site scavenges the web for books and finds the cheapest prices. You can find a lot of international editions for 1/5 of the price. Only difference is that they are paperback cover instead of hardback.
I spent $35 on textbooks for 18 hours of classes this semester...Here is my safe proof plan cheap textbooks:
1) Check your library to see if they keep textbooks on reserve, most do!
2) If you must buy a book, ask the professor if you can buy an older edition. They will almost always say yes! It's the same material, but book is like 90% off usually.
3) Look on craigslist for people selling books, you can bargain. I also advise you to sell your books here instead of back to bookstores.
There are some books like lab manuals that are from the school that you have to buy, but those are the two methods I use.
What this guy said- you can easily find pdfs for most of the books online. If you have friends in your major, talk to them- there are probably a lot who already have these pdfs.
^That site scavenges the web for books and finds the cheapest prices. You can find a lot of international editions for 1/5 of the price. Only difference is that they are paperback cover instead of hardback.
I spent $35 on textbooks for 18 hours of classes this semester...Here is my safe proof plan cheap textbooks:
1) Check your library to see if they keep textbooks on reserve, most do!
2) If you must buy a book, ask the professor if you can buy an older edition. They will almost always say yes! It's the same material, but book is like 90% off usually.
3) Look on craigslist for people selling books, you can bargain. I also advise you to sell your books here instead of back to bookstores.
There are some books like lab manuals that are from the school that you have to buy, but those are the two methods I use.
This key to me. Sometimes professors assign customized editions that you can only purchased through the campus bookstore. As well as textbooks with that needs to be written on and handed in. Happened to me for a Chemistry class and an Anatomy class.
If that's not the case then get them free at the library or on bargain online as many have already suggested.
Where to get cheap books?
