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How much do uni textbooks cost?

For chemistry specifically. I need to know how much it costs so I know if I can still afford to apply for catered halls (I think I'll have 100~ leftover if I don't get a job, which hopefully I will).

Reply 1

Clioashlee

13

A LOT.

It's often worth waiting until you get to uni, finding out which ones are the most useful, buying only one or two (second hand) and making yourself acquainted with the library.

Reply 2

manic_fuzz

17

I think it really depends upon how resourceful your uni library is, I personally haven't bought any textbooks at all, and nor do I plan to. Especially considering that some of the larger textbooks can cost up to like £50 :K:

Reply 3

malteser87

Yes you could spend £60+ on a single book. Some run into the hundreds! Plenty of people sell on their second hand books, there's websites like abebooks.com that enable you to get the best bargains and always as soon as you get your reading list visit the library and check those books out before anyone else! :smile:

good luck!

Reply 4

Ras17

10

I'm doing Law and I had to spend over £100 on first year books alone. I'm not specifically sure for Chemistry, unfortunately.

Reply 5

Ronove

18

Library. Library library library.

Reply 6

eugenius 8

19

or get 2nd hand books then sell them at the end of the year

Reply 7

InadequateJusticex

OP

18

Thanks to everyone who contributed but I'm sorry to say im only really interested in finding out chemistry textbook prices and no other subject as I'll never have to buy law or economics textbooks for example :redface:

How resourceful is the library in Bristol (does it even have a huge one if any? :s-smilie:

)

Reply 8

Ronove

18

Original post by InadequateJusticex

Thanks to everyone who contributed but I'm sorry to say im only really interested in finding out chemistry textbook prices and no other subject as I'll never have to buy law or economics textbooks for example :redface:

How resourceful is the library in Bristol (does it even have a huge one if any? :s-smilie:

)

I can only say that my Chemistry housemate didn't have the money to spend on textbooks and she managed. She may have had one or two of her own but I dunno. The ASS library (harhar) was well stocked when it came to books on topics but any required reading severely lacked copies. They got pretty good at putting books in the Short Loan Collection if they were notified of a problem though. The Short Loan Collection is in a room in the library that has certain core texts and you can book an hour or two with a specific book, or borrow it overnight/over the weekend, though it has to be returned promptly by 12 noon or so or the fines get crazy. I don't know what the library is like for Chemistry but I assume it's reasonable. I can't imagine there are quite as many possible variants on set texts etc as in the Arts either, so I presume their library is stocked with more duplicates than the ASS was.

Edit: PS it's a university, of course it's got a bloody big library, multiple in fact. :tongue:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 9

Clip

19

Call me a dangerous lunatic, but I've just had a mad plan. Instead of asking the same question over and over, maybe you could look up the prices???

Sounds crazy and desperate, but it just might work.

Reply 10

Origami Bullets

19

If you mean that you will only have £100 per year / term after paying for halls, then regardless of the cost of textbooks you can't afford to live in halls. Consider the cost of public transport (both local and getting the train when you go home), food (because catered doesn't normally offer 21 meals a week), nights out, clothing and stationery. It's just not doable, regardless of the cost of textbooks.

Reply 11

Mother_Russia

14

I would really think you're pushing it with £100 if that's all you have left over after accommodation, just as origami said.

But as others have said. Definitely buy second hand. You can get books for a fraction of the price. That and the library. Most universities will have loads of copies of core text books for courses.

And to find out exact prices, I'm sure you'd be able to find a reading list of your courses and then look online for the text books.

Reply 12

Knalchemist

14

I'm doing Law and spent about £250+ in the first year on books. They ranged from £15 - £35. Obviously, the bigger the book the more it'll be. I presume chemistry books are quite bulky so I'd say about £30 per book.

Some universities offer 'free books' scheme. Where you get them for free and pay them back over the year or something - not all uni's do it though.

I wouldn't *rely* on the library though, especially if there aren't many books there. You could take a book out for a week, then it could be on hold for others so you can't re new it. Second hand books can be half the price, and you can get them on eBay, as well as from students in the second year etc.

