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What is the best advice when it comes to spend money on book and supplies for college?

Best places to buy books online for less or is renting a better option. #money #college #education

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Ken’s Answer

Two important things to keep in mind when in college.

  • determine early on what you career area might be, so that you can prepare an educational route that will be most effective and economical for you
  • get to know ways that you can reduce college costs.

Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
• It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
Here are some very good tips on reducing the costs of college. Too many people spend way to much money on college and end up with needlessly high debt: ## http://www.educationplanner.org/students/paying-for-school/ways-to-pay/reduce-college-costs.shtml ##
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Sonya’s Answer

Hi Isabel,

E-Books are the way to go if it's offered. If not I opted for used books through the College bookstore and compared that to what I could find on Amazon. Be sure you are getting the edition of the book that is required for your class since an older version may be outdated or lacking critical information you may need. I took good care of my books so no marking or highlighting so I was able to resell the paper books back to the College bookstore if they were buying back that edition.

I also compared prices with bookstores at other colleges since I was taking classes at two colleges simultaneously.


For other non-book supplies depending on your needs you can check local art stores, warehouses specialty or surplus stores or partner up with other college students to buy directly from them any supplies they may no longer be using. Start thinking ahead for what you may need and buy it when you find a good deal.
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Michelle’s Answer

Hello, Isabel H. There are many websites out there that sell textbooks. Here is a website to begin with :

https://study.com/articles/Where_to_Find_Free_and_Low-Cost_Textbooks.html

On that website, there are listings of sites to buy low cost and also obtain some free textbooks. I sure do hope that it connects you to even more useful resources. Best wishes.
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Rachel’s Answer

Hi Isabel,

I bought a lot of my college textbooks online for less at https://www.abebooks.com. I chose to buy some of my major specific books so I could highlight sections and reference after college. Renting is a great option for textbooks you won't use a lot or won't need after the semester is over.

~Rachel
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