It’s time to buy books for next semester! College students reach deeper into their pockets each year to foot the bill for textbooks. The Bureau of Labor Statistics made us aware of the rising cost of college textbooks: the prices have risen 1,041% since 1977. Even factoring in inflation, the sale of used books, and non-market transactions, it’s a huge number.

• • How Much Do College Textbooks Cost?
    • How Much Do Online Textbooks Cost?
  • Reasons for The Increase in The Cost of College Textbooks
    • Short Usage Cycle Contribute to the Increase in Cost of College Textbooks
    • Professors Disregard The Rising Cost of Textbooks
    • Useless Attachments Increase College Textbook Prices
  • Beware of Statistics
  • How to Lower the Cost of Textbooks

How Much Do College Textbooks Cost?

According to the most recent survey from the College Board:

• • • The average full-time on-campus undergraduate student at a four-year university spent approximately $1,240 on books and supplies in 2021.
    • Students of two-year colleges spent $1,420.
    • Students at private four-year colleges—$1,220.

This averages to $450-$625 per semester for books and supplies for an average student. Not a trifling amount.

The most recent report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group has shown that 66% of students tend to skip buying or renting course materials altogether in college, with 63% skipping textbook purchasing specifically because of the high cost of textbooks. The previous 2014 report’s data was not much different: 65% of students admitted skipping textbook purchasing then, so the tendency remains.

How Much Do Online Textbooks Cost?

All in all, online textbooks are more affordable than expensive college textbooks. Sometimes students can acquire digital textbook copies 40-50% cheaper than physical copies; however, taking into consideration the overall college textbook prices, you don’t save that much. Besides, many students prefer physical copies. Alternatively, you can find a number of web resources with free textbooks that are available for students online under an open license.

Reasons for The Increase in The Cost of College Textbooks

Short Usage Cycle Contribute to the Increase in Cost of College Textbooks

In recent years, publishers have issued textbooks in a two-to-four-year cycle. Basically, your used books are losing value quickly, and you’re more likely to drop money on a new one.

Professors Disregard The Rising Cost of Textbooks

Professors often disregard already high textbook prices when assigning the latest versions of course materials. The updated versions feature small changes, like rephrased copy and newer photos, not to mention the insertion of outdated pop-culture references.

Useless Attachments Increase College Textbook Prices

Publishers attach E-text and supplemental material to textbooks that raise the price. Like a CD in the back of a textbook you never used but somehow managed to lose by the end of the semester. A study found that 64% of professors rarely or never used the extra material. Those supplemental materials can make the textbook cost twice as much.

Beware of Statistics

Getting back to where we started, you may be thinking, “Wow! 1,041% is a huge number.” In fact, several organizations dispute this number, including:

The Association of American Publishers claims that viewing the increase as a percentage misrepresents the cost. If a textbook is $50 and then $100, its price increases by 100%. True, the price change can seem small compared to larger numbers, but the costs add up.

The National Association of College Stores reprimanded the College Board for estimating textbook costs rather than using collected data. NACS calculated textbook costs as half of the College Board’s predicted $1,200. Yet, the prediction about the average cost of college textbooks in 2020 doesn’t seem to be so far-fetched now, as this year’s textbook prices statistics prove.

Needless to say, the rising cost of college textbooks is a problem. The NACS itself recognized the issue of higher education costs and partnered with a Congressional committee to address higher education expenses in the United States.

How to Lower the Cost of Textbooks

Though prices are increasing and your textbooks lose value, they still have value. Trust BookScouter to find the best price to sell your books. Take those cheap textbooks out of the closet and check out our site to find the best price for your textbooks, sell them in bulk, and make extra cash.

Renting textbooks is another good strategy that can help you optimize your college textbook costs and lower your college expenses.

We are excited to announce the winner of the BookScouter Quarterly Book Scholarship! Our winner is Raegen Bennett from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who is majoring in Biology. Congratulations! We wish you to be a brilliant and passionate student with a fantastic career ahead of you!

Raegen has shared with us that her most expensive textbook was Precalculus: A Custom Text for UNLV that costs $215. Out of 131 outstanding students from all over the US who applied for the scholarship in the last two terms, Raegen gets a $500 scholarship that she can use towards buying textbooks. Let’s hope the BookScouter Scholarship will help her reduce some of the expenses of studying at UNLV.

Why Do We Care for the Book Scholarship?

Student debt is a pressing issue of the last decades with no easy solution at hand. Moreover, students face everyday expenses of living on campus as well as hidden costs of studying at a college. Purchasing textbooks is one of those hidden costs. Nobody tells you upon admission that you will need to cash out thousands of dollars on buying college books. If you are wondering why textbooks cost so much (and why new editions are issued almost every second year), check this article.

That is why BookScouter has started this initiative to help many brilliant students lower their textbook expenses. Every quarter, we award one student with a $500 scholarship to be used for purchasing their textbooks. We also try to raise awareness of this issue and provide students with alternative ways of saving money when buying textbooks.

How to Apply for the BookScouter Quarterly Book Scholarship

Don’t miss your chance to apply for the $500 scholarship on our website — we randomly assign a winner four times a year, and your odds are pretty high! 

The only prerequisite is that you should be an enrolled student in an accredited university or college at the time of application submission and award announcement. Click on the “apply” button and complete the questionnaire. Make a video in which you present yourself (your name and your major) and tell us about the most expensive textbook you had to buy for your studies. Don’t forget to mention its price! Attach this one-minute video to your application and submit it! Each quarter, we will randomly choose a winner of the book scholarship.

BookScouter is eager to help all of the students who applied for the textbooks scholarship. If you did not get a scholarship this time, don’t despair and participate again! In the meantime, use BookScouter price comparison tools to find the best vendor to buy and rent your textbooks, used or new.

You passed your classes with the help of your tried and true college textbooks this semester, and now you’re not sure if you should hang on to these beloved books or sell them.

I mean, you made so many good memories together. All the late nights studying and coffee dates. They were always there to help you think through new and exciting ideas. It’s like your old friends. You don’t want to let them go now, do you?

So you’ve been wondering, “Do I need textbooks for college?”

Here Are 3 Reasons not to Sell Your College Textbooks

Use Your College Textbook as a Reference

Whether it be for another college course or your career, keep the textbooks that have critical information or helpful visuals. If you are uncertain of the future helpfulness of the book, chat with a professor or a student further along. Learn what they recommend. Keep in mind, you may be able to resell the book now and then buy it back for pennies later on. 

Hello, Interior Design!

If you love the look of the book or the color of the binding, or just have too many books, keep them to add to the decor. You can turn a stack of your favorite textbooks into a side table or display them nicely on the shelf. Plus, it might impress your friends.

Be Generous

One more reason not to sell your college textbooks is when you have a friend who might need them in a semester or two. Feel free to donate your used books to them. If the price point isn’t right for resale, consider donating your book to the local library or your school’s library. Being nice feels good.

Are the textbooks you have on hand too good to be used in any above-mentioned way?

If you want to sell your textbooks, type in their ISBNs in the search field and learn how much money you can make by selling your textbook by checking all BookScouter offers.

Textbook lists are constantly being updated, so you can choose vendors with the best price offers. If you do not have a strong reason to keep the book, it is best to sell or rent it in the first place.