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Bay Area college bargains: there are more than you think

  • July 21st, 2010 9:40 pm PT
Students save with college coupons
Photo: freemania.net

Being a college student in the San Francisco area is hard in today’s economy. There are expenses for everything and you have little money. By the time you have bought the books you need for class, there doesn’t seem to be enough to cover all the other necessities. Although you are cash strapped, there is no need to skip that trip home for thanksgiving in order to cover the rent. Keeping an eye out for bargains and college discounts will allow you to save some extra cash and see grandma over the holidays.

College Books

Let’s face it; prices at the campus bookstore are outrageous. Most students who attend colleges on a semester system take four to six classes every semester. With the average price of textbooks around 100 dollars per textbook, that brings just the book fees up from $800 to $1,200 every year. Buying textbooks are many students’ greatest expense throughout the year. As the prices of textbooks continue to soar, many students are turning to some great money saving alternatives. Some great alternatives include buying books online, buying ebooks, and even renting textbooks.

While purchasing books online, you want to jot down the ISBN numbers and prices of the textbooks required for your classes at your campus book store. Then go online and compare prices on different websites like Amazon or eBay. Shopping sites that compare the price of textbooks from different market places like College Textbooks is also a great resource.

Another great alternative is to buy ebooks. Textbook publishers like Cengage Learning, Pearson, McGraw Hill Education and Bedford, John Wiley & Sons Inc., and Freeman & Worth Publishing Group have made their textbooks available for a fraction of the cost through the ebook. You may want to check out Course Smart and compare the prices of buying a used book and buying an ebook. Similar to buying textbooks in the ebook format, many students are trying out iChapters. Like CourseSmart, iChapter also offers textbooks in cheaper ebook format. The twist is, however, textbooks are sold chapter by chapter for prices as low as $1.99.

Renting textbooks has also become hugely popular. Websites that provide chegg coupons allow you to rent textbooks for the semester for a fraction what a textbook may actually cost you. Although the potential savings are great, remember to return your book on time if you do choose to rent. There may be heavy late fee charges if you forget to return your book.

Entertainment

Not all fun activities are costly. There are many great inexpensive ways to have fun.
You may want to head to your local Redbox instead of going to the movie theatres if you and your friends are feeling like a movie. Redbox is a dvd rental service that allows you to rent the latest movies for one day for just one dollar. If you are really itching to see a movie in theatres, another option to paying full price is going to the matinee. The matinee is the day’s first showing of the movie. Matinee prices are usually discounted up to 50%.

Keep an eye out for free events around campus. Many colleges organize free events and have free food for their students. Bring your friends and meet new people. Participating in events around campus is a great way to get involved and meet new friends. To capture those special college moments, you can always use a Newegg promo code to save on a digital camera.

Regardless of the circumstance, event, or occasion, college students do have a way to save money and many of them are taking advantage of them. Finding these coupons online can mean saving thousands of dollars in books, meals, cloths, and much more. As the internet continues to grow, students will become more savvy at finding the right bargains.

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