Books

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sheriff3

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DS ordered books for this semester last night. :eek: Bookstore total price $597, combination of bookstore and Amazon $397. :thumb: I know AROTC gives $1200 annually for books. Can someone please tell me how the process works? (Assuming he passes the AFPT and contracts next week)

Does he get a check for $600 for this semester and $600 at the next semester?

$1200 all at once.

Reimbursed based on the receipts he presents?

Is the reimbursement in the form of a check or is his student account credited? (That would be a problem in that the bookstore and Amazon will only take CC for payments).

Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.
 
It is $600 per semester, and is direct deposited to your DS's bank account in the same manner as the monthly stipend. No receipts are necessary - it's $600 regardless of the actual cost. My son used his book money to buy an iPad and download E books.

If he hasn't yet validated his scholarship, the deposit will be made after he does. FYI My son's book money is usually in his account within the first week or so of the semester.
 
On a related note, I am appalled by the cost of text books now! My son just ordered his and some of them were not even bound additions! $187.00 / EACH and he has to provide the notebook for two of them! I also noticed that some of them were "specific" to his University so he couldn't even purchase them via Amazon or anywhere else.

Looks like another racket to raise money for the University to me.
 
My sons learned after the first semester to wait until they started their classes before buying books, for the classes that listed multiple books. They found out that the professors did not always use all the books that were listed for the class. They both had Amazon Prime and could get what they actually needed in two days. This ended up saving a lot of money. Some classes that required a book with a computer code had to be purchased up front, others they could wait on.
 
On a good note, DS was able to sell back at the end of the year for about 30% what he paid for them!
 
Just a small alibi, if he or she is a nursing cadet they get all 1200 at once.
 
I think many colleges now do rentals. I don't know of many that don't. My kids at 3 different schools all had the option of rentals.

However, I think many people don't know that rentals exist. I know our DD rented some of her books this yr via Amazon. They shipped it to her, and when she needed to return it she went back online to print up the free shipping label and the only cost we paid was a crush proof envelope.

Our kids only bought new books if forced. Otherwise they purchased used or rentals or downloads.

The one thing our youngest two have been allowed to do that is even cheaper than rentals is they could download the books on their kindles too. One book for our DD was 80 bucks, the download was @15. However, you can only have that option at their bookstore on campus. Not sure, but I think it is due to the fact that the school has control over it. I.E. student i.d number and registering your account with them. IOTW, my DD can't send it to our DS's kindle from her laptop.

Finally, our kids never buy their books until they got back to school because what Jcleppe posted already.

JMPO, I have always told my kids to buy used. The person before you already helped you out by highlighting things for you...it is kind of like speed reading now.:wink:
 
Hell, even *I* never bought new and that was... let me see... 42 years ago! They were too expensive then too! DS rents, buys used, or gets e-books whenever possible.
 
Jcleppe said:
My sons learned after the first semester to wait until they started their classes before buying books, for the classes that listed multiple books. They found out that the professors did not always use all the books that were listed for the class. They both had Amazon Prime and could get what they actually needed in two days. This ended up saving a lot of money. Some classes that required a book with a computer code had to be purchased up front, others they could wait on.
Click to expand...
+1 I've seen so many people at my school sucked into that trap.

Curious though - has anyone, or their DS/DD ever keep their books, rather than resell them? Ie: keeping Calc I book to reference in Calc II, III etc?

Also another thing you could consider if possible; at least at my school - my school has an engineering library which, from what I've been told, has all of the textbooks ever used by any professor (at least the core courses) which can be rented out for 2 hour time frames. So basically you could rent them out every day as necessary to do homework, etc. Something for incoming cadets to look into.
 
Thompson said:
Also another thing you could consider if possible; at least at my school - my school has an engineering library which, from what I've been told, has all of the textbooks ever used by any professor (at least the core courses) which can be rented out for 2 hour time frames. So basically you could rent them out every day as necessary to do homework, etc. Something for incoming cadets to look into.
Click to expand...

LMAO. Yeah, I'm sure they have enough books there to accommodate all students who want to rent, whenever they want to rent it. :rolleyes:
 
Thompson said:
+1 I've seen so many people at my school sucked into that trap.

Curious though - has anyone, or their DS/DD ever keep their books, rather than resell them? Ie: keeping Calc I book to reference in Calc II, III etc?

Also another thing you could consider if possible; at least at my school - my school has an engineering library which, from what I've been told, has all of the textbooks ever used by any professor (at least the core courses) which can be rented out for 2 hour time frames. So basically you could rent them out every day as necessary to do homework, etc. Something for incoming cadets to look into.
Click to expand...
Those books used to be chiseled into stone tablets back when some of us were in college and Al Gore hadn't got the internet up and running yet, but yes I kept many of my in major books. Most of the books I kept were upper division classes. There are a few of them I still reference occasionally.
For a mechanical engineer a lot of things don't change. The information in those books is still valid today. I also remember utilizing books from junior level classes when I was taking senior level classes.

Today much of this information is readily available on the internet, so having those texts to reference back to may be less important but I know exactly where that equation or whatever is in my fluid dynamics book.
 
Thompson said:
+1 I've seen so many people at my school sucked into that trap.

Curious though - has anyone, or their DS/DD ever keep their books, rather than resell them? Ie: keeping Calc I book to reference in Calc II, III etc?

Also another thing you could consider if possible; at least at my school - my school has an engineering library which, from what I've been told, has all of the textbooks ever used by any professor (at least the core courses) which can be rented out for 2 hour time frames. So basically you could rent them out every day as necessary to do homework, etc. Something for incoming cadets to look into.
Click to expand...

I actually keep nearly all my books. If it is a fringe class not related to my degree like English I just rent, or buy on amazon if its cheaper (once got a textbook for my govn't class for $2.69!). Idk, there's something about selling a book worth over $200 back for 20% of the original price that really bothers me. Sometimes you meet someone who is taking a class you've already taken and they're doing the same, so you can work out a trade, I've done that before.

As for the rent for 2 hrs thing, I wouldnt seriously consider that option because if you think your going to only need to have access to your textbooks for 2 hrs at a time to do your engineering hw you will have a pretty frustrating 1st semester lol. My school's library has the same policy and I use it when I don't feel like lugging my textbooks around, but there is no grantee they will have the books you need available, or even at all for that matter. College is a business, and a large part of that business is changing up the textbooks constantly and coming out with "new" editions (which are really all the same except that some of the chapters are in a diff. Order:rolleyes:). There is no way your school gives you access to ALL or even most the books for the core classes you will take. It is best to find your CALC book online and buy it the cheapest you can cause, more likely than not, you will use that same book for CALC I - III. Which is the great thing about math classes, at least at my university, they like to all talk to each other and pick a book you can use for the rest of the classes in your particular math sequence. Unlike science classes where you have a different book for every professor so it doesn't make as much sense to keep the books except for reference. And even that is hypothetical. Idk about you Thompson, but the number of times I looked back at my phys 1 & 2 books this year after the class was over is zero.

It's really up to the person what they want to do, but know that your fellow cadets are great resources. Sometimes they're TAs for a class your taking or have already taken a class and can give you a deal on a book. I bought a CS book that was over $100, even on amazon off a cadet for $40. :thumb:
 
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