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The process of buying textbooks always rubs me the wrong way at the beginning of each semester. The cost of books is so expensive that it feels like you have to give an arm and a leg to rent them, let alone buy them.

The problem is that sometimes, classes are completely reliant on the textbooks.  Some professors basically just spit the book right back out to you.  In other cases, they may even use their own books for their classes. So basically, you’ll just be reading the same information they would have told you anyway.  There can be very little opportunity for you to learn the material in any other way than the textbook.  Therefore, buying books can be necessary. 

Although some students can manage without them, most students feel obligated to buy textbooks if they want to do really well.  However, most books are extremely overpriced.  I understand that college classes are important, but $300 for one book that you’ll only use for one semester is ridiculous.  And sometimes if, like I said before, the book was written by your professor, some of that money is going straight to their wallet.  Essentially, when you have five or six classes a semester, prices start to add up.  Before you know it, you’re spending over $500 on books alone.

It just doesn’t seem very fair to me.  Some people are already stretching their money to attend college in the first place.  It’s not right that they should have to spend hundreds of dollars (on top of tuition) to pass the class.  We shouldn’t have to pay to pass.  Everyone always says that college is what you make of it.  But if you want to make it a successful learning experience, you’ll have to pay the price (literally). – E. Robertson