Buying Textbooks

If you're reading this right now and you're a student, you're most likely getting ripped off when buying your textbooks. This isn't an affront to your intelligence, but simply the conclusion of my belief that the average student buys the majority of his textbooks from the campus bookstore, which more often than not charges exorbitant prices. I understand that universities need to make money too, and that I have no right to judge their pricing decisions, nor will this article do anything to hurt their revenues. It is also true that what I have thus far written will most likely shock no current students, as the steepness of campus book markups is well-known throughout academia. 

So why is it that the majority of students (I have no facts to support that it is indeed the majority; only a strong suspicion) still insist on these inefficient purchasing habits. The most likely answer is also the most logical one: To avoid getting ripped off for textbooks, a certain amount of base knowledge and research is necessary. This is not to say that it is inherently any more difficult than walking over to the college store, but the initial acquisition of know-how that gets one to the point where they can use that know-how with minimal effort can have a high personal cost. This phenomenon is akin to say, changing a bike tire tube. There is nothing impressively complex in the process, but many people still see a professional about it because the cost required to learn how to change the tire proficiently can be uncomfortably high.

Getting back on point, I would like to lessen this cost for the readers by providing a few tips and websites that should make them much thriftier textbook purchasers. First off, I have found that websites which aggregate the costs of a few online bookstore websites and present a list of the lowest prices to be the most effective. A good example of this is CampusBooks. The site will present you with rental, used, international, new, and digital versions of the book you are looking for. Rentals are often the cheapest of the five options (Chegg is the biggest player in the textbook rental market), but remember that you cannot later sell these books back on the market to recoup some of your losses (or even possibly turn a small profit).

Possibly the next cheapest choice would be the digital version, otherwise known as an e-Book. Keep in mind that although they are often inexpensive, they also cannot easily be later sold on a major open online marketplace (more on these later on). There are also more obvious limitations, such as the need to have either a high-end phone, tablet, or computer to view them. Although in this day and age this shouldn't constitute an enormous problem, it can occasionally turn into a nuisance.

Used books are the next best option. Be suspicious of unusually great values found in this section (as well as the new section), as these are most likely international editions. International editions are produced abroad, usually using cheaper materials and shoddier craftsmanship, and while this is usually not a problem, it can become one when the page numbers and the order of practice questions are askew. Nothing stings quite as much as unwittingly doing questions 15 through 20 when your professor requested 1 through 5. There is no easy way to tell which internationals are winners and which are lemons, but I prefer to err on the side of caution and just pay the extra dollars for a regular used edition.

After the semester ends, you have a few options as far as trying to recover some of the cash you dished out. You can obviously sell the books to a fellow student at your university; many schools provide some type of system that helps you connect with potential buyers (you can, by the way, obviously use these same systems to purchase a book as well). Alternatively, you can attempt to sell that book back to your bookstore, although I question the quality of the deal you would receive there. Finally, you can attempt to sell the book through online marketplaces, such as Amazon or Ebay. This takes some initial experience as well to do correctly, but once you get into a groove with it, I feel the best values can usually be found through this method.

Back To School

The much feared/anticipated event of the college student's life is either already here, or not too far away. Colleges all over the world are gearing up for the first semester (for most folks) of the 2010 year. I hope that everyone's ready for and at least somewhat excited about their new courses. As you approach first day, try to catch up on some of the sleep debt you may have accumulated throughout the summer. That way, you'll be as fresh as possible for your first couple of classes (it probably won't last long). If you want to play the odds in terms of getting high grades, sit in the very first row of the class. Research has shown that students sitting in even the second row of the classroom get lower grades than those in the first. Hopefully you're done with or working on all your textbook purchases, and hopefully those purchases aren't coming predominantly from the college bookstore (unless of course, your school is one of the few that doesn't rip students off). If you're dorming, I trust that you've kept in touch with your roommate and split the expenses of dorm supplies. Hopefully your roommate isn't one who purchases himself an individual TV for his/her eyes only (not unheard of). It will probably take a while to snap back into that scholarly spirit after a lazy summer, so give yourself adequate time to adjust to the new lifestyle. Remember to make some connections within your classes, both for friendship and for practicality's sake. Having a few phone numbers in every class will definitely come in handy at some point throughout the semester. Most of all, try to have yourself a good time this year. Love what you do, and you'll always do what you love. Best of luck this academic year. (P.S: There has been a new addition to The Academik lately, specifically a college database with useful links to all kinds of information about many universities. We don't have too many entries added yet, as it's still in the works, but we're excited to provide this new service and plan on expanding it extensively.)

Commuting

For many, college is a time in which they can at last move out of the house and into a dorm, finally gaining their long awaited independence from Mom and Dad. For others, however, it isn't. As you probably know, some students choose to either live at home, or somewhere else off campus, and commute to school for classes. For these students, both new advantages and challenges arise. One thing commuters must learn to adjust to is a greater sense of time and organization than that which a student on campus would necessarily have. Campus students have the advantage of being relatively close to their classes, while commuters can live up to two or three hours away. This means they must use their allotted time more effectively. If your commute allows it, make sure you do something school related while you travel (if you can). This will buy you back some of the valuable time you waste moving from place to place. Commuters must also learn to plan their schedules around not only the average commuting time, but the abnormalities that could arise on the trip. Because they lose time traveling, commuters must adapt to being more efficient once they get home. They must make sure they're constantly aware of the time and how it's being spent. Since commuters usually cannot realistically go home if they forget something, they must be more responsible with what they bring along with them to school. Forgetting a paper at home can be catastrophic to a commuter. Depending on the commuter's route, there may also be safety precautions that he or she must take. If your college is in a bad neighborhood, you probably don't want to be leaving the campus too late. One resource that can be invaluable to a commuter is a dorming buddy whom he/she can count on to stay over a night or two. If you're a commuter, do yourself and cultivate one of these relationships. There will most certainly be times when you want to stick around for something on campus that is taking place late at night, and you probably won't want to commute home after it. As a commuter, it is important you use all your time spent on campus effectively. In between classes, make sure to make an attempt at getting some school work/studying done. A commuter also sometimes has a greater need for on campus facilities than dormers do. Make good use of the library (for reference and a quiet place to study), gym (if time permits), and computer labs (if you don't have a laptop, which, by the way, you definitely should as a commuter). If you're a commuter, you must also try harder to make social connections on campus. Extracurricular activities are crucial for commuters, because other than classes and parties, they'll be the only places you can comfortably connect with other people. Just remember, commuting doesn't have to be a negative aspect of the college experience.