IowaWatch (https://www.iowawatch.org/tag/college-textbooks/)
Plenty of college students avoid spending a lot on textbooks that can cost from around $20 for a book on writing grant proposals to $400 for a physics book, a spring IowaWatch/College Media Journalism Project revealed. They talk about it in this podcast.
Heather Dean’s passion for accessible textbooks stems from her time as a student at Iowa State University, where one textbook can run as high as $347.
Second in a series.
Q: What did you spend on textbooks this semester? Cody West: This semester, I spent $74.50 for one English textbook and it appears about $270 in course delivery fees… I also had a $81.49 textbook. Cody West, 21
Iowa State University
Spring 2018 senior
Hometown: Altoona, Iowa
Major: Biology
Q: Most expensive book:
West: Oh goodness. I want to say that my freshman year my biology book with the access code to do my biology homework was about $220. Q: How often do you use your textbooks?
Q: How much did you spend for all of your textbooks? Clarice Kies: I only had to purchase hard copy books. I think that the total was like, $179 for this semester. Clarice Kies, 22
Loras College
Spring 2018 graduating senior
Hometown: LaMotte, Iowa
Major: English
Q: Which was the most expensive. Kies: That would probably be my grant-writing book, or Proposal Writing, which was about $21.
Q: How much did you pay for all textbooks, hard copy and e-textbooks, this semester? Lucas Smith: I paid $350 for all my books. Lucas Smith, 21
Spring 2018 senior
William Penn University
Hometown: Sully, Iowa
Major: Sports and Recreation management
Q: What was your most expensive book, and how much did it cost? The most expensive book was Sports Law and I believe it cost around $200. Q: How often do you use your textbooks?
Q: How much did you pay for all textbooks, hard copy and e-textbooks, this semester? We need actual costs, not guesses or vague statements, such as “a lot.”
Susan Letsch: This semester I’ve spent an estimated $250 on textbooks. Susan Letsch, 21
Buena Vista University
Spring 2018 junior
Hometown: Le Mars, Iowa
Major: Social Work and Criminal Justice
A: What was your most expensive book, and how much did it cost? Letsch: Most of the books I rented this year, but my most expensive book would probably be my brand new, um, art book. And that was more than $100 itself.
Q: How much did you pay for all textbooks, hardcopy and e-textbooks, this semester
Sarah Timmerman: For the fall semester, I paid $125 and then for the spring, I paid $80. Together, that’s $205 for this entire year. Sarah Timmerman, 20
University of Northern Iowa
Spring 2018 sophomore
Hometown: Clive, Iowa
Major: Elementary Education, special education minor
Q: What was your most expensive book? Timmerman: My most expensive books were for Russia/the Soviet Union. They were each about $35.
Q: How many books do you have in circulation right now? Erin VanLaningham: Circulation… If we’re counting books, so I’ll use primary books like novels and things like that. Probably per class, six. But those are six novels. Q: Do you like to keep it to six?