4 Textbook Alternatives For When You Can't Afford the Book

By Kaitlin Hurtado on September 4, 2018

As much as you would hope the steep price of college textbooks is just another typical college myth that becomes debunked when you go through your own college experience, it is often the very sad truth. College textbooks are typically on the pricier side or may seem cheap individually, but after adding up all the added costs each semester, you will figure out you are shelling out quite a hefty amount of money at the beginning of every term.

While some are lucky enough to have financial aid cover the cost of textbooks, others may not be so lucky when it comes to being able to afford their college textbooks. Don’t spend too much time moping or fretting about failing a class because you cannot afford the course textbook, there are always college textbook alternatives. If you find yourself unable to afford a college textbook, here are some textbooks alternatives to consider the next time you are looking for books.

books in bookcase

Image via pixabay.com

Share textbooks with classmates

The first textbook alternative that may come to mind is the possibility of sharing textbooks with your classmates. There are multiple pros and cons to this textbook alternative.

One pro is that it will encourage you to plan your study time accordingly. You have a limited amount of time with the book, so you should plan ahead of time to see when is the best time for you to use the textbook. Another positive is that you are most likely going to be studying in groups, which will encourage you to make use of your studying time to ask possible questions or collaborate on projects when you are sharing a book with one classmate, or multiple.

One con is that you will not have full access to the book. When you are sharing your textbook, you need to be aware that you need to split time with others that are using the book. This means you have to trust others to take care of the textbook and also be reliable when it comes to bringing it when you need it. This con can be minimized when you live with the people you are sharing the textbook with as you can keep the textbook in common areas to have it accessible to everyone.

Use the textbook on reserve in the library 

For many courses, your professor may already have the necessary course textbook on reserve in the campus library. If you are lucky, there are multiple. It depends on your campus library’s policy, but you usually will be able to check out the book for an hour or two to use in the library (some even let you take it outside of the library) so that you can use it however you want.

You can complete the necessary readings each week, or look up specific information during your checked out window. You can even bring the textbook to photocopy the necessary pages you need so that you can have access to the parts of the textbooks you need outside of the library. The photocopy option is most often much cheaper than the amount of money you would spend on buying the textbook for yourself. Yes, photocopying multiple pages can be tedious, but if you are desperate for textbook access, it will be worth it.

Rent the digital version of the textbook

While you may not be able to buy a course textbook at full price, a great textbook alternative is to rent the digital version for a drastically lower price. The price change varies textbook to textbook, but you would be surprised how digital options can be much more budget-friendly.

But what about those studies that say you learn more from reading the hard copy of the textbook? Your reading and studying experience are what you make of it. Having a tablet like an iPad or eReader can help mirror a real book immensely and be a lot more efficient when you can carry multiple books on your digital device instead of lugging around several heavy physical textbooks. If you can, try printing out the readings you need to do if you would want to mark the text up like you would with traditional textbooks.

Try getting by without the textbook

If it’s your last option, try getting by without the textbook. Unfortunately, some professors do recommend textbooks without saying that you don’t necessarily need them. Yes, they contribute as learning material, but they are not ultimately responsible for your success in the course.

Some professors will disclose this at the beginning of the term, or you can ask previous students what their experience was with the course textbook and if it really was worth the high cost.

As ideal as it sounds to have every assigned college textbook at your disposal, it is not very ideal for every college student’s budget. Don’t spend extra time worrying about how you cannot afford the necessary course textbooks. Instead, try these textbook alternatives to help you with your future studying.

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