Costs for tuition, registration fees, room and board and textbooks can put a huge hole in the pockets of Ball State students.
For special education major Kelly Page, this hole was larger than expected because of textbooks prices this spring. She had to spend $400 on one class, not including the additional $200 for other classes. However, she said she is unable to sell her books back this week because they are spiral bound.
College students, like Page, spend an average of $900 dollars each year on textbooks, according to campusbooks.com. The price of books and sell-back options are determined by professors' requests and how many books the stores have in stock. Students can try to get more money back for books by selling early at local stores.
PROFESSORS' CHOICE
Half of the books students are required to buy come "bundled," or shrink-wrapped with additional materials, according to the Web site. The site found that 65 percent of faculty rarely or never use the bundled materials in their courses.
However, professors have the choice to either buy published textbooks or write their own for the class. In some cases, professors writing their own textbooks normally means the students have to pay less, George Barker, associate professor of philosophy, said.
Barker said he prefers to publish his own text for students to buy because it is lighter on his students' wallets as well as easier for him to cover his course material.
"It's just too much money for students to pay for in addition to other expenses," Barker said.
If he needs to update his material, he said he simply passes out additional handouts.
Other professors choose to order textbooks to use in their courses. State Public Interest Research Groups found these ordered textbooks are costing students more money. In group's study, they found that the most widely purchased textbooks on college campuses have new editions published about every three years. On average, these new textbooks cost 45 percent more than used copies of the previous addition, the report said.
BUY BACK TIME
With buy back week in full swing, many students are not aware of the process. When it comes time to sell back the books for cash, the sooner the books are in, the more money a student could get back, T.I.S. Store Manager Fred Mcilrath said.
"Don't just wait until Friday," Mcilrath said. " Sell them as soon as you are done."
Bookstores have a certain number of each book they need back. Once they reach that number, the rest of the books are bought back from students for less money. Depending on the condition or the version, students may not be able to sell their book back.
"It is based on what the professor wants for their class," Mcilrath said. "We are at their mercy."
Another option is to find out if the book will be used for another year since the price could be different.
If the class for which students are selling their books back is not being taught the next semester, Mcilrath said students could keep the books to sell back next semester to possibly get more money.
"Sometimes they get burnt. Sometimes they make money," he said.
CBX and Ball State Bookstore could not be reached for comment.
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