The More You Know

A Year’s Worth Of Textbooks Cost As Much As A Mac Air [INFOGRAPHIC]

Even in our struggling economy, it’s a good time to be out of school. Textbook prices are insane, according to a new infographic, which reveals that college kids spend $900 per year on books, and with that exact amount of money they could purchase a Mac Air. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a lightweight laptop than a stack of heavy books I may never use.

The infographic, which was made by OnlineEducation.net, attests that “publishing companies have been having their way with college students for far too long” and that the average book ($175) is the same cost as a month’s worth of groceries. Don’t think class instructors are unaware of all this, though. Seventy-seven percent of professors say publishers rarely or never disclose prices, so don’t blame your teacher if he/she asks you to buy a $500 book for a specific course. Fortunately, there are ways of going around the awful system. You can opt for used books, which can be up to fifty percent cheaper than new ones. As to be expected, they sell out faster than new books and only comprise 25 percent of textbooks offered.

Some schools have a textbook renting program, and while it’s not available at all institutions, I’m guessing this is going to have to change over the next twenty years, especially with our tendency to go digital. Almost 100 percent of students said they’d rent if they could, so by all means publishers, make this possible so we can all put money toward new laptops instead of books that will only collect dust on our dorm room shelves.

TAGS: textbook costs | textbooks

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