How much money should I save for books?

Question

I am a future freshman at a four year university in California. I am trying to save for books but everytime I ask someone how much I need they always give me completely random numbers. How much do I approximately need to save every semester to buy books if I take around five classes each semester? Thank you!

Answer 1

A few tips from a recent college graduate. Expect to spend $50-150 per course. At 4-5 courses a semester, you should put away $500 or so.

When you find out your required books, DO NOT buy from the college bookstores. Instead go online to Amazon or Ebay and buy a book from one of their private vendors. I've saved up to 50% from the prices in the campus book stores. Many schools also have online ads where students are trying to sell their books from last semester and you can usually get a good deal there.

Third, don't sell your books at the end of every semester. They can come in really useful when you start working and need to recall what you learned in school. You don't know the number of times where I needed to look something up ... but I couldn't because I sold the book that had the info.

Best of luck starting school.

Answer 2

I know you've been giving answers all over the spectrum...that's because it's hard to approximate exactly how much you'll need. A good rule of thumb is at least $100 per book. Certain books are more then that, some are less. You can buy used books for less $$. (typically you'll save maybe $20-30 on a used book over a new one) BUt keep in mind that those usually sell first at the campus bookstores. Also certain classes require more then one book as well. (english classes for example) If you have your list of classes already, you can actually call the bookstore of your school and get prices on the books you need.

HTH!

Answer 3

i would expect to spend at least 3 or 4 hundred dollars per semester. since u have 5 classes and are starting out, u might need a lot of expensive heavy textbooks. that is about what i spent, maybe a bit more or a bit less depending on the classes u take. u could even call the university bookstore and ask a few things, but it really depends on the classes u take and the teachers u have how many books u will need. have fun in college!

Answer 4

This depends upon your course of study. How many hours are you carrying? That will also affect cost.

Nursing text books are VERY expensive- costing over $100 per text. (depending upon subject, etc)

It has been a long time since I attended college. I also taught for about 20 years, too. But, times have changed since then.

I would set aside $1000 per term for books. If you're lucky and smart, you may be able to find used texts. This will lower your costs. Be sure that you have the right editions, however.

There may be fees involved and then there are notebooks and all that stuff too.

Are you starting this year? If so, you may be able to get on line to see what the text books cost at your college. Just a thought.

Answer 5

Well, it all depends on your courseload. If you're taking primarily sciences, each book will cost upwards of 100 dollars (at least), but you will probably only have to buy one book per course and perhaps a lab guide. If you're taking anything that ends in a BA, english, history, communications, etc, the books will be cheaper. A lot of trade paperbacks but you'll end up having to buy more of them, in all likelihood. I'd budget at least 500 dollars per semester, just to be on the safe side.

Answer 6

I cant give you an exact amount unfortunately, but I would suggest buying your books online. My ex saved a fortune by buying them on Amazon.com and then was able to sell them back at almost the same price!

Answer 7

Unfortunately text books can cost up to $200 per book. $1,000 for books and other misc. supplies would be reasonable.