Students opt for book renting option
Caitlin Chcuick
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: News
More and more colleges are looking into textbook buyback program instead of renting books from the school bookstore.
Ask almost any college student what they think of buying textbooks, and you will surely be met with a groan and an eye-roll.
It is no secret that one of the more stressful parts of the beginning of the semester is buying the load of textbooks that professors require. While textbooks are an extremely important instructional tool, it is such a hardship for students to have to pay so much for them. That is why many colleges have adopted a textbook rental program.
Instead of having students pay full price for their books, they have the option of buying the books, new or used, and then returning them to the bookstore for a portion of their money back. This takes some of the sting off of the price that college students have to pay for books.
According to the National Association of College Stores, the average price of a college textbook is $57. Now, this may not seem like much at first. But say you need a textbook for each of your five classes. Multiply 57 by 5 and it comes out to $285. And this is just the average price -- there are many more expensive books out there.
Textbook costs can come out to be over $400. Put that on top of tuition and room/board, and college students truly have a lot on their hands. By instituting a textbook buyback program or a book rental program, students can save a little bit of the money they will need to spend on other aspects of college life.
Across the country, many schools have instituted some sort of rental program for textbooks. Many websites offer less expensive textbooks or deals on books. The bookstore at LHU offers a textbook buyback program at the end of every semester. Students can bring their used books to the bookstore and get a portion of their money back.
Senior Kate Bobbie thinks that the program is a good idea. "It's convenient to get rid of the books I know I'll never use again, and a lot easier than selling them online. That's just too much work for me."
Ask almost any college student what they think of buying textbooks, and you will surely be met with a groan and an eye-roll.
It is no secret that one of the more stressful parts of the beginning of the semester is buying the load of textbooks that professors require. While textbooks are an extremely important instructional tool, it is such a hardship for students to have to pay so much for them. That is why many colleges have adopted a textbook rental program.
Instead of having students pay full price for their books, they have the option of buying the books, new or used, and then returning them to the bookstore for a portion of their money back. This takes some of the sting off of the price that college students have to pay for books.
According to the National Association of College Stores, the average price of a college textbook is $57. Now, this may not seem like much at first. But say you need a textbook for each of your five classes. Multiply 57 by 5 and it comes out to $285. And this is just the average price -- there are many more expensive books out there.
Textbook costs can come out to be over $400. Put that on top of tuition and room/board, and college students truly have a lot on their hands. By instituting a textbook buyback program or a book rental program, students can save a little bit of the money they will need to spend on other aspects of college life.
Across the country, many schools have instituted some sort of rental program for textbooks. Many websites offer less expensive textbooks or deals on books. The bookstore at LHU offers a textbook buyback program at the end of every semester. Students can bring their used books to the bookstore and get a portion of their money back.
Senior Kate Bobbie thinks that the program is a good idea. "It's convenient to get rid of the books I know I'll never use again, and a lot easier than selling them online. That's just too much work for me."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Heather
posted 2/07/10 @ 9:18 AM EST
I am a college student, and I also hate the high prices that I have to pay for textbooks. But I have found a great website that will buy back textbooks for even higher prices than the college bookstore. (Continued…)
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