Are College Textbooks Affordable for the Average Student?

Essay by SmilieCollege, UndergraduateA, May 2005

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As most college students know purchasing textbooks is not at all like shopping at the .99 cent store; in fact it is the complete opposite with books ranging from $25.00 and some books reaching up to whopping $400.00 per book. With that in mind; it leads up to the question, can the average college student afford college text books.

The College Publisher Network claims "College is already expensive enough and the additional cost of textbooks - ones that are often only good for one semester - causes only more financial anguish." In an online survey token, in a college chat room, all but one of the students said that prices of college text books were stress full especially the ones without any type of Financial Aide. The one student who didn't mind the prices was a student who was awarded a full scholarship. Buying used books is a good way of saving money, although often then books you are looking for are not available or the book is available but the edition is out of date.

The College Publisher Network says "New editions must be accurate and must be released for a reason. Publishers should consider releasing online editions or smaller packets providing updates - this would save money both on the consumer and the printer's end." The MassPIRG reported that some of the newer textbook editions had the same errors as the old ones and sold them for a higher price.

In the High School I went to they use to lend students their textbooks and they were to be returned by the end of the year. If a student lost a book they were to pay for the book they lost. If a student did not return a book and fail to pay for the textbook they were...