How much did you pay for your textbooks? / LJWorld.com

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Asked at Massachusetts Street on August 21, 2008

“Over $500. Personally I don’t pay for them - my parents do - but it’s unfortunate that they have to pay so much for tuition and then for books on top of it.”

— Jackie Gentile, Kansas University sophomore, Chicago

“I paid about $145 for three books, but I bought two of them online for a third of the price.”

— Justin Hendricks, KU senior, Lawrence

“About $350 or something like that. It wasn’t fun; they were way too expensive for my taste.”

— Eric Kocher, KU freshman, Pratt

“I haven’t gotten them yet, but I am not looking forward to it. I’m going to wait and ask the professor which ones are really required and look to buy as many used as possible.”

— Jennifer Baldwin, KU junior, Ottawa

Price reform on college textbooks sought

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iloveribs 5 years, 7 months ago

p>half.com is the place to go for good deals. Whatever you do never go to JBS!! The owner mistreats his employees and is just a bad guy. Beat the Bookstore isn't terrible but they don't give you squat for buy back.

been_there 5 years, 8 months ago

"Most textbooks can be found online in the form of free downloads"Had to do that last semester for a class, probably spent as much on ink as the book cost.

tangential_reasoners_anonymous 5 years, 8 months ago

absolutely nothin'... huh!... say it again

samsnewplace 5 years, 8 months ago

spacehog, you are what we don't want our children to become!

Curtis Lange 5 years, 8 months ago

I paid ~$300 this semester. It was the most I've ever spent on textbooks in my college career. :(Pink_Sock: Nice name, lol.

Marion Lynn 5 years, 8 months ago

Most textbooks can be found online in the form of free downloads."Click To Print".

LittleMissFlea 5 years, 8 months ago

Bookstores make about 5 cents on the dollar for new books, and the KU Bookstores are non profit. All the money they make goes back into student services.

ChristmasCarol 5 years, 8 months ago

Pink Sock, Not if they are fat and ugly...Has anyone seen Zoe Anne Amie? The last I saw her she was wandering around 23rd and Barker streets by that Dentist office sign ...mchka...mchka...mchka...mchka... oops let me take my bubble gum out. My brain was saying what my mouth was doing.I seem to have left my underwear in English Class last semester in Pittsburg Kansas, did you happen to see it?

Flap Doodle 5 years, 8 months ago

"by the way, how do you take notes with a marmot?"Actually you take notes on the marmot. You have to use the special pens we sell for $350 each.

autie 5 years, 8 months ago

As long as snap is taxiderming ruminants...skin out the goat, take the rennet from whichever stomach..and pass it to next student for the cheese..another win/win..by the way, how do you take notes with a marmot?

Pink_Sock 5 years, 8 months ago

The girls can make the $$ back in 1 night at the Outhouse can't they?

bombshell 5 years, 8 months ago

snap_pop: ha! i hope Snap's has at least two classrooms so the cheesemaking and taxidermy classes are kept separate. if not i suggest a fundraiser to buy a second room.

BorderRat 5 years, 8 months ago

The used text book buy back is a rip off. They buy them back for a few cents on the dollar, jack up the prick and sell them in the bookstores. Cut out the middleman and find someone who needs the text book, offer it for a price that is less than what the booktore is selling the used one for. You'll get more than the buy back price, they'll get it cheaper that the used price. Win Win situation.

ChristmasCarol 5 years, 8 months ago

Oh, sorry. The boomerang was the project for my thesis in Physics. Geez, I feel so retarded. I forgot the marketing text for my business in art.

alm77 5 years, 8 months ago

spacehog, just remember that when they need assisted living someday. Your house better have a few spare rooms and a really nice nurse! ;)

Flap Doodle 5 years, 8 months ago

At Snap's School of Cheesemaking and Taxidermy, there are no textbooks. We hand you a marmot and expect you to take good notes.

spacehog 5 years, 8 months ago

Nothing. When I went to KU my parents paid for my tuition, books, rent, food, everything except for binge drinking money. I would sell them back at the end of the semester for about a tenth of what my parents paid for them, then take the money and go out and get really drunk. No wonder my moral compass is a little off.......

beatrice 5 years, 8 months ago

We were supposed to BUY them?!? I just thought they were recommended reading.

couranna1 5 years, 8 months ago

books are big business

ChristmasCarol 5 years, 8 months ago

My boomerang cost $20 and the book came free.I spent $250 on an airbrush, $300 on an air compressor, $200 on paint and $300 on T- shirts and a book for $25. I became a graphic designer. It was great. All I had to do was read instructions.I might be hired to paint cars or motorcycles soon.I sure am glad they wanted to teach me Art.

ms_canada 5 years, 8 months ago

Mucho dinero. mucho!!!! Grandson David, informed us yesterday that he requires 20, that is 20 textbooks for his first semester? Good gracious, it will break me for sure. We pay tuition for two grandsons. But we praise God that we are able to do that and that we can encourage them to get a good education. David is in medical research and Michael business admin.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 5 years, 8 months ago

TOB,Different name at this school.Integrated Handgun & Urban Rifle, but sounds like the same course.

