Tag Archives: college textbooks

Students getting creative to save on textbooks

19 Sep

The thought of buying textbooks can be dreadful. This is one of the most expensive parts of attending a higher university facility. It is something students will moan and groan about at the beginning of every semester, and who can blame them? On average, textbooks range from $80 to $100 each. A lot of students attempt to find the resources they need online in order to save money.

Students have been getting creative in utilizing different resources in order to pay the smallest amount possible for their textbooks. Some students will lend the book from the university library when it is needed. A lot of the textbooks are available for loan in the university library. Many students have no idea how they are going to be able to afford these expensive textbooks. However, I am here to solve your problems. Below are some options so stretch your money and keep some cash in your wallet.

One way to save money is to buy them directly from the Internet as opposed to the college bookstore. The bookstore will charge a higher price on new and used textbooks. It is a company that needs to make money, which is not in favor of the student. Campus bookstores will often offer a buyback program. However, you only get a percentage of what you would make if you sold the book online yourself. Yes you have to wait longer to get the money from online sources, however, you will make around three times the amount than you would if you were to sell it to a bookstore.

Amazon.com and Half.com are great resources for both buying and selling textbooks. They provide ample opportunities to save money. Amazon also offers a cheaper priced textbook if you opt to rent the book as opposed to buying it. One disadvantage to this program is that you may have to send the book back a little before the end of the class. The best way to make this program work for you is to purchase the book at the last minute possible. Admittedly it will make you a little nervous, but don’t fret, Amazon is known for having fast delivery service. If you are not looking for a rental book and you plan on selling it back, you should order the book around two weeks prior to the class starting to ensure that your book will be on time. The books on both of these websites are usually sold by other students are looking to save money just like you.

Utilize textbook exchange services such as StudentBookTrades.com. This is an excellent source to get free college textbooks. This gives you an opportunity to trade textbooks with your classmates and friends. Their free service helps to match you with other college students who took classes that are similar to what you are reading now. You can search your campus for books and save on shipping the textbooks. Some of these websites also compare prices across the nation to give you the best deal possible. Last, but not least are price comparison websites. These websites compare the price of many different websites and show you where you can get the best price possible for your textbook. Cheap-textbooks.com is a great resource that does just this! If you are stumped and do not want to spend a lot of time browsing the Internet for the best price, let Cheap-textbooks.com do the work for you.

Illinois Rep. introduces bill to reduce textbook costs

26 Apr

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL,11) wants to help make higher education more affordable and accessible for students by reducing college textbook costs.

“Skyrocketing textbook costs, along with the high costs of tuition, room and board, create a financial barrier that has become increasingly difficult for students to overcome,” Foster said in a news release. “By making high quality educational materials freely accessible to the general public, students would save money on textbooks.” 

The open source materials would be made available for free on a website, where they could be downloaded and shared by the public.

The congressman on Tuesday introduced a bill, the Learning Opportunities With Creation of Open Source Textbooks (Low Cost) Act, H.R. 4455, with the goal of providing more opportunities for students to downloaded free open-source educational content to their computers. Under the measure, open-source textbooks covering the subjects of physics, chemistry and calculus would be created as part of a pilot program at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The legislation seeks to set up a “Federal Open Source Material Website” where the free educational materials would be made available for download. According to a statement from the congressman’s office, the Low Cost Act would also “require federal agencies that spend a significant amount of money on scientific education and outreach to use some of those funds collaborating with NSF.”

Foster noted that during the 2013-2014 school year, students spent an average of $1,207 to $1,270 on college books and supplies, according to a College Board estimate. Foster said the availability of free textbooks could reduce the amount of debt accumulated from four years of college by as much as $5,000.

The LOW COST Act is part of a larger initiative launched by Foster called Project Growth. Aimed at job creation and economic development in his district, it focuses on the issues of education, transportation, manufacturing and strengthening the middle class, in order to encourage further growth.  

