In the face of high textbook prices, students are increasingly looking for cheaper ways to obtain course materials.
According to a 2017 report from College Board, the average full-time undergraduate student at a private university spends $1,220 on books and supplies each year, with the average price of a new textbook rising from $58 in the 2011-2012 academic year to $80 in that of 2015-2016.
Daniel Guan, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he thinks the price of textbooks can be a huge obstacle for students.
“It’s really difficult to have full access to all the resources that you might need to be successful in the class when prices are so high,” Guan said. “I personally think that it’s an unnecessary financial barrier for students.”
Hannah Schweitzer, a freshman in the College of Communication, said she paid high prices for textbooks from Barnes & Noble at Boston University because she didn’t really know any other options.
“My stats textbook from last semester was about $100, which was a lot, especially because just to get the online textbook, I had to get the stats textbook,” Schweitzer said. “I’m never going to use it again, but the most convenient way was to get it at Barnes & Noble.”
Stephen Turco, the manager of Barnes & Noble at BU, said Barnes & Noble understands that the price of textbooks is an important issue for students, and that the bookstore tries to provide a range of pricing options.
“It’s our goal at the store to offer students every price point that we can,” Turco said, “whether that be new, used, new rental, used rental, buy digital [or] rent digital.”
Some students, such as Howard Choo, choose not to purchase textbooks at all.
“I don’t normally get the textbooks personally,” the CAS junior said, “but if I do need them, I’ll just get the PDF online or through my friends.”
Other students, like Questrom School of Business freshman Andrea Gomez, wait until classes start before deciding which textbooks to buy.
“I usually wait until the first few days of class and see what the workload is,” Gomez said, “because sometimes professors tell you to buy a certain textbook and then they don’t really use it in class.”
Gomez said she thinks professors should be clearer on which textbooks are required and which are simply supplementary.
“Last semester, some of the textbooks I bought, I didn’t even open,” Gomez said.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said not purchasing books may save money, but it can hurt a student’s performance in class.
“I think it’s an unfortunate exercise that some people try not to purchase books and/or share them or find some other combination, when it really does inhibit how well they’re going to do,” Riley said. “If they don’t have the materials or they have to make an extra effort to do the readings and things like that, it makes it more difficult.”
Riley said the university takes textbook prices and other non-tuition factors into account in determining cost of attendance.
“The university certainly understands those expenses,” Riley said. “I think, in the financial assistance website … they factor in what they anticipate cost of textbooks for the year would be.”
Madeline Schmidt, a COM freshman, said she rents textbooks from Barnes & Noble or buys them for cheaper prices from other sellers when she can, but that is not always an option.
“I usually rent textbooks at Barnes & Noble if it’s an option,” Schmidt said, “but sometimes you can only buy it and sometimes you can’t even find it for cheaper on Amazon.”
Schmidt said she thought students were doing a good job of easing the burden of high textbook prices themselves by setting up student-run pages specifically for book sales.
“Students have that Facebook textbook exchange page,” Schmidt said, “which I think is really good for if someone has a textbook you need or if you’re trying to get rid of a textbook.”
Jennifer Small is a junior in the Boston University College of Communication, majoring in journalism and minoring in media science. She is one of the Co-Campus News Editors for Spring 2023.
