College Is Expensive, Books Don't Have To Be | Anchors Aweigh

Pages

September 20, 2013

College Is Expensive, Books Don't Have To Be

College is expensive, and I think that is one thing we can all agree on. Whether you put yourself through college, your parents pay, or you take out loans, tuition is painful to anyone writing the check. You know what else can be expensive? Textbooks. I spent almost $500 my first semester on textbooks, and I wish I could go back in time and kick the 18 year old version of myself for paying so much. Why? Because I didn't have to. At Texas A&M, most students start out buying books from the bookstore and then wise up to the situation around their sophomore year. The secret? RENT! CampusBookRentals.com would have saved me a few hundred dollars that first year, and here's why I'd like to go back in time and knock some sense into baby Chelsea:

Why should you rent textbooks?
  • you save 40-90% off of bookstore prices
  • free shipping BOTH ways
  • you can highlight in the textbooks...I was a major highlighter
  • flexible renting periods to accommodate your semester
  • CampusBookRentals.com donates to Operation Smile with each textbook rented
You know those professors who require a certain edition of a certain book, and purchasing the previous edition is forbidden? Don't worry, CampusBookRentals.com has the largest selection in the nation with 21 day risk free returns. Seriously, I so wish I would have known about this from the get-go.

Guess what other new and glorious concept has graced the world of college since I graduated? Rentback. Rentback is a new initiative that allows students to rent the textbooks they own to other students, which is awesome considering it will make them up to 4x more than they would with normal buyback options. So if you're like me and spent $1,000,000 on buying books your freshman year, Rentback just became your new best friend.

College is expensive, but books don't have to be. I wish I could go back in time and redo my freshman year. I could think of a few ways to use the extra $500 I spent now that I'm living in this beautiful thing called the real world. And just for fun, here are a few throwbacks from my graduation from Texas A&M almost 3 years ago. I'd like to go back now please.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.


12 comments :

Katie said...

Man, this would have been great to know all those years in college! I'm kind of jealous of some of the new technology that the incoming classes get to utilize.

Sam said...

OMG I am in love with your grad cap!!! That is so stinkin cute!!!! Obsessed!!!

Anonymous said...

I love your graduation cap! For some reason, people at Murray State don't decorate their caps... I'm kind of disappointed. (But not decorating it means my sister can wear my cap & gown next year!)

Ashley @ A Cute Angle said...

This should have been around when I started college 10+ years ago. Your graduation cap is soooo cute!

~Ashley @ A Cute Angle
http://acutelifestyle.blogspot.com

Tammy Jo said...

I LOVE your cap!!!! Sad thing is all the books I have to have now are ones I have to keep :(

Jovana {TasteofAugust} said...

Haha I love that cap!! So neat and a great idea!!
As a side note - what is an MRS degree? I have never heard of that degree acronym here in Canada, which is why I'm wondering :)

~Anchored In Christ~ said...

yea books and college isnt cheap. I remember when I had to pay out of pocket and it was ridiculous.

Jenny @ Creatively Blooming said...

Wow! I wish this had been around when I was in school (or if it was around then - that I would have known about it)! Jarrod has bought very few actual books for his NPS classes. He's gotten online versions, checked out what he needed from the library, and has rented a few too. I'm not sure where he's rented from. I'll have to ask him, and see if it's the same place!

Susannah said...

Haha. I love your sign. It's adorable. :-)

Nicole said...

Love your spin on this! I am cataloging this website if I return to school in the future!

lil bit fancy said...

OMG! That little sign is sooo cute!!!

Katherine Newsom said...

Hey, I got my "MRS" degree too :) So many Aggies do that! As soon as we got engaged, my parents wouldn't stop talking about it! (My mom & omom did the same - left school - also A&M- with an "mrs") Leaving school for a semester in order to move with my best friend is worth it! And anyway, I'm still graduating on time with my actual degree, just a different school, so no losses here! I went to 2 graduations at A&M and loved seeing how everyone (i.e. all the girls) decorated their caps! Wish I was going to my ceremony in VA to do that. I LOVE your cap too by the way!!
~Katherine

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...