The Benefits of Digital Textbooks in Learning

28 Mar

Textbooks are must-buy items for college students, and the money spent on textbooks can cost up to several hundred dollars in a single semester. Moreover, the higher the grade level, the heavier the books seem to get. With the growing concerns around traditional textbooks, there are many innovative alternatives for college students. One of the major alternatives in college education is the availability of digital textbooks. Let’s look at the benefits of digital textbooks in more detail:

  • Digital Textbooks are Cost-Saving: Digital textbooks are one of the major options to circumvent the soaring costs of textbooks. Digital textbooks are usually available for a lower price since they do not require printing, packaging and distributing to various channels. The skyrocketing costs of textbooks potentially leave students with limited money for other education-related expenses. Therefore, the significant cost-saving potential of digital textbooks cannot be ignored.
  • Digital Textbooks Improve Learning Effectiveness: Beyond price, digital textbooks also improve students’ ease and effectiveness of learning. For example, students can study with digital textbooks through any device, anywhere, anytime. Students can also easily take notes or highlight main points in the text without additional tools. The advanced features of digital textbooks allow college students to study more effectively than traditional textbooks.
  • Digital Textbooks Prepare Students for a Globally Competitive Marketplace: As a college student, remaining competitive and marketable depends a lot on taking advantage of digital tools. The world has become more complex and technology-driven in this digital era, and students need to prepare themselves better in order to stay competitive in a global marketplace by strengthening their digital knowledge and skills. The switch to digital needs to happen as soon as it can. Higher education is all about the free flow of information and ideas, so college students should equip themselves with cutting-edge educational technologies as well as innovative learning approaches to set themselves apart.
  • Digital Textbooks are Eco-Friendly: Digital textbooks are paperless and save trees because they do not require printing. Digital textbooks can actually help our planet by allowing students to study through digital devices instead of buying printed textbooks. Eco-friendliness can be added to the list of benefits when it comes to buying digital textbooks.

Digital textbooks give college students a chance to learn more effectively while allowing them to spend less than they would on a traditional printed textbook. By meeting students’ wants and needs, digital textbooks are a greener and more effective option that facilitates a richer learning experience.

Lynn L. is a recent college graduate living in the Chicago area. She writes on behalf of Skyo, an online site that helps college students save money with cheap textbooks and flexible rental options. Visit Skyo to learn more about how to buy textbooks online.

Students Still Not Yet Ready for Digital Textbooks

19 Jun

While publishers are increasingly creating and selling digital materials and students increasingly have the devices on which to consume that content, only 3% of students last semester used a digital textbook as their primary course material (for a specific course). That’s down from 4% for the fall semester.

Overwhelmingly, students prefer print, according to the survey of 1,540 undergraduate college students at both four-year and two-year institutions of higher education.

When asked why, about half “prefer the look and feel of print;” nearly half say they like to highlight and take notes in the textbooks; and a third cite that they can’t re-sell digital textbooks.

Among those few students who prefer digital textbooks to print, the reasons are the price, the ability to search the text and how easy they are to carry around.

According to U.S. director of Bowker Market Research, Carl Kulo, who developed the research, price and benefit to the student are the main factors that influence students to try and use new and different course materials. Read more on the digital textbook Bowker Market Research

Textbook Savings Ideas

20 Aug

Savings ideas for textbooks

Used books.  Some scholars still require the physical feel of a book with pages in their hands. Before you purchase new, figure out if you can obtain a second user copy.

The library.  Most university libraries have 1 or 2 copies of favored varsity textbooks.  See if you can obtain one for the semester, or if it is held on reserve, drop by the library when you’ve got to read a chapter.

Share. If you happen to have a mate taking the same class, share the book, and work out a study schedule.

Sell your books back. You are not going to become wealthy at the end of the semester, but reselling them beats just letting the books collect dust on your book shelf if you do not think you will ever use them again.  Try selling to your campus book shop, posting notices in buildings or selling thru your own web market on a credible internet site.

Opensource.  A comparatively new idea, open textbooks permit scholars to pick how they read, whether or not it’s a digital copy freely a file they print themselves, or a paid print copy.