Posted by Jen Zeman on February 25th, 2009
All of my courses at UMUC required the purchase of at least one textbook, but most were two to three books. I purchased textbooks online through UMUC’s bookstore and the books were shipped to my house. The books were shipped quickly and I was never late in receiving any of them. Most times I was able to purchase used books, which, of course, saved me a ton of money. In addition to the required textbooks, all of the classes also had additional readings each week that were posted online within each classroom. These additional readings were usually articles related to the course topic and weren’t too significant a burden.
Since my degree was in Legal Studies, UMUC also offered access to Lexis (a legal database) free of charge for Legal Studies students. Lexis is an online database that houses all of the relevant materials that a well-maintained legal library would contain. Having access to Lexis online was a huge timesaver since students then didn’t have to locate and then physically go to a law library for the required legal research in each class. We also received access to WestLaw (free of charge), another legal database. Both Lexis and WestLaw are used in most large (and perhaps medium-sized) law offices; so not only were the databases a time-saver, the instructors also offered the opportunity to learn the intricacies of each database, which provided students relevant experience to carry over into their new careers.
I think the most suprising cost of a college education is the cost of textbooks! 90% of the classes I took required a textbook purchase. I had to come up with a method for finding books at a reasonable price. Here’s my secret..
1) Register early: I made sure to register for classes in advance so I had plenty of time to find out the books that were needed for the class.
2) Use the school bookstore: I always made sure I was looking for the same book the bookstore carried. Sometimes instructors will use editions that are newer or older than those carried in the bookstore - it’s best for all students to use the same material.
3) Use the internet: Once I was sure of the books that were needed, I started Googling the book/ISBN. There were some sites like AMAZON, BN.com, EBAY, or HALF.com that were good starting points. Also if you just look for used or cheap textbooks, you will find other sites.
4) Comparison shop: I generally bought different books from different sites, trying to get the best price. There was not one consistently best site to buy from.
5) Purchase wisely: Make sure you consider shipping costs when making the final comparison. Also review the return policy - in case you drop the class, you’ll want to be able to return the book. There’s no guarantee that same book would be used for a future class.
6) Sell books back: Once the course has ended, you may want to re-sell the book. Consider starting with the same place you bought the book from.
If you shop wisely, you can buy books for less than half the cost than if you bought from the school bookstore.
