What does it cost to not pay the price?

I think by the time I graduate from college the amount of money I pay for text books would be just the amount of my debt!!!! I know I’m exaggerating but sometimes I really get that feeling like I am paying way too much for college textbooks. The worst time of the semester is the beginning, besides the fact that people are trying to adjust to their classes, and getting use to being back after being off from school for about three months, one of the worst part about the beginning of the semester is using all of your hard earned summer dollars to buy college textbooks. I am not saying that buying text books are not important and of course they are well needed, but honestly they really do hurt our pockets. Sometimes buying college textbooks put students in a financial jam; because there are students out there who are paying for their college tuitions on their own…. And yes you might here the saying “but there’s so much financial aid, and scholarships out there for college students to get…” that is not everyone’s story. College is a struggle and when you have to make the decision between either paying your tuition or buying books for your classes that’s when the test of your experience kicks in.

Yes there are ways out there to “beat the system” and they are greatly appreciated and there are people who do use them, and I would believe that they do offer some help. For example I try my best to only buy used books it helps to cut off a couple of dollars, there are some students who use websites that sell cheap books. There are even ways where students don’t have to spend any money at all. For example just the other day I was talking to one of my friends and she told me that she had to return one of her textbooks to the library, I was so shocked, I didn’t know you could do that (it does pay to do your research doesn’t it). There are even websites which have the books and chapters that your professors are using for the course all posted online. But honestly speaking not everyone one will have the best of luck with all these resources but it is good to know that they are out there, and there are probably many other ways that I don’t know about that you can get your books for a low cost or no cost at all.

One of the worst things you could do from my personal experience is not buying the book. Maybe that does not work for everyone some people could go through a whole semester without buying the book for a course and still do well (because they have it like that ;-)). For me it was one of the worst mistakes. So what does it cost to not pay the price? I learned this the hard way, I am taking a course this semester, and from word of mouth I heard “you could do fine without buying the book,” so I did just that I did not buy the book, why would I want to pay a hundred and five dollars for a book that’s not even for my major. So I figured I could just survive off of PowerPoint s and things the professor say in class. So when the test came around all I studied was the PowerPoint and the few notes I wrote down. Of course I studied long and hard, when the test came around I walked in as confident as a model on the runway and walked out feeling as dumb as a bag of rocks. As soon as I received my grades back, I was not happy or satisfied because it was not my usual, I was very disappointed so I decided I would go and talk to my professor, when I went and told my professor how hard I studied and all the things that I did, one of the first things she said to me was “Sherrifa what about the book, you didn’t mention anything about using the book.” Then I realized I received a low grade because I didn’t want to pay the price of the textbook. My message to all college students would be think about what it would cost you if you don’t pay the price… So if you don’t want to pay the price find some way where you can get the book; and actually read it!!! It won’t be every class that you take where you will have power points to depend on. So do yourself a favor and find a way… your own way!