Finding Cheap, Accessible Textbooks You Can Afford
University textbooks are becoming increasingly expensive, with some reports citing a 186% increase in prices over the last 20 years.  If you take a standard load of 4-6 classes, you might be required to obtain as many 25-30 books per semester.  And it’s not unreasonable for the average price of these books to hover around $60 a title (sometimes more…especially for science classes).  That’s nearly $1,800 in unanticipated costs that you have to tack onto your tuition fees.  Your school bookstore might indeed have the cheapest prices in town, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find better deals if you do a little research.

Buy Used Textbooks
Try to find students from previous years who took the same classes.  Often, they’ll be willing to charge you 50% off the cover price.  Even if the book is an earlier edition, the savings might be worth it.

Shop Online
If you Google the ISBN number, you might be able to find used, discounted, or overstocked versions at online retailers.  Even Amazon offers many used books, but it is by no means the cheapest alternative.

Check the Copyright Dates
Many books are no longer under copyright protection.  You might be able to copy these legally.  If not, you may be able to find them on free sites like Bartleby.

Lastly, use your school library.  This option is so obvious that many students overlook it entirely.  If your university library is out of stock, check with your local public library.  You can sometimes even make special long-term loan arrangements.  Just be sure to get the reading list as soon as possible so you can beat out the competition.