[Firam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikemonkeys READ THIS!!! I was incredibly poor in college. I waited tables and never took out loans. Doing this I found an incredibly valuable secret. 1. Most professors have an extra copy of their textbook and will loan it to you for a semester. 2. If they won't give it to you, you can take it to the copy shop and copy the entire thing for a fraction of the price. 3. Most textbooks are very similar from version to version. Ask the professor if you could buy a used, older version. 4. abebooks.com is the cheapest place to buy a book 5. bulletin boards with flyers are also a great place to buy books. 6. I took many classes without ever buying a book because I would take very very good notes in class and then go to the professors office after class to ask what's in the book that's not covered in class. **Biggest piece of advice--if the professor knows you by name, you're almost gaurenteed a letter grade higher than you deserve.** BILL

Thank you for the advice. I did buy a few books from abebooks.com but found others cheaper at Ebay. All my books except for one have been purchased already, however next semester I consider that. I just worry if the professor demands the book and then I'm stuck paying an inflated price at the bookstore.

You final piece of advice is well noted.

 

[SunByrne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikemonkeys 1. Most professors have an extra copy of their textbook and will loan it to you for a semester.

Interesting. I virtually never have extra copies. What kind of classes?

Quote:

2. If they won't give it to you, you can take it to the copy shop and copy the entire thing for a fraction of the price.

True, but it should be pointed out that this is, in fact, an illegal violation of copyright law. This is most certainly *not* "fair use."

Quote:

3. Most textbooks are very similar from version to version. Ask the professor if you could buy a used, older version.

I will point out that it is important to check, though. I've had some very bad luck with students using an older version without telling me and them missing important material. But sometimes this works fine--depends on the book.

Quote:

6. I took many classes without ever buying a book because I would take very very good notes in class and then go to the professors office after class to ask what's in the book that's not covered in class.

How well this works will depend a lot on the class and the professor, of course. There are technical classes where this would be suicide. I try to spend as little time as possible in class covering what's in any books I assign, under the assumption that students have and read the text.

Quote:

**Biggest piece of advice--if the professor knows you by name, you're almost gaurenteed a letter grade higher than you deserve.**

So, uhh, which big state school did you go to? I always know all my student's names...

Anyway, that's sad if it's true. My final grades end up being assigned by spreadsheet weighted average of other grades, many of which are graded by more or less objective standards. And I never tinker with these, no matter how much I may personally like or dislike a student. It should be a fair measure, not a personality contest.

 

[lumanogin]

Try and buy used if you can, and EARLY. Go to the bookstores and snag the isbn's and get them off the itnernet. Probably 40% of your class is going to do the same thing, and the book that sells for $20 in lieu of the $95 one won't be available forever.

I tried photocopying a book once that a friend had bought. It's a PITA to look at xerox's for an entire semester. You're better off buying the book. The $30 you spend in photocopies, you could buy an older edition and take note of the new material from someone else.

Don't share either. Bad idea when you both want the book the night before a test.

What I did a couple times was ask around if the book was needed for the class, and attended class for the first couple of weeks without it to see. Half the time I didn't need it and in class notes were the majority.

 

[spaceman]

College texts are the biggest scam, and you can easily save a ton of money buying from an online reseller. What really irks me concerning the sale of books on campus is that they will charge you $135 for a new text, only give you $50 to $60 at the end of the semester, and then turn around and sell it used for $90.

Also, the idiot professor(s) who require you to spend $150 on books for the class, and then they only assign a few readings. I spent $36 on a "used paperback" and we only referred to two chapters....what a waste! However, there are some thoughtful professors out there who put required readings on reserve so we don't have to waste our money.

There are a lot of scams in academia, and unfortunately you have to play the game to get that piece of paper in the end. I was 34 years old, employed full-time, family, etc and the university still made me pay a student health fee, activity fee, and a multitude of other "fees." Non-traditional students really get screwed!

