Half.com

When you go on your campus visit to Drake, make sure to stop by the bookstore. As if you'd forget to do so....

But don't get too carried away with all of the fun Drake things they have when you walk in. Make sure you and your armload of sweatshirts make it downstairs. This is where the actual books are kept. After all, they can't call it a bookstore if they don't have any real books.

Granted this area is considerably less exciting than the other floor. You're excited about starting college, but aren't ready to think about the academic responsibilities that come along with that. Regardless, you should take a gander.

Walk up and down the shelves and pick up a book or two and allow your eye to fall on the bright yellow sticker with the price on it. And allow your heart to sink. OH MY GOODNESS ALMOST SEVENTY DOLLARS FOR A USED BOOK!?!?! Are they out of their MINDS!?!?! Like I'm not paying enough for tuition, they want me to spend almost three hundred dollars on books, too!?!?!

Puh-lease.

I don't know about you, but I'm not about to shell out seventy clams for a book that is required for a class I'm being forced to take as a part of Drake's basic curriculum. That's not gonna fly.

Lucky for you, I'm going to tell you how to get the books you need -- for cheap. The bookstore would discourage me from disclosing this information to you, but you're going to be a poor college student and I think you deserve to know.

Half.com

It's run by e bay and, among other things, college students go there to sell their old textbooks for a mere fraction of the price you'll find them for at the bookstore.

Here's what you have to do...

1. Register for your classes at orientation
2. Access your schedule through mydusis
3. Take note of the professors you're going to have
4. E mail them a note something like this

Hello! My name is (name) and I'll be in your (whatever class) this semester. I was wondering if you could tell me what books we'll need so I can go ahead and find them online. Thank you!
(Name)

5. Wait for the reply
6. Go find your books online

All of my professors were more than happy to oblige. Heck, they think the bookstore prices are outrageous, too! Besides, it's not like they get commission or anything like that.

Oh, here's one last tip: make sure that when you are searching for your books, that you take note of the edition you need. Because nothing's worse than showing up to class with the wrong edition.

Most books can be found online. I think I only had to buy one of mine at the bookstore. Seventy dollars is still a lot of money, but it didn't hurt so bad considering I found all my others so cheap.

Here's another place you can go to find cheap books: www.bulldogbookexchange.com This site is specifically to sell and buy books among the Drake community. You can go online, find the class you're taking and everybody who is selling a book from that class will show up. Then you just arrange somewhere to meet (like in Olmstead) and either exchange books or buy theirs. It works out pretty well.

Happy hunting!