How much are you spending on books this semester?

[casi]

They posted the fall books this week at my school. It's such a depressing thing. I'm taking four classes one of which is PE and so far doesn't require any books. Of coorifice if I was to buy all the books new from the school (most only come as new) it would cost me $440 THANKFULLY I've been able to knock about $95 off that so far through half.com and amazon. I still have a few more books to get, but have to head off to the college book store since the ISBNs that they list aren't coming up on searches on amazon... Doubt I'll buy them from the bookstore though unless I absolutely can't find them cheaper.

Why does this part of school have to be so stressful?

So what is everyone else paying this semester?

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

1st semester of nursing school for two nursing classes I need six books which would total approximately $250 through the bookstore. So far, I've been able to find four of them on eBay and half for much less.

[so_buggie]

I'm a pre-nursing student and my books are going to be about 600 to 650. I don't want to imagine how much they are going to be when i enter nursing program.

[Icess64]

I have to buy 11 textbooks this quarter and two more next quarter. I figure by the time I'm done buying them, I will have spent between $750 and $900 NOT including the PDA versions I'm going to buy (which are optional, but still...) The good part is that I'm starting the first quarter of 6 and after our second quarter we aren't required to purchase any more books for the duration of the program. It hurts now though! Yowsa!

[browneyedgirl71]

Far too much...I've already spent over $600 and I still have to buy more required texts and some recommended texts. Aye carumba!

[MIKelly]

I lucked out and found the lab text I need on ebay for $32 (for A&P) and also the texbook for only $25. It's not the correct edition (5 instead of 6), but I'm hoping it's just for reference and it won't matter too much. Otherwise the book store wanted $280 for new versions, or $200 for used. No thanks! Now I need to make friends in class and get someone to let me download their cd that came with the school bookstore lab text.

[smattles1of2]

I found my A&P book for $12 on amazon.com!

[HisTreasure, BSN, RN]

I'm taking 18 credits this semester towards my health administration/RN dual associate degrees. Human development, biology, Gerontology, Accounting I, freshman seminar (even though I am transferring in 18 credits:uhoh3: ) and community medicine & public health. Grand total: $570.75. Usually I shop around and pay for my books out of pocket cheaper, but since being out of work for the past six months I am relying on financial aid to get me through the first semester...

[luvmy3kids]

Lucky for me.... I am just taking one class this semester... Anatomy... for the textbook and lab manuals my total is $205.00 (for used price)

How does it work if you buy from half.com? I was looking on there and I'm very nervous about it... I like to buy my books used, but I like to look through them first to make sure no one has marked up the pages and such...

Can you really believe on half.com if it says it is brand new (or almost brand new)? Once you order it, how long does it take to ship? Is it really worth it (I can save about 20.00) but I would have to pay shipping, right?

Right now I don't mind just paying the money for the books from the school bookstore, but once I start taking nursing courses, I'd like to try and save a bit more...

Thanks for asking this, any help for me would be appreciated too!

[LMRN10]

Actually, for some reason our class doesn't require books. I'm still waiting for the Syllabus though!!

This is another site I ran across to check for the cheapest books!! http://www.chambal.com/

[Meena29]

My college did the same thing regarding ISBN #. Actually that's the 10 digit number which is printed down to the bars. They said that from Jan 2007 these number would be used everywhere. But you can ask thm ISBN number. My college bookstore's staff gave all ISBN on phone and all those came on amazon, half and ebay.com. These three sites are really helpful. I've never bought single book from the bookstore. They're crazy. I'm spending less then half on new books online. Good luck for your search.

[Galore]

I wish I had discovered online bookstores sooner! I've bought used texts on ebay, half.com (which is part of ebay), and amazon.com. First I look at campusbooks.com which will search all of the major sites and lists them in order of price. I look at the cheapest, but also read the seller's description and feedback very carefully. I've never had any problem and usually save around 30-50% off the bookstore's used price. Shipping is usually very cheap considering the savings; around $3 for media mail or often you can upgrade to Priority for around $5.

To answer the original question, this semester I'm only taking Chemistry along with Lab and Human Development. I bought the chemistry books online for about $110 together, and I'm waiting to see if we're even going to use the text for my psychology class. I read the reviews on ratemyprofessor.com and a lot of students said you can just use the notes. I strongly believe in doing a little research before handing over your hard-earned cash on books you may not ever use again :)