Just bought my textbooks - a mini-grumbling session

[NightNerd]

I am starting my first nursing class in 2 weeks. Just spent almost $600 for the privilege of carrying three enormous textbooks on my back and barreling through them in 8 weeks. As I'm checking out, the cashier reminds me that our nursing student "kit" isn't ready yet so I'll have to come back and buy that too.

What in the world could possibly be left for us to buy??? I already have the stethoscope, BP cuff, bandage scissors, penlight, black pens, notepad, uniforms, and everything else we were told to buy.

Learning is expensive. Necessary, yes, exciting, hell to the yes, but very, very expensive. Just had to throw that out there.

[SWM2009]

Ugh, and editions update so fast you can barely resell before they are irrelevent! What's worse is that many courses now require you to have online access, so any used book doesn't include a new activation code! My wallet weeps!

Yep...many of my courses have an online assignment component (Prep U) that goes along with the book. Even if you buy the book used or rent it, you still need to pony up extra bucks for the online access.

[elprup, BSN, RN]

Try bookbyte.com

I have found some books there very cheap and they ship fast. But you have to be quick! They go fast.

[zoe92]

Try bigwords.com, you type in the ISBN, title, or author & it provides you with cheapest prices from all sites (amazon, chegg, bookbyte, etc.) It saves you from having to search & compare.

[CLUVRN, MSN, RN]

Thank God my books are included in my tuition

[IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

Thank God my books are included in my tuition

Well....that's how it is for my husband. The problem....they overcharged for them and he would have been better off buying from amazon.

[Wannabeeinscrubs, ADN, LPN, RN]

I just bought my A&P books and my math book, $645 OUCH!

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

We have 16 required text books, 23 if you buy all the "recommended but not required" books. I just checked the prices and it's going to run about $1,500 just for the 16 minimum.

The good news is that we'll use most of these books all 4 semesters, so the cost averages out. But there are still additional books down the road that are going to cost quite a bit. I knew this was coming, but still have sticker shock!

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

I didn't read all the comments, but we used our books thru-out the entire program. Everything built on each other, so I found myself referencing all of my books, all the time.

[AmberHopefulRN]

For my first semester, my books weren't that bad. There were about 17 I bought (including the "recommended" supplements), and it cost me about $610 after I shopped around. It's still a lot of money, but I have spent more than that on just 3-4 books for some of my pre-reqs.

[adc85]

Idk what my books will cost yet, but fortunately I have a friend who just graduated from the program im about to start. She is going to give me her books, bless her heart! I found out today how much fall semester is going to cost, and it is DOUBLE what I anticipated! The fees add up to the same amount as the tuition, it's insane! I'm still reeling from that sticker shock.

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

$600 is a lot! I don't think I ever paid more than $200 for my textbooks, and most semesters it was under $100. I rented or bought used from Amazon, though. Full price for my textbooks probably would have been $600!

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

The fees add up to the same amount as the tuition, it's insane! I'm still reeling from that sticker shock.

I hear ya! Our nursing course is 9 credits, but they bill you for 15.5 credits. And then there's a $1950 fee for the course on top of the tuition!!! The fee is more expensive than the tuition! Plus you have to pay $5 per billing hour to the school on top of that. It's ridiculous!!!