Since textbooks can make up one of the highest costs in college, students are always looking for ways to get cheap college textbooks.

Arizona State University may have found a cheap textbook solution: e-textbooks. The college, along with 5 other schools across the country, is starting to use cheap electronic textbooks in select classes, rather than have students shell out the extra cash for their textbooks.

Using these cheap textbooks requires the purchase of an electronic book reader – like the Kindle, which ASU is giving to all participating students for free and regularly cost from $300 to $500.

Want to get your own cheap textbooks? Think about these pros and cons:

Advantages of E-Textbooks:

Save money. After the initial purchase of an electronic reader, students can save about half the cost of textbooks every semester by downloading cheaper textbooks rather than purchasing them in the store. For some students, that can save them more than $400 a year.

Go green. Electronic textbooks are not only cheap – they also help the environment. These books save tons of paper as well as fuel in transport. Shipping costs are cheap too – textbooks are delivered straight to your reader for free!

Search with ease. Electronic books can be a big help when you’re studying for an exam or writing a paper. These cheap textbooks are easily searchable – you can type in any word or phrase and find it in seconds.

Downsides to Going Digital:

Limited availability. Many books aren’t available in electronic formats yet, and it might take a while until all of your textbooks are ready for cheap downloading – especially for more obscure titles.

No cash back. College bookstores often buy back your used textbooks for a partial refund, or your school might have a student exchange system. These ways to get cheap textbooks don’t apply to e-textbooks, which you can’t resell at the end of the year.

Note-taking troubles. Many electronic book readers like the Kindle allow you to take notes in your cheap e-textbooks, but this process is not always as simple as picking up a pencil.

Your notetaking and highlighting in college might take quite a bit longer while you’re reading your e-textbook – at least until you get used to the new technology.

How to Score Cheap Textbooks

If purchasing e-books sounds like a great way to get cheap textbooks for your colleges courses, you might be in luck.

ASU’s pilot program currently extends only to five other schools – Case Western Reserve, Pace University, Princeton University, Reed College, and the University of Virginia.

But if the program is successful and students find the e-textbooks  easy to use, these cheap textbooks might soon be available at a college near you!

Until then, go to the library, check online or buy from your friends to get cheap textbooks for your college classes.

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