College Textbook Cost

Specific Purpose Statement: To persuade my audience to take a stand and change how expensive purchasing textbooks are at Colorado State University.

Similar to college, my private school did not provide free textbooks. Instead of spending almost $800 each year on textbooks, I utilized E-books-- the electronic version of a printed book. E-books are affordable and lightweight substitutes. During high school and college, the Internet saved me from spending thousands of dollars and experiencing occasional backache.

Attention-getter: How much money have you spent just this year alone on college? Hold on now, did you include all the fees? Living expenses? Your meal plan? Obvioulsy the answer is going to be in the upwards of thousands of dollars. Depressing, I know! College should be a time where you are truly discovering who you are and what you want to do with your life. It shouldn’t be about how you’re slowly but surely giving your life away to student loans. Oh yes, student loans, the mortal enemy of any college student. The college tuition alone is already high enough to put you in debt with student loans for a majority of your life. There are many things that factor into the price of a college education, some reasonable, others however, are a different story. Today, I want to talk to you about the scam that is going on concerning the price of college textbooks. An interesting statistic by The Huffington Post tells us that the cost of college textbooks has increased 253% faster than the cost of college tuition over the decade. How come college textbooks are so expensive? And what can we do to stop this? Well let’s get into it shall we.

Students are struggling to pay for these expensive books and it is causing some of them to not be able to attend college. Most people already know that going to a higher level of school or college is important, it provides many opportunities and advantages. Attending a college will not only help people better themselves but it will help the person going to school in the long run. College helps with getting a future career, it helps with furthering a student's education, and it also teaches students valuable life lessons. When a student is trying to better themselves by going to school, they should not have to pay over $500 for textbooks every semester when they are already paying thousands of dollars on tuition.

The number one stress causer of most students is the cost of books. Books can range anywhere from sixty dollars up to around three hundred. In a survey it is shown that students pay up to $1,200 a year just on books! On books. Nothing more. Many teachers pick their books, not the school. Why do the teachers pick some of the most expensive when there are other books with the same information that cost almost half the price? Due to this, many resort to renting books but on some websites it cost just as much as the new price. Though financial aid is an option to help with this overpriced ordeal, it doesn’t always cover

For decades, the options of renting apartments, cars, and movies. Renting allows the person in mind to enjoy goods while they need them and return them when they are no longer useful. However, can renting textbooks actually be worth it for students?

By looking at these examples in the bigger picture, the vicious cycle created by publishers becomes evident. Students find themselves forced to buy the books the professors assign, they must buy them new in order to get special access codes, and then they have difficulty selling the books back. Not to mention the fact that the release of newer editions can leave many students stuck with a book they do not want and more debt they cannot afford. This cycle created by publishers works by continuously finding new ways to charge students full price for textbooks while simultaneously finding ways to release newer editions on an almost semester-by-semester basis. The result: increased textbook prices and an increasing financial burden on students.

Are you a college student who “breaks the bank” just satisfy a syllabus by purchasing a textbook that cost a small fortune? These are the time to take actions and explore possibilities by subsidizing or putting a stop to costly textbooks. College books are becoming so expensive that students are risking their grade by not purchasing one for the semester. This financial burden is common throughout the United States and there should be more programs to allow students to become successful without having to stress about purchasing or renting a book. Students also rely on borrowing or sacrifice quality by not buying a textbook in order to be successful without the necessary book. Over the last 30 years, the value of college textbooks have risen

As shown, the average amount a student pays for college tuition is extremely high and to add the price of textbooks to that budget is unsettling. As a result, students are faced with grim decisions when paying for their tuition as well as the price of college textbooks. Furthermore, some of the decisions that students make include not buying the textbook altogether. For instance, in a government PIRG report, “Fixing the Broken Textbook Market," a statistics showcasing students reveals that, “65 percent said they had decided against buying a textbook because it was too expensive; Nearly half (48 percent) said the cost of books had an impact on how many or which classes they took; 94

College students and their families have every right to be outraged at the cost of rising tuition. In today’s society, it is extremely important for one to seek higher education in order to succeed in the world today; this is why college students and their families are doing everything possible to finance the cost of college. An example of this is retired pitcher Don Larsen, of the Brooklyn Dodger, auctioning off the last pitched ball, and the glove he wore that day would pay for his grandchildren’s college education. The rising cost of college tuition is having a costly impact on many students and their families, local employers, and educational institutions (Hicky).

Along with high prices come high consequences. The extreme prices of textbooks have caused some students to skip out on the appointed book. Educators get to choose the book of focus, and the paying student has no choice but to buy that book, or risk a low grade by opting out. (ksl.com) In fact, some students are sharing book content with peers, illegally downloading material, and some have just gone without

One of the main reasons why college textbooks are so expensive is because they are overpriced. The publishers set the prices. The bookstore has no control. The publishers of the textbooks are in the habit of bringing new editions quite frequently. Most students hesitate to buy old editions fearing that they will miss out on

Government funding in the form of subsidies serves to create artificial inflation. This manipulates the supply and demand curve in such a way that keep prices on the path of raising exponentially. Continued support of the federal government to cover students' tuition, leaves institutions unconcerned with how they will manage to fill all their seats. Colleges and universities simply lack the need to cut costs by any extreme that will see any real difference in budget plans each year. Thus, the cost of education continues to

`One reason college textbooks should be free is because how expensive they are. The price of a college textbook can start at a hundred dollars. Most students are required to have a few textbooks each semester. So the prices of each textbook will add up and may cost over a few hundred

Electronic textbooks are more portable and convenient as they can be accessed by a tablet, downloaded onto a computer or accessed via the internet. The technological benefits available on an electronic textbook are endless. The audio and video capabilities will liven up learning and change the way students understand and retain the material. The emergence of three-dimensional technology may also play a role in the near future. In addition, digital textbooks are much more user friendly. Studying for tests will be more efficient as highlighted notes can be easily transferred into electronic note cards for memorization. The main downside to electronic textbooks is that students will have to purchase a reading device, tablet, laptop or smartphone in order to view digital textbooks away from home or on the go. Most college students have already made this investment prior to starting college.