Categories: College Life

To Buy or Rent My Textbooks This Semester

Textbooks, while such an inconvenience, they’ve become a staple to your college career. You have probably realized that your college Bookstore and many Textbook companies are getting nifty with your options of obtaining a book for class. Not only can you buy your textbooks, but now you can also rent textbooks!

Buying your textbooks can be expensive but you hae a potential incentive of selling it back after the semester is over. However, you do take the risk of getting $0.00 back for it. Throughout college I have always purchased my books because I was just too lazy to look into the option of renting, not realizing I could have saved a fortune.

If I knew what I know now, I would have made the school bookstore my last resort. While they are extremely convenient, sometimes they can be a total rip-off. Believe me; they are well aware that they are.

Think ahead and make a game plan. Saving as much as you can on textbooks will benefit you in the long run.

Here is an example of what your college bookstore can charge you for a Media Programming textbook:

My school, Penn State, gives you the option to rent or buy. Neat.

You can rent the book for $85.10 or purchase a used book for $130.25.

You can have the same options and go to BookRenter and save a couple of bucks. If you rented the textbook for 125 days, you could pay $70.97. You can also rent up to 30 days and pay $50.35.

See Also

Both the bookstore and BookRenter have the option to buy a brand new textbook, however, BookRenter is still cheaper by a couple of dollars.

When making the decision to either rent or buy, it comes down to every book on its own. Every class and required text is different. Majority of students find themselves renting and buying textbooks. Just depends on what is more beneficial.

Whatever your option is, I would compare what your bookstore has to offer to a site like BookRenter. If you purchase your books via Studentrate, you can save up to 80% on books PLUS get 5% cash back on your entire order. Sweet deal.

Ajay

Recent Posts

10 Things I Wish I Knew Before University of Alabama Orientation

Bama Bound (aka Orientation) is one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking experiences for incoming freshmen at the University of…

3 hours ago

10 Things Every Columbia College Chicago Student Asks Themselves

Being a student at Columbia College Chicago is about more than just skipping class to "make art" or smoke weed.…

10 hours ago

15 Things You Need To Do When You Visit University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is a decision that you won’t regret. UNL has more than 150 majors to choose from…

14 hours ago

How To Not Live In Fear

If I've noticed one "truism" in life it's that FEAR is the greatest detriment to our well-being than any other…

18 hours ago

15 Cheap And Fun Date Ideas Near University of Delaware

Looking for a cheap alternative for date night at the University of Delaware? Here are 15 cheap and fun date…

22 hours ago

5 Reasons I Picked Brigham Young University

I recently just changed universities.  I went from my small home town college - Idaho State University to a slightly…

1 day ago