So I start nursing school in the fall at Wayne State, and would like to buy my books ahead of time. If I buy used books from my university bookstore the total comes to be around $800. I looked on a few other websites (amazon, alibris, ebay, abebooks, and etc), and got my total to be max $200. Who wouldn't love to save $600 on books?! lol. My only concern is that if I get them from other websites I may not have the CD's, and access codes. Are they really that important? Would buying them from other websites, versus my school bookstore put me at a disadvantage or do you think Ill be okay?
I just completed my first semester of nursing school and I rented most of my books from Amazon and purchased those that I would use in future classes like Med/Surge I and II (we have two books that are used for both level 1 and level 2).
Also check with the instructor on the workbooks and guides that may be suggested. Two of my classes required two text books, plus procedures list, workbooks, flash cards, etc. The first day of class I asked if the workbooks were required and was told that no they weren't but they were "nice to have." I sent those back for a refund.
I agree with many of the others! Check first that the edition isn't going to change before you begin. I have successfully bought from amazon, abebooks, and Chegg. I have never had an issue with the access code not working except for through a rental. I personally use the access code to take the online or disk practice tests. Chegg allows you to rent, if it's not a book that you'll need for the entire two years of the program. I bought the ones that I was going to need to re-use, and rented the rest. If you're not sure if you'll be re-using anything from semester to semester, just shoot the course instructor an email. They will usually be happy to tell you. I have also bought older editions on ocassion from graduating students- the teachers usually have a page conversion chart because they don't always buy the newest edition either. My teacher gladly let us make copies of the chart (even though I'm sure she wasn't supposed to)- as long as we did just one for ourselves and didn't share it with everyone. Just something else to think about! Good luck!
You would be far better off renting your books from Campusrental.com or any other rental book company. I rented my book for 9 weeks for $35.00. It was new and I paid postage one time. Campusbookrental.com paid the postage going back. Also the books were new one could yellow them or mark them any way one needed too. I would say why keep the book when it will be old and no one will buy it. I bought a new book from the University book store with a coupon for $125.00 off. The book still cost me $180.00 and it was old so I couldn't sell it back. Just rent it is cheaper and saves more money.
All that is needed is the ISBN number and rental books are the way to go. I wish I could have sold you the large 2 volume of the stupid book that cost me $300.00 for my Medical Surgical books. I still have them and would love to get rid of them as they did not do me one bit of good. They are still like new. and I wish I could get rid of them. Any place you work they have good up to date medical surgical books. So don't waste your money and buy from the rip off book store.
Yeah books can be very costly... its ridiculous paying an arm and a leg for a book and then getting barely nothing for it when you do the book buy back. Thank you all for the great advice!! I will most definitely RENT all my books! Thanks again!(:
Sometimes it's a good idea to buy and hold on to books, even though you swear you'll never, ever need them again. I was once about half serious about burning one particular book from an Advanced Nursing Theory course, and to do a "happy dance" around it while it burned. Most of the "theories" in it seemed to be either some "new age BS" or written by people who were trying to make a career out of overcomplicating simple concepts. Fortunately, I didn't do it because I had to refer back to that stupid book quite a few times in subsequent courses.
Hmmm...now that I think about it, where did I put that lighter?
I have thrown hundred of dollars worth of books away and haven't ever looked back. Even our antique book store does not want them. Anything you need to know is on line on good websites not blogs. So rent while in school and look up on the internet when working. There are even nursing diagnosis for NANDA on the web. I love the web.
First go to your course site and see what book is required. At my college there is a link on the course site that takes you to the bookstore site to order the book. This link provides me with the title, edition and ISBN no. It will also tell me what other materials are needed. Ie access codes. Then I go to Amazon and plug in the ISBN in the advanced search box. I compare prices to the bookstore. I also check out the used books on Amazon through secondary sellers. Amazon holds the secondary sellers accountable for their transactions and keeps a record of all correspondences between seller and buyer. I have bought many books this way and only had one problem with shipment which was promptly corrected. I also choose a seller that's closest to me for quicker delivery time. Use your college bookstore as a last resort or for texts that are compilations specifically created by the prof for the course.
Jaykalkyn, BSN, RN
144 Posts
I just completed my first semester of nursing school and I rented most of my books from Amazon and purchased those that I would use in future classes like Med/Surge I and II (we have two books that are used for both level 1 and level 2).
Also check with the instructor on the workbooks and guides that may be suggested. Two of my classes required two text books, plus procedures list, workbooks, flash cards, etc. The first day of class I asked if the workbooks were required and was told that no they weren't but they were "nice to have." I sent those back for a refund.