Required and Optional textbooks

markjrn · Aug 30, 2005

It's kind of hard to say what you should do. I guess you could hold off until the time comes and see if you feel you need them, and then go from there.

You could always check out buying them elsewhere - maybe ebay or half.com (I think that's what it's called), etc.

That's a lot of $ for tuition! Is most tuition in the US that high? I was thinking of getting my PhD someday, but if I live in the US, the price scares me! lol

Best of luck in school. :)

zacarias, ASN, RN · Aug 31, 2005

Well you should go to bigwords.com. It's a website that compares low/used prices for textbooks. With that many textbooks you could end up saving a bit.

William_SRNA · Aug 31, 2005

just out of curiosity why would you major in nursing at a school where the tuition is that high?

VeryPlainJane · Aug 31, 2005

The optional textbooks me be required in classes down the line..but the above poster is right Half.com/ebay and others might give you a better deal....Hoop welcome to the America's Higher Learning.....it all costs a lot of money

Mommy TeleRN, RN · Aug 31, 2005

Granted my comm college tuition is dirt cheap..but we have TWELVE required textbooks for Fundamentals. I have bought from Ebay, Valorebooks.com, half.com, and amazon.com thus far. The books I've gotten have been in excellent condition, and I've mostly managed to buy for 1/3 the price of the bookstore!!!

I also got a few books at Target.com as I have a Target card and that helped my cashflow for a bit. I bought the ones I couldn't find used. I also got my Fundamentals of Nursing book for $64 there brand new as opposed to $102 at the store. I also asked the teachers on certain books if I could use the older edition and on several I could (ie, Test Taking Success and Dimensional Analysis book)

I bought the book for my Economics class on Ebay in excellent shape for $45 inc shipping, was $135 at the bookstore!!!!

JVanRN · Aug 31, 2005

Gosh...I payed less than that for my entire nursing education so far...books included. That's alot, I would say even for the US.

Sammi15 · Aug 31, 2005

just out of curiosity why would you major in nursing at a school where the tuition is that high?

I major in nursing because I like the field and I'm not going to let money stop me from pursuing my dream. Although my tuition is expensive, I can earn back the money in 1 year. Plus, I consider my education as an investment. Some people buy expensive car or take luxury trip but I choose education. All private schools are expensive, especially in New York City.

hrtprncss · Aug 31, 2005

you dont need it, i doubt you'll need 16 books for ''fundamentals'' besides there's the internet now, basically everything is free when it comes to valuable information. no need to spend so much money on books.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Aug 31, 2005

I still have texbooks from 1976. Still occasionally check something out in them.

Nursing books like medical books often have info not easily obtained on line.

I'm hoping my collection will be worth a mint as first edition antiques in 20 more years when I retire.

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Aug 31, 2005

purchase the required and wait til they assign something from the optional. Does your school library have them for reference or to check out? Good luck :)

JenMarie82 · Aug 31, 2005

I buy books at http://www.amazon.com. Their prices are lower and some of my books qualified for the free shipping if you spend over $25 (which isn't hard to do with all the books we have to buy).