TACKLE Cheap Books for College

I should become a textbook writer.  My daughter leaves for college on Thursday, so it was time to check out her book list for her classes that start on Monday.

Her Biology textbook for her first class in college had an outrageous cost of $202.  The Calculus book costs $185.  The required book list for her 16 credits of classes totals almost $600.  I know they are complex, technical books, but what a chunk of change!

The college bookstore claims that they rarely sell used books for science and math classes. Really? I searched abebooks.com and half.com and found both books for 1/3 of the price.  The problem: delivery may take 9 days.  Why didn't I think of this sooner?

We considered renting books, but my daughter is not disciplined enough to return books.  Forgotten redbox movies are scattered throughout the house.
 

Back in the stone ages when I went to college in PA, bulletin boards and dorm lobbies where saturated with "books for sale" ads. These starving students had to exist in my daughter's college.  We needed cheap books that were available immediately.

I made a phone call to the housing department and they admitted that the college has a facebook with a discussion board where students post books for sale.  The Student Union Building also has the classic bulletin board with used books for sale.

Thursday after she unloads her junk in her new living space, we will go on a textbook hunt.  Worse case scenario, we will hit the bookstore and buy what we can't find used on campus.

College tuition, housing, meal plans, parking and hidden fees are not cheap today.  I am hoping the books, the vital part of the education process, can be found at an affordable price.  Next semester when she is an "independent woman", she can think about e-books and other options for her learning material.