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How much do you usually spend on books and school supplies for college?

I'm going to be living on campus next year, and I happened to get lucky because I have some stuff already (storage bins, computer, printer, and some supplies for class). I might have to spend money on supplies such as binders, paper, pencils... etc. But how much do students usually spend on college textbooks? Is it better getting used or brand new ones? How much cheaper are used books?

Public Comments

1. I usually spent about $400-$500 on textbooks alone. School supplies are never a problem for me-- I always shopped on Black Friday or right before school started for school supplies so they were usually cheaper. I reccomend getting used textbooks 100%. Half.com is a great place to buy textbooks.
2. Well college textbooks are extremely expensive and depending on the number of classes that you are taking it could run you a pretty penny. Some where in the rang of 500-800 dollars. Some textbooks just for one can be over $100.00 It's best to get your books used, especially if they are the same edition. You're going to save a bunch of money (again depending on the credit hours) you could save anywhere from 200-300 bucks total if you buy used book. I always tried to get them used because they were so much cheaper (most of the time). Another option that you could try and do is buy them online. www.half.com is a good web page where you can get your textbooks for a relatively decent price. I know in Ohio where I'm from you can order textbook through Ohiolink which is a website that is connected to all the Universities in Ohio and you can order them from any of the libraries and have them shipped to your college and pick them up for free. I believe you can check them out for four weeks at a time. If you use your one renew you can have that book for 8 weeks for free. I'm not sure if your state has this but I did it once for one of my books and it worked out great. Blessings
3. Well, I am a bookstore manager of a regional campus of a major university, and I am can honestly answer your question. This sounds like it will be your first semester and generally, your first semester will be your most expensive, but that does not hold true today. In hindsight, you definitely want to have at least $500 to $800 set aside for textbooks if you decide to purchase them from the campus bookstore. Getting used books over new books is a personal preference. Most of the time, it is better to get used books, but sometimes, you will find highlighting, writing, and notes in used books which may cause confusion for some students. Others prefer new books because they are clean. It is all up to you. Sometimes, a used book may not be all that much cheaper than a new book and it would make better sense to purchase the new one. Most times a used book is $25.00 to $40.00 cheaper than a new one, but sometimes, you will find that they are $10.00 or $15.00 cheaper. In that case, one has to weigh options. That's why many students now purchase them off the net. You can even find sites now that rent textbooks and you can turn them back after the semester is over. Also, college bookstores have a Book Buy Back at the end of the semester and you can turn them back in for cash. You may not get a whole lot back, but still it could be worth it. Hope this helps!
4. Used books are much cheaper. You should buy used college textbooks at GreenTextbooks.com - Saving the Planet One Textbook at a Time GreenTextbooks.com is your online leader for finding used textbooks, DVDs, CDs. http://www.GreenTextbooks.com
5. Most students average a few hundred dollars to over a thousand if they are taking many science or medical classes. Always go for the used book they will save you almost half in some cases more on each book.