Textbook costs inch close to tuition fees
Meg Shaw
Issue date: 2/1/06 Section: News
Coming from high school where the cost of a text book is unknown to the receiver, a student makes the jump to college where textbooks can cost over 100 dollars.
But what choice do they have but to pay half of their education in tuition and the other half in textbooks? One can decide not to buy books, and walk the line many college students do; time share a book, two hour check-out of books at the library, or even photo copy (photo copying a textbook cost almost as much as buying the book itself).
Students decide how much to spend on books, tuition and general supplies based on what major they choose. They choose majors based on finding what they believe will make them happy, how much they will make when they are finished, or they even just pick a major so that they will no longer be labeled as "undecided."
Paying for a college education has become increasingly expensive over the years.
Guy Boss, Textbook Manager of Glendale Community College's (GCC) bookstore, remembers a time when books for an entire semester cost him $45.
However, that was 40 years ago. Today, students are lucky to find a textbook that costs so little.
When in college, Boss majored in architectural design. He recalled when he wanted a book for one of his courses and it was going to cost $4.75.
He began calculating how many meals he could skip so that he could buy the book. It was a second part of a book he already owned and he desperately wanted it.
After figuring how much he could save if he didn't buy a soda or snack in the afternoon, he was able to purchase the book.
Even if students were to cut back on the extra shots of espresso from Starbucks or from Grounds for Thought, they could never save enough to pay for the books needed in a given semester.
How much of a dent should our major make in our wallets?
The costs of books have gone up because publishers are always releasing new editions of the same books, publishers force students to buy new books rather than the old, because their professors receive free editions to use in the classroom.
But what choice do they have but to pay half of their education in tuition and the other half in textbooks? One can decide not to buy books, and walk the line many college students do; time share a book, two hour check-out of books at the library, or even photo copy (photo copying a textbook cost almost as much as buying the book itself).
Students decide how much to spend on books, tuition and general supplies based on what major they choose. They choose majors based on finding what they believe will make them happy, how much they will make when they are finished, or they even just pick a major so that they will no longer be labeled as "undecided."
Paying for a college education has become increasingly expensive over the years.
Guy Boss, Textbook Manager of Glendale Community College's (GCC) bookstore, remembers a time when books for an entire semester cost him $45.
However, that was 40 years ago. Today, students are lucky to find a textbook that costs so little.
When in college, Boss majored in architectural design. He recalled when he wanted a book for one of his courses and it was going to cost $4.75.
He began calculating how many meals he could skip so that he could buy the book. It was a second part of a book he already owned and he desperately wanted it.
After figuring how much he could save if he didn't buy a soda or snack in the afternoon, he was able to purchase the book.
Even if students were to cut back on the extra shots of espresso from Starbucks or from Grounds for Thought, they could never save enough to pay for the books needed in a given semester.
How much of a dent should our major make in our wallets?
The costs of books have gone up because publishers are always releasing new editions of the same books, publishers force students to buy new books rather than the old, because their professors receive free editions to use in the classroom.