You’ve got to hand it to them! Businesses have discovered that
college students are easy hits. Go to any college town and you
generally find gas prices around campus a nickel higher than most
stations in the same town. Refrigerator and furniture rental
businesses are booming. Drinks at football games run 5 bucks for 12
ounces, not to mention 4 dollars for a hot dog. There is no such
thing as parking, which means the local cops write a zillion
tickets. There’s a fee for everything from labs, to dorm keys, to
bicycle permits, to overdue books. Laundromats are in high demand.
If you own anything that could be used as an apartment, which is
defined as anything with a roof and four walls, you’ve got an
instant cash cow. Have you seen those new luxury, gated, student
apartments complete with workout rooms, swimming pools, and sauna?
But the biggest rip-off on college campuses these days continues to
be the books. Oh—My—Goodness! Being the father of four, two in
college now, one just graduated, and one more to go, I know first
hand the book lament. For Freshmen Chemistry One the textbook will
set you back $150.00. The lab manual is another $55.00. Specialized
books for engineering or medical classes are even higher. The Gross
Anatomy book now runs $225.00. It’s gotten so bad that more and more
students are opting not to buy the books and fighting it out in the
library for the few copies that have a habit of disappearing
mid-session. According to The Scholarship Workshop Online, textbooks
for the 2001-02 school year averaged $850. Just three years later,
the cost for the same books will be $1050. That is a huge jump for
college students who are so often cash strapped, not to mention the
parents who are taking every extra job they can to help ends meet.
Of course, it only gets worse once you buy the books at full price.
You have to hold your jaw in place when the store clerk offers you
$35.00 for that $170 American History text. And then, the store
turns around and resells your book for $125.00. These are real
numbers from two universities in my state of Florida.
Students are also slammed thanks to every changing technology. Book
publishers used to offer new editions of textbooks about once every
seven years. Thanks to computers which allow publishers to quickly
add additional material, the average lifespan of a college textbook
has been reduced to 3 years, or less. In other words, if a textbook
isn’t sold back to someone within 3 years it’s money down the drain.
Don’t get me wrong! Some professors are sympathetic to the plight of
students. They should be applauded for their integrity. But I also
know that professors are encouraged, no, in some cases, required to
generate their own books or booklets that can be used to generate
revenue. Can you think of a better way to make money for your school
than publishing a textbook.? Once you are in print you have a
captive audience year after year after year.
I know of one example of a professor who put together a 50-page
workbook for an advanced biology class at the university who’s
mascot lives in The Swamp. It was all black and white on cheap
lightweight copy paper. It looked like someone had taken the
original and spent an evening at a copy machine that was low on ink.
It was held together in a plain blue binder from Office Depot. It
also included a poorly produced slide show on a CD. The professor
required each of the 300 students to purchase this substandard
document for $100. You do the math. Three sessions a year with 300
students in each class equals $90,000 from that one professor alone.
A source at the university, who shall go unnamed, says all of the
professors are encouraged to put together these kinds of lecture
notes or study packs. Regardless of the quality of the printing or
the educational value of these required manuals, the professor was
told the suggested price should be $100. He also says the cost to
produce the booklets is generally under $5.00. I’ve confirmed the
same practice at three other state institutions of higher learning.
What a crock!
Fortunately, there are alternatives for the industrious and those
that plan ahead. Too bad most college students don’t fit into that
category. You can try advertising in the local school paper, or
posting notes in your dorm. One kid I know goes to the first day of
the classes and stands outside the door offering to sell his books
to students who haven’t bought theirs yet. That’s a lot of work but
so far it has paid off.
Here’s another solution that seems to be gaining popularity, again
if you have the time: the Internet. There are lots of places that
offer to sell you new or used books at a huge 50 percent discount or
more. One of the best is textbookx.com. Once you get your schedule
you enter the ISBN number into the search engine and away you go. Do
a Google search for other websites or ask some other students who’ve
had success with the Internet.
Good luck to you! I still think it stinks that universities don’t
actively attempt to hold the prices down on textbooks. But, as it is
in the real world, if you don’t look out for yourself there is
always someone willing to separate you from your hard earned cash.,
especially if it’s your alma matter.
