I don't think I speak for myself when I say the cost of attending a four year public or private University has skyrocketed over the past couple of years. It is an unfortunate fact that college has become one of the most expensive luxuries and, more recently, the necessities of this day and age. Students all over the world can spend upwards of a few thousand dollars applying to colleges alone, that's including sending out standardized test scores, additional materials for portfolios, the college and university application fees etc.etc. Some forms of financial aid - ( The CSS profile) - require you to pay money to send out your application! Think about that, you have to pay money to ask for money!
All of this, of course, doesn't include when the student actually arrives at college and is now responsible for paying for textbooks, lab equipment, access codes, the list goes on and on. It costs even more if you choose to live in a dorm because you have to furnish your side of the room. Things like mattress pads, desk lamps, storage containers, wall decals, and other dorm decorations could set you back a few hundred dollars. Now, I'm not saying that you have to decorate your dorm, but most choose to do so because it is going to be your living space for a while and it might as well feel comfortable. Having been through one year of college and seeing the numerous ways in which I could've saved money, I've decided to compile a list to hopefully help you save money and make college a little ( and by little I mean infinitesimal ) less expensive.
Ebay Ebay Ebay
I feel in the modern world of amazon rentals and used textbooks from the bookstore, eBay has become this forgotten gem that will more than likely carry every book you need. For one you can choose to negotiate the price for a book. For example a class I am taking this semester is called Theories of Personality. When I looked at the textbook information for the class I saw that the book cost almost $190. To show how expensive that is, think about 21 burritos from chipotle. Yeah. That's expensive. I found the book on eBay for $25 dollars, I asked for the price to be lowered to $20 and the seller complied. I am now the proud owner of a slightly water damaged copy of Theories of Personality, tenth edition.
Facebook Market
Earlier this year, Facebook introduced a cool new feature called the Facebook market where people could sell old things that they no longer used or needed on the Facebook platform for a reduced price. Because I live in a city where there are literally hundreds of colleges, students were more then eager to sell textbooks or dorm essentials that they didn't use and no longer needed to incoming or retiring students. Just put in lamp or the name of a textbook you need and I'm sure a myriad of options will pop up.
Can we go thrift shopping ?
Not gonna lie but this one is a long shot. The thing to remember with thrift shops is that there is no guarantee your going to find what you need, but if you have some extra time and want to take a chance, this is the mecca for all things books. I found another psych textbook I needed for $1. University price? $200. Chipotle burritos able to buy for the university price? 22. This is F***ing awesome.
