What is the Average cost for books if majoring in Biology?

Question

I am an incoming freshman majoring in Health Sciences and Biology. However, they pretty much have all the same classes, so just knowing the average cost for books for Bio would be just fine.(Ave. per semester/year?) Thanks!

Answer 1

I spent over $110 on each of 5 textbooks needed for a whole year, i bought all my books brand new, but if i could reverse time i would do a little digging on eBay and trademe to find better deals....this helps save a load of money for books you seriously only need once.....

Answer 2

Well, since you'll be taking other courses besides biology (like all your general education courses), it varies.  A general biology textbook used is usually $80-$120.  Upper level course books are similarly priced.  If you're lucky, you'll have professors who consider cost when choosing a text.  I intentionally choose a paperback genetics text for my students because it cuts the cost by about $20 usually.

However, you can often get your books cheaper by using a website like bigwords.com or textbooks.com (there are lots of sites).

The biology book I use for my general biology class I think sells for $90 used in our bookstore, but you can get it online for as low as $65 (including shipping).  If you manage to save $10-$25 on every book you buy, that adds up to a lot of money.

When I was a biology student (way back in the days before the internet marketplace, 1993-96), I spent probably about $500-$600/year in books.

Answer 3

Your school would most likely have an answer to this. I would suggest asking your financial aid office or even the bookstore.   You could just take your schedule to the bookstore and price your books to get an idea of what you are looking at.  Though the teachers might have a more accurate assessment because sometimes they use different books or no books at all depending on the teacher.  

Answer 4

The best thing to do is to look up the books you need and prices in your college book store, google the title of it or ISBN # and try and find it on abe.com or half.com or something like that. Make sure you note the difference between required and recommended books, I dont always buy the recommended books if i dont think im going to need them. It can save you alot of money.

Schools always underestimate the cost of books. My college estimates $200 for books. Last semester I paid $500

Answer 5

I'd bet on at least $100 as the average cost/book unless you're planning to do some serious shopping around and perhaps getting some great deals online from time to time.  Multiply that by the number of courses you're planning to take, and there's your estimate.

The cost is going to vary a lot by field -- I know most science and engineering are high from years of experience -- and it'll also sometimes increase as you get more and more advanced.  $150+ isn't out of the question for some books, but *hopefully* you won't have to deal with too many of those.