How to Successfully Get Robbed by Textbook Companies

Looking back, I took a lot of things for granted in high school. For one, having a washer and dryer available 24/7 (with the exception of when my brother finally washed his filthy track warm-ups) to me in high school is a luxury I now miss dearly. In the same category as washers and dryers, as well Michelle Obama's guiding hand in selecting a perfectly balanced school lunch, I also took for granted the luxury of free high school textbooks. I was never happy about getting these textbooks, but in hindsight, I'd gladly take a 700-page calculus textbook without having to fork over $300 (or more) in exchange for this lug of dead tree. I couldn't have imagined a world in which you have to pay ridiculous prices for books that in some cases are barely used, if ever, in high school. This complex world of textbook wheeling-and-dealing was completely unbeknownst to me until last August.

When I got my fall schedule, I was excited about the classes I was going to take. American government sounded interesting, and history had always been a favorite class of mine in high school. But it when it came time to look into buying my textbooks for these classes, it seemed that the classes I wasn't particularly fond of- like math, or science- had the steepest textbook prices. My math textbook (for a beginning algebra class) was running somewhere around $220 online: the school bookstore was charging $250. I was outraged. How is this robbery even considered legal? But then to put this into perspective, I talked to my nursing-major roommate. Her textbooks were running around $800 for the semester- and this wasn't uncommon. In fact, I soon came to discover that most biology/math-related majors are comprised of course loads that require books to be this expensive. For whatever ungodly reason, I don't know. I don't care to investigate the economics of textbook price gauging, at least not in this blog post.

But then came the shining light in this Catholic college tragedy, chegg.com.

This isn't an ad for Chegg, and I'm sure there are other sites like it (off the top of my head, Amazon), but Chegg seems to have a great reputation for providing a great service to students in a market where the demand is high.

Chegg offers discounted textbooks to students online and are shipped to your house/school/whatever. Along with the books usually come some promotional items; I know my roommate received coupons for a digital printing service along with her purchase.

As a political science major, I have a comparatively low-textbook net cost. However, the general education requirement classes I'm taking still cost me a pretty penny in textbook costs. My Math Lab, which is required for most intro-level math classes at colleges across the country have access codes that run for $80-100, depending on where you buy. Our bookstore charges on the higher end of this spectrum. Such is life.
(Side note: The people in the bookstore are very friendly, and it's a great place to buy some necessities or locally-printed books not available elsewhere. Or if you generally have the money to buy new, go for it).

There are also Facebook groups and word-of-mouth sales, you can pretty much expect to get out of this however much you put in. Little to no advertisement and it's almost a guarantee you won't sell that specific book for your obscure major class; advertise more and the results will be more rewarding.

Repaying thousands of dollars in loans seems so far away, that the immediate costs of a textbook can seem scary in comparison. But don't worry. Paying $300 for a textbook won't seem so bad when you're repaying $40,000 in loans.

:-) Have a great day.

P.S. Sorry for not posting since October y'all (*yinz). It's been busy.

Making the Switch

Making the Switch: From H.S. to L.R.C.

Does this grilled cheese look delicious to you?
Oh, yeah, it does actually... but good grades
are delicious too.

Remember in high school when you could just blow off all of your studying to go grab a grilled cheese at the Eat 'n Park midnight buffet? Well, in college apparently it's way easier to not get yelled at for doing so, but once you're in college, you actually regret that late night snack way more once you're sitting in your 9 a.m., exhausted and confused because you chose curly fries over doing that day's reading. In high school, your agenda is literally just your hall-pass, with miscellaneous doodling and notes from friends all over it. College planners, however, have about 50 lines of things to do squeezed into a tiny space for each day.

College is hard, and stressful, and can drive you to tears in the library during late night study sessions. But college is also the time to, as the cliche goes, discover yourself and find your path in life. You finally have the freedom to pursue the things that truly interest you, and become an expert in the fields that you're interested in. If you're in college, chances are you enjoy learning. Which is a really good thing, because you're definitely in the right place to find professors who are just as invested in your education as you are, and take the classes that appeal to you, rather than getting old Mr. Smith for 8th period English from a computer generated high school schedule. And all you remember from that class at this point is trying to figure out if his hair was real or if it was just a toupee. So in that respect, yeah, college is definitely way better than high school. (By the way, it was totally a toupee- that was just not natural hair movement).

Life in college can be…unpredictable at times. You may go for a few days, or even weeks without having to study, then BAM- three tests, two papers, four club meetings and a meeting with your R.A. So be careful not to overbook. Time management is key to accomplishing this. Prioritize your free time, understand that watching a seasons’ worth of Grey’s Anatomy is not equivalent to doing your anatomy homework, and all should be well. And on that note, Grey’s Anatomy is a trap. Watch one season and you must watch them all. Fair warning.

Get a cute planner, or
something you'll actually
use. This one was
about $10.

Well folks, that’s enough for today. I’m happy to say that my high school days, full of busy work and 40-minute periods, are a thing of the past, and that I’m now working towards a degree that really means something to me. In addition to the textbooks, notebooks and pencils that you will need in college, it’s also important to bring your time management skills, organizational skills, and healthy study habits that don’t rely on cramming the night before a big test. These things can’t be bought at Target for 40% off of regular price, though. It takes time.

Thanks for reading this guys, and I hope you enjoyed my first blog post! –Sarah