Ceallach 5 years, 8 months ago

I believe it was 3 chickens, 5 pounds of potatoes, and 5 heads of cabbage.

Bassetlover 5 years, 8 months ago

Only had to spend about $75 each semester to cover 5 different classes. But of course, this was back in the good old 70s.....

sunflower_sue 5 years, 8 months ago

It was too much back then so I don't even want to think about what it would be now. Mostly, textbooks were a waste of money. Very few instructors used more than 20 pages out of the book. I hope that the profs have become more selective of the materials they require. It's all a racket.

bombshell 5 years, 8 months ago

I usually ended up paying 400+ a semester for books... and being in business school I was on differential tuition on top of that for something like $75 more per credit hour. I make a decent salary now but my scholarships didn't near cover how much undergrad cost me and I'm in-state! Someday I will pay off the hell which is my student loans but I haven't even gone halfway towards seeing light at the end of that tunnel. If I knew then what I know now, I would have spent more time trying to get more outside scholarships - so congrats to those who did, like zettapixel with the Barnes & Noble scholarship - thats awesome!

The_Original_Bob 5 years, 8 months ago

R_I -You took How to Survive in East St. Louis 301 as well?

samsnewplace 5 years, 8 months ago

ryknow1976 she is only one of many, many who probably do the same thing. Is this teaching our kids anything to give, give, give? If they pay their own way through school, they will work harder and appreicate their accomplishments on their own.

ryknow1976 5 years, 8 months ago

This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.

jonas 5 years, 8 months ago

multiD: Thanks, already done for the day, two more tomorrow. Pretty easy, first day stuff. It only took about 15 minutes, but I think the rest will be 25 minutes or so, as a lot of things slipped my rather nervous mind.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 5 years, 8 months ago

The last courses I took required no textbooks, but did require 2000 rounds of ammo.

le 5 years, 8 months ago

Jayhawk bookstore...has a license to rob you...a form of extortion...you dont pay the price..u get no education!

sgtwolverine 5 years, 8 months ago

I didn't go to college, so I didn't spend my life savings on books I'd use only once. I did take one (photography) class at a community college, but it cost next to nothing, and it didn't require any books.

mom_of_three 5 years, 8 months ago

Not as much as everyone else. I have been able to find my textbooks online and have paid less than a 1/3 of the bookstore price. After taking 7 classes, I finally had to buy a new book, and it was hard. Tried to used for my daughter, but most of her books were didn't come used. But I would suggest amazon, and there is a website that will look up all the used online bookstore prices, so you can compare at the same time. It's very cool.

The_Original_Bob 5 years, 8 months ago

It wasn't until my final semester of college that I wised up. All the Indian and Middle Eastern students would scour the inet and find the books needed from other university libraries. They weren't always able to find everything (like workbooks), but the big ticket books were generally found. And these happened to be very wealthy students. I suppose this is why our jobs are all being outsourced to India. That and global warming.

alm77 5 years, 8 months ago

$281 for me.... and I don't know about my husband. He sold last years textbooks and some books we had laying around the house on amazon.com and had enough to purchase his books for this year with a little left over.

zettapixel 5 years, 8 months ago

Having a Barnes & Noble textbook scholarship in college was GREAT! Up to $1k worth of textbooks and bookstore items per semester. B-) I wonder if they have anything like that at KU?

Multidisciplinary 5 years, 8 months ago

Jonas,We'll be thinking of you today!!!It's probably too late for you to see this, but I'm hoping you have a great first day teaching on the hill.^^

autie 5 years, 8 months ago

As I recall..less than $200. but it is one of the world's greatest scams..Prof. writes text book. Uses it in his class. Bookstore charges ten times what it is really worth..buys book back for ten cents on the dollar..resells next sememster at eight times what it is really worth..Awfully glad my kid has a scholarship that pays for those books. Might get a better deal at amazon than the KU bookstore on some.

evolve 5 years, 8 months ago

Not as much as the students today.I keep my books however.

ohjayhawk 5 years, 8 months ago

I don't remember, it's been long enough ago. I do remember buying a new one for say $100.00, selling it back for about $15.00 and seeing them selling the used ones the next semester for something like $80.00. Then, if a new edition that came out, they wouldn't buy the old one back at all. I've always thought that I should get into the textbook business. Although, I know a lot of students are buying them on-line now.