Textbooks are the biggest rip off for anyone taking college classes. There is no reason we need to be purchasing a book for over $200. There’s just no purpose for that. What are the odds that that textbook will even be opened? What are the odds that you are going to get your money’s worth on this textbook? Honestly, slim to none. Which are not good odds if you only need the textbook for one semester.
There have been a handful of times in my year-and-a-half of college where I have experienced this. I had to purchase a book that came to $190 and I didn’t use it once. I only needed the access code in the bundle, and I figured everything else out. The only reason we were told to buy this book was so that my teacher’s friend would get compensated for writing it.
She only wanted us to support her co-worker by buying his dumb book. Since the access code has been used, I am stuck with this textbook forever. And, to make matters worse, the book is loose-leaf. If I am spending this much on one textbook, why aren’t I getting a hard-bound book? Why am I getting a textbook that requires a three-inch binder? Just plain annoying.
If a class requires an access code, there should be an option to purchase just the code. Most of the websites these codes work for include an e-textbook, which is perfect — you can get the homework done and read the book on the same website. Why do I need two copies of the book? I don’t even want one, let alone two! If an access code was available separately, I would be a much happier college student. It’s typically a little less for just the access code, rather than the bundle. It’s a wonderful perk.
But, honestly, I would much rather prefer that textbooks be included in the overall tuition costs. Then I don’t even need to worry about the individual price of the books, just a lump sum. That sounds so much easier in my opinion. Tuition and textbook expenses would even out in the end. There might be a little difference, but I really think it would be a better solution than what colleges do now. It also doesn’t help that the bookstores that sell these books are slowly becoming obsolete. We don’t even have a textbook warehouse anymore at my college.
When you check what books you need, it only gives you outside websites that sell the book and the different prices. So, we need to be very careful that we’re buying the correct book with the same ISBN number.
Also, if there is an online PDF or something where our book could be found, why not mention that? College students love free stuff. If there’s a chance we could get a textbook online for free, that makes life that much better. There’s no need to buy a book when I can access it online. It’s literally at my fingertips.
Just weighing the options for your students is one of the best things you can do for them. And in the end, we’ll repay you by mentioning it in our end-of-the-year reviews. Those who don’t, get ready to feel my wrath.