 

[ilikemonkeys]

SunByrne,

I have degrees in biology and chemistry. That curriculum hasn't changed in a very long time. I had an anatomy professor tell me that I had to buy a 250 dollar book. I laughed at him and ended up getting an A in the class by using used books from the medical school. I think I paid a couple bucks for some pretty old books with notes written in them. many of my professors were editors, so they would always have an extra book laying around somewhere. I didn't really go to a big state school, but I guess it was big enough that the professors appreciated that I would go to their office everyday after class to go over notes, homework and talk about recent discoveries. I still have an excellent relationship with many of my professors/mentors. Yup, I know it's illegal to copy a textbook, but I figured that it was taking food from my mouth and I really didn't care. The textbook industry is a terrible scam.

 

[JahJahBinks]

For engineering you can get almost the same textbook for less than 1/10 of its price in China (usually the coverpage is in Chinese but the rest is still in English). I have seen a lot of those from Chinese graduate students before.

 

[SunByrne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikemonkeys I have degrees in biology and chemistry. That curriculum hasn't changed in a very long time

Particularly at the frosh/soph level, yep. Older editions of these books should be solid. Upper level engineering/computer science books tend to change more from edition to edition, however, and right now even psychology books are changing fast as many incorporate recent neuroscience findings. I'd imagine upper-level biochem and genetics changes fairly quickly, too. But the book I had for freshman Chem back in 1987 is probably just fine today.

Quote:

I had an anatomy professor tell me that I had to buy a 250 dollar book. I laughed at him and ended up getting an A in the class by using used books from the medical school. I think I paid a couple bucks for some pretty old books with notes written in them.

Well done--more power to you for this. It won't work for every class, of course, but that's great that it works for some and you could save some cash.

Quote:

many of my professors were editors, so they would always have an extra book laying around somewhere.

Yuck. I think I'd rather gouge my eyes out with a hot iron--or maybe listen to Bose all day everyday--before I'd want to edit textbooks. Bleah, I'd rather be in the lab...

Quote:

I didn't really go to a big state school, but I guess it was big enough that the professors appreciated that I would go to their office everyday after class to go over notes, homework and talk about recent discoveries. I still have an excellent relationship with many of my professors/mentors.

That's great--I love students like that. But they don't automatically get a better grade just because I know who they are.

Quote:

Yup, I know it's illegal to copy a textbook, but I figured that it was taking food from my mouth and I really didn't care. The textbook industry is a terrible scam.

I agree with you that there are scam aspects to it, and I don't particularly care when students just photocopy the text, but I thought it was germane to point out that it is, technically, illegal.

 

[Firam]

Quote:

I didn't really go to a big state school, but I guess it was big enough that the professors appreciated that I would go to their office everyday after class to go over notes, homework and talk about recent discoveries. I still have an excellent relationship with many of my professors/mentors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunByrne That's great--I love students like that. But they don't automatically get a better grade just because I know who they are.

How do I start that I just go in and introduce myself and then ask a question, then work from there?

 

[SunByrne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firam How do I start that I just go in and introduce myself and then ask a question, then work from there?

Basically, yes. Nearly all profs have "office hours" when they set aside time to hang out in their office and answer student questions--they should tell you when their office hours are on the first day, it may also appear on their syllabus/web page/office door (I post all three). If they say "by appointment" then drop an email or grab the prof after class to ask for an appointment.

Good luck!

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Quote:

How do I start that I just go in and introduce myself and then ask a question, then work from there?

My first question to every professor is, "Do you write exams from your notes, or from the textbook?" That way you can determine what to concentrate most on. My favorite professors would tell you what they expect you to know for an exam, instead of leaving it up to you to figure it out. I feel that I had a lot more retention of important facts when i had a little guidance.

If I had any trouble with homework, I'd go to the office, either before or after class, and see if they would run through that problem, or a similar one. i would also read a lot of journals and ask for clarification of recent discoveries. i was a total science geek. Still am, even though I'm out of the industry now.

Also, I've never met a professor that didn't LOVE to talk about their research. I had a philosophy professor cry in front of me once. He was very passionate about his research.

I miss school.