Ivy League Students overspend on textbook despite being smart

June 30, 2012 - PRLog -- Harvard, Cornell and MIT are home to some of the most talent minds.  Most of the students attending college here either have amazing grade point average, qualifying exam scores or extensive research experience. The tuition fee alone in these universities are in excess of $30,000 per year and so the cost saving incurred by buying cheaper college textbooks is minimal compare to their overall spending for college education. A $200-$300 saving per semester on college textbook mean little to these students, so rarely see them hunt for cheapest textbook options.  This is not to say that, no one from IVY League Universities have explored the alternative textbook buying, renting, selling options besides their campus bookstores.

Here are some students who value the unlimited options beyond Ivy League campus bookstores and their opinions. Roger (Undergraduate from College of Engineering) from MIT says, “Online textbook shopping can save a lot for students if they do purchase their textbook prior to the first day of classes. Waiting for textbooks to arrive after classes have started, is a true problem”.  Sarah (Undergraduate from Business School) from Harvard says, “I look at the textbook list for the following semester, at least two weeks prior to the start and if I see considerable differences in pricing I buy online else just get it from the college bookstore during the first day of class”.

Some simple advices from http://www.affordtextbooks.com to save money on textbook shopping can go long ways in keeping more cash in your wallet not only in school but as long as you be a book or digital textbook reader.  First and most importantly avoid buying new books, when plenty of barely used books are available. Second, always remember to compare prices before buying, renting or selling. AffordTextbooks.com offer instant price comparison for any book across 50+ online bookstores including Amazon, Half, Chegg and more. Third, remember that newer edition does not always mean updated or additional information but sure means higher selling price. Recent survey by some public interest research group at Washington D.C showed that 78% of the all the latest edition contained less than 1% difference from their earlier edition and that is was unjustifiable to release a newer edition.  Last and most importantly see if your friends or seniors can sell their textbooks to you if plan to take their class the following semester.