The percentage of money spent at school has raised dramatically over the last ten years. According to Bigfuture (by the CollegeBoard), an average full-time student attending a four year college spends roughly $1,200 on textbooks alone per year.
That number doesn’t drop by much even for a two-year college, why is that? Publishers tend to say that the cost is high because writing a textbook and publishing it is expensive when it comes to the materials, time and packaging. But is that true?
The sad fact is, no. On USA Today, Herb Weisbaum of CNBC stated, “—between 2002 and 2013, the price of college textbooks rose 82 percent — nearly three times the rate of inflation.” What’s even more shocking is that textbook prices have risen 812 percent from 1978 to 2015. For any college student, that is enough to cause an upset stomach. But what can students do to combat this? Luckily, in a Capitalistic society no student is forced to buy from their school bookstore.
Here are some alternatives one may want to consider for next semester. Multiple websites offer renting services. A new BIO 1111 textbook costs approximately $160 in the bookstore while on BookRenter it can cost as low as $33.76 to rent for 125 days (enough for an entire semester). A new SOC-1145 Cultural Anthropology book costs $121.20 at the Sinclair bookstore while on BookRenter it can cost as low as $16.65 ($18.65 with taxes).
Now, every college offers renting services. A week prior to the fall semester starting I walked through the Sinclair bookstore first hand and did not spot a single “for rent” sticker on any book. On top of that, it was also rare to see a “used” book. The fact that there weren’t many is most likely due to authors who create new editions every other semester. Academic services state that the new editions are a necessity for your class only for a professor to tell you that last edition will still do.
There are several other websites to try if your book is unavailable. Cengage and Half.com both provide renting options. Once someone receives their books, they come with packaging to return their items, someone can also print off a free return slip online once they’ve completed their semester. These websites have time sensitive options of renting as well for as little as 30 days up to 125 days.
So next semester, if anyone is denied financial aid and feeling the stress of book expenses, perhaps their school bookstore isn’t the option for them this year.
EHRON OSTENDORF
COPY EDITOR