College Textbook Tips!

Hi friends! I am looking forward to back-to-school season more than ever this year. I just started ordering my textbooks for the fall semester and thought I would share some tips I've learned over the years!

Avoid the school bookstore 

During my first semester of college, I was too afraid to order books from online sellers so I bought everything I needed from the school store. This was a huge mistake! I ended up spending so much more money than I needed to. In my experience, the school bookstore is always more expensive and when you try to sell them back at the end of the semester, you get $3 back for a book that they sold you for $70. 

There are a few books that I have been required to get through the store. For example, I had a professor who created a textbook specifically for our class that was only available through the school. Otherwise, I avoid the bookstore as much as possible. 

Chegg & Amazon for the win

My favorite online textbook retailer is definitely Chegg. They are a lifesaver! You can buy, rent, and even sell textbooks through their site. I have sold books to Chegg that my school store would not buyback, and I have rented my books from the site ever since that first semester. It has saved me SO much money on textbooks and I have never had a problem with them. They make it really easy to extend rentals and even buy books that you initially rented. Also, for the people who like to highlight in their textbooks, Chegg allows highlighting! Amazon does something similar, and I have bought textbooks through their site as well. (If you didn't know, you can get Amazon Prime cheaper as a student and they even give you 6 months free!)

Rent > Buy

I typically rent all of my textbooks for college, even my OT specific ones. This may change as I get into some deeper material in my later years, but for now, I only buy if I absolutely have to. Personally, I know that it is very unlikely that I will go back to my books for information when Google is so readily available and I take good notes. This one is kind of a debate with students, it just depends on personal preference. I always start out with a rental, and then if I decide I want to keep the book, Chegg gives you the option to buy it!

Purchase your books early! 

I always try to order my textbooks as early as I can. For fall semester classes, this is usually around late July. Some of my friends have trouble finding the textbooks that they need on Chegg or at a cheaper price if they wait until the end of August to purchase them. By then the used books may be gone, so this is why I always order them right away. Professors usually have submitted what books are required for their courses by this time, and this way you don't have to worry about a book you need not being available! 

I hope that these tips and my experiences will be helpful to you! I'd love to hear from you in the comments or on my Instagram about your textbook tips & tricks! Hope you are all enjoying the summer!