Hi there! My name is Erika, and I'm a poor college kid! That is one phrase I personally use all too often. Why? Because it's True! Everyone knows when you enter the college life you are going to be living off Top Ramen and on a good night Easy Mac, which doesn't leave a whole lot of wiggle room for other purchases, like one $400 book for only one of your classes. So what do you do in that instance? Do what I do, and start researching to determine if it would be better to buy or rent the book.
I have heard of way too many stories where an incoming freshman has purchased all of their books through the book store and ended up spending hundreds of dollars more than they really needed too. Now, don't get me wrong, in some cases your hands are tied and you have to purchase a certain book from the book store for varying reasons. But 99.9% of the time, your professors won't care where you get your book from just as long as you have the dang book!
That's where Google becomes your best friend, not that it already isn't! The first thing I do as soon as I find out what books I need is copy and paste the ISBN number into google. You will be amazed at how cheap you can get your books! I, personally, have had a book that was $300 in the book store but purchased for $6 used on Amazon. Now I'm not going to sit here and guarantee that you will find all of your books for a cheaper price, some cases the book store is actually your best deal, but for the most part you most defiantly will find a better price elsewhere.
Keep in mind also, in some cases, your best bet is to rent the book, as opposed to buying the book. There are many benefits to renting instead of buying, for example you don't have to deal with the head ache of going back to the book store with a buy-back price in your head for that outrageously expensive book in your hand and actually being offered a whopping $20 for it. Trust me, that feeling is almost worse than your parents telling you "We are disappointed in you." So when that happens, not only are you now a poor college kid. You're a poor college kid back in your dorm room eating your Top Ramen crying because you spend $400 on one book but only got $20 back for it.
The whole point of this was to get across two things. Number one, don't assume the bookstore is the absolute only place to buy the required books for your classes. In some cases you will need to go through the bookstore, but nine times out of 10 you can find them elsewhere for a better price. Number two, sometimes renting your books will be the best deal. Just don't forget to return them at the end of the semester!
