What did you pay for your textbooks?

katrinagabrielle · May 11, 2017

I have two books for anatomy, one for lecture and one for lab. Combined ill pay $330 but ill be able to use both for a&p1 and a&p2

jfoltz87 · May 11, 2017

My anatomy book with the access code was $348 but it also I came with a lab manual and a loose leaf muscle book.

Eleven, BSN, RN · May 11, 2017

Mine was closer to $200 but I bought it through a special code specifically for the school, maybe yours has a similar thing?

WanderingWilder, ASN · May 11, 2017

Yes that's pretty normal

Gangsteroids · May 11, 2017

Don't buy your textbooks new or from the bookstore (unless they have a specific edition that is edited for the school or whatever). Rent the text for the semester (usually less than $45) or buy used (probably will be less than $200). If you need a code for a site you can usually just buy it off the site. Textbook fees are so ridiculous, and there are few reasons to pay for a new textbook. Look at Chegg and Amazon, which now has a rent option for a lot of textbooks.

chacha82, ADN, BSN · May 11, 2017

First semester I paid full-price for all of my books, I think it was definitely over $300.

Second semester I was over it, ordered an older edition of the same book we used for about $6 off of Amazon. I also rented a textbook for my other class for $50, returned it at the end of the semester. Did the same thing the rest of school. The page numbers are slightly off but I still got good grades in school.

bunnehfeet, BSN · May 11, 2017

There are likely some packages or the online access portion of a package that you'll be required to buy by your program. Separate them whenever you can. Our big one was for Med Surg, which didn't even include a physical text book, just the digital version but we used it for two semesters. It was almost $400. Skills testing pack with supples was like $200, lasted the whole program. Nursing school incidentals, including uniforms, physicals, labs, required titers, CPR classes, fingerprinting, background checks - it all really adds up.

I didn't buy any other books - I rented them. Highly recommend signing up for Amazon Prime Student. It's half the cost of regular Prime with all the same perks, then rent your textbooks. Typical $140 books are usually around $30 to rent. Free shipping both ways. If you decide you like a book enough to keep, you can buy it cheap and used.

Best of luck!

Jess8780, BSN, RN · May 11, 2017

I never paid full price as I always rented the book (school campus, Chegg or Amazon)or searched for classes in session and waited on the last day of their class to ask if anyone wanted to sell their book to me (you can also try ebay). I never paid over $80 for a book. Also, if you're required to have an access code for a class through Pearson or a similar website, it would be wise to go to their website and type in your instructors ID and choose to pay for their access code directly through them as you would get access plus the virtual e-book online. These methods have saved me a lot of money these past 2 years. I hope this helps!

Shawn91111 · May 12, 2017

I paid around $350 for my AP book but it was used for 3 classes, Intro to Physiology, AP1 and AP2. This semester was a huge scam, over$300 for my Micro Lecture and Lab book, both of which were loose leaf (no binding) so you can't return them. My Chem book was $130, but its specific for the college and again they were not accepting them to be bought back at the end of the semester.

AMR1 · May 12, 2017

Yes, A&P books were quite pricey. I recommend searching more online to find something cheaper (it may only be a few bucks difference..but hey every penny counts as a college student!). If you do not need an access code then you can just rent the book for a cheaper price.