2008 Woodie Awards
Students struggle to save money on textbooks
Jen Taft
Issue date: 12/1/06 Section: News
Originally published: 11/30/06 at 9:28 PM EST
Last update: 11/30/06 at 9:27 PM EST
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One of the biggest financial changes a student will experience when transitioning from high school to college is having to pay for textbooks.
In addition to putting gas in the car, buying late-night snacks and getting the occasional wardrobe addition, college students now have to dig up even more money to pay for the textbooks they need.
Some students, however, try to find ways around shelling out hundreds of dollars for books they sometimes will never use again.
Photocopying pages from a borrowed text, sharing books with classmates and just not purchasing the materials in the first place are all ways that college students try to save money on textbooks.
While it is most convenient to actually own the book, many students have decided the extra hassle of acquiring the book only when it is needed is worth saving the extra big bucks.
Laura Patno, who has worked at Plattsburgh State University College's textbook store for 29 years, said that textbook prices increase every semester by $1.50 to $2.
PSUC gives students the option of selling back their textbooks at the end of the semester for a reduced price, but it is often a very small fraction of what the book originally cost.
Patno said the faculty indirectly determines how much money a student will receive for selling back a book.
If professors request the same edition of the text for the next semester, then the bookstore will buy the texts back for half of the new price.
For other books, wholesale companies will pay the market value.
The ability to shop online has alleviated the cost of textbooks to some degree, as students are sometimes able to find the text they need for a lesser cost than what their school supplies it at.
Patno said she has yet to see online book-shopping have a big impact on PSUC students, but she could see it becoming a more popular option in the future.
A student's area of study has a great impact on how much money he or she will spend each semester on books.
In addition to putting gas in the car, buying late-night snacks and getting the occasional wardrobe addition, college students now have to dig up even more money to pay for the textbooks they need.
Some students, however, try to find ways around shelling out hundreds of dollars for books they sometimes will never use again.
Photocopying pages from a borrowed text, sharing books with classmates and just not purchasing the materials in the first place are all ways that college students try to save money on textbooks.
While it is most convenient to actually own the book, many students have decided the extra hassle of acquiring the book only when it is needed is worth saving the extra big bucks.
Laura Patno, who has worked at Plattsburgh State University College's textbook store for 29 years, said that textbook prices increase every semester by $1.50 to $2.
PSUC gives students the option of selling back their textbooks at the end of the semester for a reduced price, but it is often a very small fraction of what the book originally cost.
Patno said the faculty indirectly determines how much money a student will receive for selling back a book.
If professors request the same edition of the text for the next semester, then the bookstore will buy the texts back for half of the new price.
For other books, wholesale companies will pay the market value.
The ability to shop online has alleviated the cost of textbooks to some degree, as students are sometimes able to find the text they need for a lesser cost than what their school supplies it at.
Patno said she has yet to see online book-shopping have a big impact on PSUC students, but she could see it becoming a more popular option in the future.
A student's area of study has a great impact on how much money he or she will spend each semester on books.
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