Day 15.
Well I was off to such a great start, but I forgot to write yesterday! I thought that the time I had at home would give me more time to devote to creating a good blog—turns out I’m busier than ever. So I apologize for all of you that were, I’m sure, absolutely heartbroken that I didn’t post.
Yesterday I spent quite some time online selling my textbooks and trying to find the least expensive ones to buy for next semester. The cost of these books is ridiculous!! The best website I found is called www.bigwords.com. You type in the ISBN number (or whatever it’s called) and then click on whether you want to buy or sell that book. It then prepares a price comparison from various websites so you can see what the best deal is for you! I had heard that www.bookbyte.com was a good place to get cheap textbooks and that they buy back for a fairly good price as well. And for several of the books, bookbyte.com did come up with one of the highest buy back price or lowest price to buy. Another website a friend told me was best for buy back is www.webuytextbooks.com. Another option many people choose, is to rent their textbooks. A popular site for renting is www.chegg.com. Although this is the most well-known, I used a different site to rent one of mine through Bigwords.com. These were the best websites I could find. Bigwords.com is the easiest to use, however, because it shows prices for a lot of different websites and does all the comparison work for you. So for any of you college students out there trying to get the most out of your money, I hope that helps!
Using these websites worked out pretty well, but, unfortunately, not all of my required textbooks are available to buy or rent from other sources. My lab books and Spanish book are made exclusively for my school and have to be purchased through the school bookstore. Also, my Biology textbook is a new edition and has to be bought with the Aplia component. That means I am forced to buy 4 books through the school bookstore. I have the option checked for a used book if available, but if I can’t get a used book…my grand total for those 4 books (3 of which are paperback) is about $500.00!! Why are college textbooks so expensive? They are used for one semester and then sold or otherwise discarded of, in most cases. The cost of an education is outrageous. How are we supposed to be college graduates (which is basically necessary in the world we live in) when affording the education is such a problem? Textbooks are just one aspect in how much going to college costs. For many families it just isn’t feasible to be able to send their children off to school. Scholarships can help, but this kind of money isn’t available to everyone. And I’m just talking about undergraduate degrees. To go beyond and get your masters, you will most likely end up even further in debt because where the scholarships and savings end, loans begin. I plan to go to medical school where the average student graduates a whopping $130,000.00 in debt. That’s where you want to be when you’re just starting off your life outside of school…$130,000 in the hole.
So what can we do about the price of education? I wish I had an answer… Considering the price to attend college goes up every year, Lord knows what I’ll have to pay for my kids to go. Isn’t there supposed to be equal opportunity for all in this country? Yeah, right. The only way for all kids to have equal opportunity to secondary education is to level the playing field when it comes to cost. I understand people have to work hard to be able to achieve a college degree, but money should not be the main obstacle. It should be the coursework. I guess I will just continue to dream of lower priced education As the Clock Ticks…
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