Thrifty students on the search for cheaper textbooks

Text books and other academic material required for your classes can cost a lot of money, but they don't have to. For many students, the cost can be a significant portion of the total amount spent on post-secondary education. Textbooks can average $700-1000 per year, and the costs are continuing to rise. More and more students are finding ways to cut the costs of textbooks, but make sure you know all your options and all the facts first.

Many publishing companies offer digital textbooks, which is an online version of the hard copy book you would buy at the bookstore. These are available for most new editions. Digital textbooks are cheaper to buy, but there are some drawbacks. You can’t sell these books back for some money at the end of the semester. Most digital textbooks have limited access, or the access expires after a certain length of time. You can’t print the whole book, or there is a limited amount of printing. It also depends if you like reading a screen or highlighting the pages.

Thrifty shoppers who make it to the bookstore early can usually find a used version of the textbook they need for their class. The used versions are a lot cheaper than a new book. Frequent new editions of many textbooks means there won’t always be a used edition available. Check with your professor to see if an old edition would still be sufficient for class. You can check with your friends who have taken that class before, or buy and sell your used text books on the SMUSA Book Exchange (www.smusa.ca/books.asp).

There are lots of other options to keep the cost of academic materials low. Try sharing your books with friends or roommates in the same class. You could head to the library to see if the textbook is available there. A lot of students have started using the international editions of textbooks. These can be cheaper and come from another country. Be cautious though, international editions can have varying content, different page numbers, lower quality, and also copyright issues. One of the goals of the Canadian edition can be to provide the class content of the context of Canadian culture, which can be lost in international editions. If you are buying you textbooks online from other book store chains, make sure you check the ISBN number, and how long it will take to ship it to you.

Many professors don’t use a textbook, and instead rely on other, possibly cheaper, methods to teach their class. Some professors will only use PowerPoint presentations or handouts and post them online after class, or require you to look up selected readings at the library or in online journals. Instead of textbooks, course-packs are commonly used. This is a pre-bound collection of articles and chapters. The cost covers photocopying and any copyright fees.

Happy studying!