Reply 13

InadequateJusticex

OP

18

Original post by Origami Bullets

If you mean that you will only have £100 per year / term after paying for halls, then regardless of the cost of textbooks you can't afford to live in halls. Consider the cost of public transport (both local and getting the train when you go home), food (because catered doesn't normally offer 21 meals a week), nights out, clothing and stationery. It's just not doable, regardless of the cost of textbooks.

Well, I plan to get a job during term and this summer (before uni). Would that still not be enough? My mum also said she'd maybe give me some money per term for other stuff.. I really like the catered hall I'm applying for though (it's my second choice but my first choice is really oversubscribed so unlikely to get in)..most other self catered accommodation suck.

Original post by Mother_Russia

I would really think you're pushing it with £100 if that's all you have left over after accommodation, just as origami said.

But as others have said. Definitely buy second hand. You can get books for a fraction of the price. That and the library. Most universities will have loads of copies of core text books for courses.

And to find out exact prices, I'm sure you'd be able to find a reading list of your courses and then look online for the text books.

Alright thanks.

I see, seems like I'll just have to borrow books from the library

Reply 14

Origami Bullets

19

Original post by InadequateJusticex

Well, I plan to get a job during term and this summer (before uni). Would that still not be enough? My mum also said she'd maybe give me some money per term for other stuff.. I really like the catered hall I'm applying for though (it's my second choice but my first choice is really oversubscribed so unlikely to get in)..most other self catered accommodation suck.

I see, seems like I'll just have to borrow books from the library

It depends how many hours you work, and STEM students tend to find that they have a lot of contact hours, so it's difficult to find time to fit a job in around that. You would be looking at working at least 10 hours per week, on average, during term time. What happens if you find that you can't get a job? If you haven't got experience, then you will almost certainly struggle to find a job in traditional student sectors (bar work etc.)

I think you need to have a sit down with your mum, and look at
- your incomings
- your fixed outgoings (rent - and don't forget to allow money to pay for a deposit for your second year house (£300-400 is a fairly common amount) and summer rent)
- your semi-fixed outgoings (food, public transport etc. - vital to life and it's difficult to vary the amount you spend too much)
- your variable / unknown outgoings (textbooks, going out etc.)
- a contingency fund
- what the uni / government reckons that you need to live off, as determined by what you get if you are from a low income background - remember to include loans, grants and bursaries from the uni.

Then look at how you can make up the shortfall - how reasonable it is to expect you to work lots of hours, your chances of getting a job, how you will resolve the conflict when you have a deadline and your boss is insisting that you work a shift, how much money your mum can give you etc.

You will spend more than £100 in your first week at uni (though the first week is especially expensive).

And you can't always rely on the library - any required reading on my course is always in the 'high demand' section, meaning that you can't take it out for more than 3 / 12 / 24 hours depending on the book - and that's if you can actually get hold of the thing when you need it. However, if you buy second hand textbooks, you can recoup some of your outgoings by reselling on Amazon.

Reply 15

Ronove

18

On the subject of second-hand textbooks, if I remember correctly, Blackwells on Park Street sells (amongst other things) Chemistry textbooks at a reasonable knock-off price.

Reply 16

.snowflake.

14

Original post by InadequateJusticex

For chemistry specifically. I need to know how much it costs so I know if I can still afford to apply for catered halls (I think I'll have 100~ leftover if I don't get a job, which hopefully I will).

I have about £130 worth of core textbooks on my bookshelf.(I didnt pay for them, but they're mine to keep.) Atkins' Physical chemistry, Housecroft and sharpe Inorganic chemistry and clayden's Organic chemistry. Then theres the lampman and pavia spectroscopy book that i have (is usually £60ish, got it for £35, god bless TSR.) then have about £150-£200 of books borrowed from the library.

That's scary come to think of it. If you ever get told to read any of the oxford chemistry primers, borrow them from the library, they are NOT worth the £15 that they are - even if one of my lecturers has written 2 of them.

Don't forget to take into account that theres probably a deposit for your locker for labs, a deposit of some sort for a molecular model kit. Do you have to pay for your lab coat/ goggles etc?