Slightly peeved at College Boosktore...(rant)

TweetiePieRN · Jun 11, 2004

OK I went to the RN orientation for 1st year students. They gave us a list of books we are required to have. So my awesome parents offered to pay for my books. Well they already ordered them and low and behold, the bookstore has posted a different list of books. Most of them are the same however, they are newer editions! So now I have to call the nursing office and find out if it's all right to have the older editions or not. If not I have to return these books through the mail to the companies I ordered them form. GRRRR :angryfire you would think they nursing office would have given us a better list when we had orientation or at least mentioned it... Okay I just needed to rant about that. Thanx for listening....

Welcome to the world of being a student. This would happen to me every semester!! It is frustrating, but you should be able to return your books and get a refund if it is within a certain time frame (It took me a while to learn that). Just be glad your parents were able to pay for them. I never had that luxury!

Megsd, BSN, RN · Jun 11, 2004

The oddest experience I ever had with my college bookstore (and this is why I plan to order my books online from amazon or half.com or somewhere this year) is buying a book for my 400-level Spanish course. Being a high-level Spanish course, the course was, naturally, in Spanish. So I went and bought all my books and halfway through the semester (after it was too late to get refunds) I opened a book to start reading it, and I notice something -- the entire book was in ENGLISH!! It turns out about 10 of us bought the English version of the book because the stupid bookstore ordered the wrong edition of the book. Grrr.

Meghan

shortsteph12 · Jun 13, 2004

In my first nursing class, I bought a book that was optional. I never ended up using it, and I kept the reciept and never opened the plastic. The manager refused to give me a full refund because she has "enough" nursing books. So then I ended up getting up only half of my money back. that peeved me so I decided never to order an optional book again. I looked on half.com and was able to find one of my text books but not the rest. I saved about $21.00 by ordering it online.

RedSox33RN · Jun 14, 2004

In my first nursing class, I bought a book that was optional. I never ended up using it, and I kept the reciept and never opened the plastic. The manager refused to give me a full refund because she has "enough" nursing books. So then I ended up getting up only half of my money back. that peeved me so I decided never to order an optional book again. I looked on half.com and was able to find one of my text books but not the rest. I saved about $21.00 by ordering it online.

I've been getting any of my optional books on eBay. I've gotten 2, but I think of the 8 that are optional, that is all I'm going to get. The others are just like "How to love nursing school", etc.

I've already gotten a few on eBay of the required ones. One was a workbook that I bought for $20 less than the used one at the bookstore, and a Taber's dictionary. I'm hoping and praying that they don't change the editions. It did say these are the ones required for Fall 2004, so I'm going by that.

renerian, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2004

My hubby is a Professor/RN at a University and the college changes books on him all the time LOL. The students show up with different editions or totally different books. Welcome welcome.....

renerian

PCGrad06 · Jun 14, 2004

it all comes down to $$$$$ and how to make more of it. but you should be given a reason for the change.

ok i went to the rn orientation for 1st year students. they gave us a list of books we are required to have. so my awesome parents offered to pay for my books. well they already ordered them and low and behold, the bookstore has posted a different list of books. most of them are the same however, they are newer editions! so now i have to call the nursing office and find out if it's all right to have the older editions or not. if not i have to return these books through the mail to the companies i ordered them form. grrrr :angryfire you would think they nursing office would have given us a better list when we had orientation or at least mentioned it... okay i just needed to rant about that. thanx for listening....

RNNoMore · Jun 14, 2004

It's just another way for college bookstores to rip off the students: In my college, not only do they charge about 25% more for books than a 'normal' bookstore, but they tell you that the list of required books for your course can change up until 1 week prior to the start of the course - by which time, of course, it's cutting it a bit fine to start ordering used/cheap books off the internet.....

However, an Anatomy book is an anatomy book is an anatomy book - unless it's over 20 years old, not much of the information will have changed, and 'newer editions' often just have slightly different illustrations, improved tables etc., nothing so different that it would make the book unusable for the course. When they changed my A & P book (that was supposed to be good for both courses I and II), after the first course, I just carried on using the same book and it was fine. Unfortunately, many students thought that they had to have the new book for A&P II and found themselves about $140 out of pocket.

My advice - ignore the bookstore and go and see your nursing advisor, they are usually a lot more flexible about the books you need.

Paint.

CindyJRN · Jun 14, 2004

Half.com lets you go by ISBN so you get the right edition. I also ordered optional books on ebay--won one for 0.01! Shipping was $3.64. Anyway, I am a huge Books a Million fan and have been ordering texts from them and saving money, esp on shipping and handling.