Surviving Expensive Book Costs at UF

1. The High Cost of Books Where to purchase books When to purchase books How to get rid of books at the end of the Semester Surviving Expensive Book Costs at UF

2. Welcome to the University of Florida • So you're really excited that you're now able to brag about being and call yourself a Gator! • You've taken the time to find out your dorm, and figure out who your roommates are, as well as your classes. • However, after all the euphoria settles, the reality of the costs of maintaining one's stay at UF steps in.

3. Long-term Goal • The long-term goal of this is to help incoming students minimize the amount of money spent on books during one's college tenure. • To make students aware of the high costs of books at UF • To make sure students become strategic and smart when it comes to the amount they spend on books at a time, utilizing all resources.

4. The High Cost of Books • The cost of books can get very expensive, and sometimes financial aid does not fully cover these costs. • Without aided funds to help a student with buying books, the money has to come from elsewhere. • Understand that having pricey books in bookstores is a great way to increase revenue in a college town, because if these books are required, students are going to have to purchase them • Depending on the class and book requirements, books can range from seven dollars to two hundred dollars, give or take a few.

5. Where to purchase books • Books can be purchased or acquired in many different ways and places • One can purchase books at the numerous locations of book stores located within a short walking distance of the main campus. • Another way to acquire books would be to purchase them online. One good website that compares the prices of other sites is www.cheapesttextbooks.com. You get to choose the cheapest site that offers your book.

6. Where to buy books cont'd • You can get books by asking around. There are numerous students that have probably taken the same course as you at some point in time. It doesn't hurt to ask someone be it on facebook or any other social network. • One can get their books for free through this mechanism, or at least at a much discounted price.

7. When to purchase books! • Timing is very key when it comes to buying books. • One has to determine whether or not they intend to really keep their class registration selection. • If a class is required then there's no way around it; you have to purchase a book • If you're not so sure if you want to keep the class you've selected, wait a little while. Go to the first day of classes and see if it's a class you want to take. Most classes wont require you do heavy work during the drop/add period.

8. When to purchase books cont'd • I have to sadly admit that there are many classes in which a book does not have to be read in order to get an A in the class. But this depends on one's learning process. • If you're a visual learner, and can learn better with just key points, and if you attend class on a regular basis, you can avoid purchasing a book in some classes (the easy ones). • But if you don't really attend class that often, and need everything spelled out to you than purchasing a book would be a very good idea.

9. How to rid yourself of all the books you've purchased at the end of the Semester. • There are a number of ways to rid yourself of the books that you've acquired, some of which you probably have never opened; that is if you want to get rid of them because you feel that you'll never look at that book again: • One option is selling it online. You have to see how much the book usually goes for and price it around the mean price. Someone somewhere might have a teacher who requires that book, especially if that book will not be used anymore at UF.

10. How to rid yourself of all the books you've purchased at the end of the semester cont'd • Another way is to go to the tents on campus around the time of finals. However, they have been known to give you only a fraction of the money you probably spent on the book in the first place. • The other book stores off campus offer some form of buy back as well. But if you really would like to get your money's worth, you'll have to see who's willing to offer the best price.

11. Books • Books are a very important part of the university experience. • They are no longer offered to you like they were in high school. • UF offers no sympathy on this issue, and every retailer claims to have the best offers, but it's up to you to make the decisions that are more fiscally beneficial depending on your budget. • This problem isn't going away soon, so I hope you won't let this be a big issue when it comes to enjoying all that UF has to offer.