As a college senior almost in my last semester, my parents and I have paid thousands of dollars per semester for tuition. We have also had to pay astronomical prices for textbooks.
Sometimes, the prices were so high, I had difficulty affording my books and had to go without them. From personal experience, I know students are not able to do as well without textbooks.
The only people benefiting from the rising costs of textbooks are the publishing companies that control the market and the prices. If you want students to do well and turn into successful adults with careers, we should urge publishers to lower the price of textbooks.
The College Board reported that on average, a student at a four-year college or university pays about $1,200 per year on textbooks. The price has jumped 812 percent since 1978. As a science major, I have found that an individual book can cost up to $300. This means that along with worrying about how much we have to pay for tuition each year, we have to worry about how we are going to afford the next round of books.
Buying used books is not always an option because professors specify newer editions that contain updated information. New editions come bundled with CDs and online codes to figures and tables that are already in the book, or to homework problems that most professors don’t use. In four years, I have used an online code only twice. Yet, these so-called extras inflate the prices of the books.
And the speed at which new editions of textbooks are being released makes it difficult for students to sell books back. Even if students are able to sell back their books, they receive on average 75 percent less than what they paid. I purchased a book for $290 and was offered $45 for selling it back to a publisher.
Some textbooks have e-book or online versions available at reduced cost, but these versions can be more difficult to use and encourage distraction because a student would have to use them on a computer.
Many students receive scholarships, but the awards don’t cover books. If they do, the cost of the book is sometimes refunded to the student after the book is purchased. Often, science classes require that students have their books on the first day of class, which means paying out of pocket for a $300 book is your only option.
Five publishers dominate the textbook market, so there’s not a true competitive marketplace. The price of textbooks should be reduced because the majority of students — who are also dealing with rising tuition costs — simply cannot afford them. Colleges and students should urge publishers to make an effort to reduce the price of textbooks.
