Freshman Fundamentals Guide: Break the Bank But Not On Books

By Adaeze Nwokolobia on July 23, 2018

Dear Freshman,

The thought of going to college in the fall brings heady notions as well as apprehensive feelings. These emotions are reflective of the rewards and trials, college will bring. Freedom, discovery of self, then compromise of self, checking in to the dorms efficiently, hauling baggage as well as dealing with new people’s baggage especially your roommate’s. If you are lucky, you are already rooming with your best friend from high school. You probably high-fived each other when you both submitted the finish applying button on the Common Application. Cute.

However, after move-in comes orientation. Some people who already did school tours or have Alumni siblings will probably detest this part. Been there, been heard about. Even more so, orientation gives you a level ground to meet members of your class, assess the quality of the incoming class (humans are competitive by nature) and check yourself out a little bit. Soon after classes will start. Fast. Remember your books?

Library

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I can say 75% of my Geneseo class came in ready. I, on the other hand, had to figure out how to scale the landscape (all the meandering pathways and sloping hills, whelp), make it to class intact and keep my sanity. I did not do a school tour (Must-do for every incoming college wannabe and story for later) and got too carried away with making new hiker friends. Don’t be that person who ends up complaining about the hills while making sure people know you are not talking about shoes. This is not a story about a city girl who moves to the countryside.

This is about saving money on books, taking search trips because of books and making friends because of books. Basically, not getting caught unawares.  Everyone can accept textbooks are expensive and some of us go to college on a really tight budget. There are three resources/avenues I believe you can find a way to reduce the outrageous costs. Maybe not by a whole lot because I mean the Mastering “any- subject” books are expensive and pretty important as they come with online assignment codes. No avoiding that.

The first resource is the library. Yes, your on-campus library where there is probably a side coffee shop, state-of-the-art computer suites and half of the student body present every time you walk in. There are reserve sections where professors send in extra copies of required textbooks so that they can be available to all and sundry. These books can be borrowed at any time but there are two downsides to it. They can only be loaned for a particular period and outside of that period, fines accrue. The needed textbooks might not be on reserve. Wherefore, if the textbook is not on reserve, an IDS application can be made. This is where your school borrows the book from other libraries on your behalf and you get to keep it for like the whole semester. Thing is, IDS is not sure proof. The libraries may not have the books and if they do the books are ancient copies and not useful. I mean nothing in life is for sure but it doesn’t hurt to try.

As for the reserve books, trust me, the fines are real and non-negotiable. Returning them some minutes late is not a problem but then letting them sleep overnight with you is. You wake up with a serious sense of panic and justifiably so because those fines will be waiting for you on your school account bill. I am a survivor and I still have a bitter taste at the back of my tongue from the experience. Trials of naiveté. There is an advantage of this resource though. You might not like libraries and reading in public spaces but reserve books can force you to spend your allocated time in the library so you can immediately turn it in when it is due. This is of great benefit because while the library has a quiet section where you can really cut out distractions, focus and do whatever. In your freshman dorm, you probably will not fare better.

local bookstores

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The second resource is an off-campus bookstore. Most times, in a college town, there are local bookstores that offer textbooks at cheaper prices and even throw in student discounts to sweeten the deal. I mean, if it’s really cheap you probably don’t get a discount. C’mon, isn’t it a little greedy to expect one? You might as well buy it for free! Anyways, there are two advantages to sourcing out local bookstores.

First, scouting new locations in your college town is fun. The first weekend of the semester is perfect for going around town, exploring new places, marking potential hang-out spots and hunting down itsy bitsy bookstores. Generally getting to know the place you would live in for more than half of the year is important and you need not worry about getting lost thanks to google maps!

The only downside is that some of these bookstores typically sell older editions so except the newer edition is not so different from the previous one it’s a bust. However, these bookstores might have books upper-class students have turned in to get monetary rewards. Asking the right questions is important for finding out information. Ask the owner they might know more than you think.

Amazon Prime

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The third resource is so ubiquitous that if you’re not on this you are probably a living, walking fossil. The internet is always there, ever present and ready to be used to serve most of your needs if not all. I mean if anything, just google it! Amazon Prime is a great invention for students. Pre-order, post-order, rent, buy both used and new books and they will definitely arrive with refund options available. With multiple sellers on the platform, you might be able to get unused online assignment codes for cheap but I would be careful with that. Luck is fickle.

Also, social media is useful as well. Your school will definitely have an official Facebook page but there are different helpful associated pages that are student-run as well. On these pages, continuing students will put out their old books for sale. From there, you can contact them, proceed to haggle with them and eventually meet up to complete the transaction. Even if you already pre-ordered your textbooks from your college’s bookstore this is good news because you can always sell off after the semester ends. The key is to be as quick as possible as these books sell off real fast and it is heartbreaking knowing that you could have gotten a sweet deal had you been about your wits and time.

There are a lot of ways to break the bank when you decide to go to college. It’s a worthy investment, of course — there’s nothing like a good ol’ college education. It will pay you back and set you up for life. Sometimes, financial aid is really nice to you but sometimes out-of-pocket tuition expenses, personal expenses, transportation if schooling out of state become too much. No need to add textbook expenses to that especially since most colleges estimate the price of books on their total cost of attendance as over a thousand dollars. Be smart, be wise, be savvy and go easy on the bank.

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