Save Money on Textbooks

One of the best things about doing college through independent study is the fact that you can choose your own learning materials. You no longer feel obligated to buy a certain textbook which can cost over $100 at the college bookstore, even if there's another, cheaper title that you think is better. Independent students can choose how long they're going to take to complete a course. If you think that you can prepare for a CLEP exam in U.S. History within 30 days, you don't need to sign up for an expensive course that lasts for three months. Therefore, independent students have numerous options when it comes to saving money on textbooks.

The cheapest textbooks are free. An earlier post on this blog lists numerous textbooks which are available for free online. Bookboon.com offers a wide variety of online textbooks which are supported by advertising, mostly in business, science, and mathematics. Another free source is the public library, if you can arrange things so that you're done with the book within the 3-6 weeks that you're allowed to have it out.

Buying used books is a well-known way of saving money on textbooks, but in some cases, the used book isn't that much cheaper than the used one would be. Along with the well-known Amazon and Ebay, Abebooks.com is a good source for used books. It's worth asking yourself if it's absolutely necessary to have the latest edition of the book, as an earlier edition can often be had for only a few dollars. Although the latest one might be necessary for computer-related subjects, where the content often needs to be changed, an older book might do well for something like history.

A newer option for saving money on books is renting textbooks. A text can often be rented for a fraction of what the new book would cost, and you can pick a rental period based on how long you need the book. One book rental company offers a French textbook with a retail value of $94 at rental rates of $17 for 30 days and $27 dollars for a 125 day semester. A world religion book at the same company which sells for $110 retail is rented our for $35 per semester.

Etextbooks are another money-saving option, which normally costs about as much as renting the textbook would. These can often be dowloaded onto a device like an iPhone or iPad, making them a convenient option for those who'd like to study while on a bus or train. For a student attending regular classes, this option creates a lighter backpack than carrying a load of heavy, traditional texts. Another form of etextbooks are paid for both by advertising, like free online textbooks, and a small fee. Textbookmedia.com offers a variety of textbooks in mostly business subjects starting at $4.95 with ads, and from about $6.95 for ad-free versions.


Homeschool Buzz offers an extensive listing of homeschool blogs which are worth seeing.

Free textbooks

Here is a list of college textbooks which can be read online for free. I will be adding to this list as I find more of them.

Accounting

Principles of Accounting - This textbook offers an in-depth introduction to accounting and can be good preparation for the CLEP or DSST exams in accounting.

Anthropology

Cultural Anthropology

Art History

SmartHistory - Free online art history textbook.

Astronomy

General Astronomy - Wikibooks offers an online introduction to astronomy.

Biology

Biochemistry textbook

This Online Biology Book offers a good introduction to many areas of biology, including cell biology, anatomy, and eveolution.

An Ecology textbook is offered at this website.

Creation Science - Creationists might be interested in this online book which refutes the evolutionists' arguments in numerous areas of science.

Fundamentals of Microbiology - Introductory microbiology textbook from Washington State.

Human Genetics

Chemistry

Chem1 Virtual Textbook - This textbook covers the first two semesters of college-level chemistry.

Chemistry Books Online - General, Organic, and Biochemistry

Computers

Blender - User Manual and free download for Blender, an open-source computer animation software.

Computer Animation

Introduction

How to Design Programs: An Introduction to Computing and Programming.

Introduction to Computer Science

Java

Dick Baldwin's website offers a large assortment of instruction in various programming languages, including Java.

Fundamentals of Java - This online book presents Java programming in a simplified manner.

Introduction to Computer Science Using Java

Introduction to Programming in Java: An Interdisciplinary Approach - Free online textbook from Princeton.

Java programming is also offered in this online textbook.

Python

Invent Your Own Computer Games With Python might be of interest to people who want to become game designers.

Economics

About.com offers online textbooks in Macroeconomics and Microeconomics.

CyberEconomics - Introductory economics textbook.

Online Economics Textbooks - Extensive collection of economics textbooks for all levels.

English Composition

English Composition 1 Hypertextbook

English Literature

The Cambridge History of English and American Literature

The Harvard Classics - 50 volumes of literature from all historical eras. This page also contains The Harvard Shelf of Fiction, which consists of 20 volumes of classic fiction.

Luminarium: An Anthology of English Literature - This free online textbook features extensive information on British authors from the 14th century to the 19th century.

Ethics

Online Ethics Textbook

History

Academic American History

Europe in Retrospect - Modern European history.

History of Western Art and Civilization

U.S. History from precolonization to the present.

World History from prehistory to the 20th century.

Languages

Digital Dialects - This site offers free lessons in over 50 languages, some of which I'd never heard of until I saw this site. Oroma?

French

Grimoire - French literature for intermediate and advanced students.

Liberte - Beginners' French textbook in PDF fromat.

Latin

Latin from Wikibooks.

Spanish

Spanish 1050 - Intermediate Spanish.

Spanish from Wikibooks.

Mathematics

A First Analysis Course

An introduction to Statistics can be found at this website.

An Online Calculus book is offered here in PDF format.

College Algebra in PDF format.

Electronic Statistics Textbook - This is a free online version of Statistics: Methods and Applications, which sells for $80 new at Amazon.

Elementary Calculus: An Infinitesimal Approach

Multivariable Calculus in PDF format.

Statistics: Problems and Exercises

Music

Introduction to Music Theory

Understanding Basic Music Theory - A continuation of the introduction course.

Philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy

Physics

Essential Physics 1 is available for free online in PDF format.

Light and Matter offers an assortment of free physics textbooks online, both for non-physics majors and engineering students.

Psychology

Psychology: An Introduction


Public Speaking

Open Knowledge Guide to Public Speaking

Religion

Exploring Religions - Information about the major world religions.

Philosophy of Religion

Sacred Texts offers extensive information on many world religions, along with parapsychology, the supernatural, prophets, and related subjects.

Sociology

Introduction to Sociology from Wikibooks.

Technical Writing

Online Technical Writing Textbook


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