How did you save on textbooks? Ebooks or not?

[CinDRnyc]

Hi all! I am doing a concurrent AAS/BSN program here in AZ that starts in August and my Block 1 of the AAS starts in January. I was just perusing to see what textbooks were required in Spring 2012 to get a "feel" for what I may need to purchase.

HOLY MOLY!!!

10 textbooks were required for Spring 12' and I even checked for Fall 12' and it's 11 !!!

How did all of you save $$$ on textbooks??? Which ones did you buy in hardcopy and which ones did you get as an ebook???

I don't always like buying ebooks because I really like to make notes and highlight but I just don't know which ones I should get as an ebook and which ones I should get as a hardcopy.....

I'm trying to figure out what I am going to do because there is no way I can carry 10 books to school everyday LOL !!!

[CinDRnyc]

I always recommend bigwords.com. Its kind of like Google for textbooks. It will search all of the sites mentioned and more for the best price on your books. I've always had really good results with it. I actually just got my Med/Surg book brand new for less than what I would have paid for a used one thanks to bigwords.

Thanks that's great! :heartbeat

[Lovell1984]

I rent all my textbooks from collegebookrenter.com I'm renting a $200 book for $25 for $90 days. You let them know how long you need it and they ship it too you! I find it very helpful

[Mrs.Priss]

I got 9 of my 12 books from half.com and amazon.com for $230. they make us buy one of them new from the bookstore on campus and they give us 2 at orientation.

[PNicholas]

1. Invest in a rolling booking! 2. Rarely did I need all my books at once! If you have a medical dictionary on your list, don't waste your money. Use free online dictionaries ( yes they even have medical ones)! Next, be willing to use an older edition. I would not go more than 1 edition older! Many girls in my class have done this and saved. Just today a friend bought us our iv med books (2011 instead of 2012) for $4.80 vs $47! And our psych book (6th edition instead of 7th) for $7 instead of $69! All new at a major college bookstore! They put stuff on clearance that they can't send back to the publisher. It is a little harder to match tables and page numbers in class but luckily most of our teachers will give info for the 2 newest editions! Plus, I am in a study group and can always verify my pages! Good luck!

[CinDRnyc]

1. Invest in a rolling booking! 2. Rarely did I need all my books at once! If you have a medical dictionary on your list, don't waste your money. Use free online dictionaries ( yes they even have medical ones)! Next, be willing to use an older edition. I would not go more than 1 edition older! Many girls in my class have done this and saved. Just today a friend bought us our iv med books (2011 instead of 2012) for $4.80 vs $47! And our psych book (6th edition instead of 7th) for $7 instead of $69! All new at a major college bookstore! They put stuff on clearance that they can't send back to the publisher. It is a little harder to match tables and page numbers in class but luckily most of our teachers will give info for the 2 newest editions! Plus, I am in a study group and can always verify my pages! Good luck!

Rolling backpack? Hmm.....I'm gonna have to look into that. Thanks!

[ImKosher]

Rolling backpack?

[nylady07]

For all you book purchasing gurus,

Which books are best to keep for reference and which books are best just to rent? (For instance med-sug books, fundamentals, etc)

[IndyElmer]

For all you book purchasing gurus,Which books are best to keep for reference and which books are best just to rent? (For instance med-sug books, fundamentals, etc)

I'm curious about this too. There are plenty of students in the cohorts ahead of me who are selling their books as soon as (or even a few days before) their classes end. Since I bought one-edition older for $5-$10 (including shipping) per book, I probably won't be able to sell those books, but I do still have two more semesters to buy books and might consider current edition if the general consensus is that most books can be sold back right away.

[LexiMena]

I didn't know about bigwords! Just checked it out & what a huge time saver!!! Great tip!!!