Engineering Degree Online | The college textbook scam
OK, it’s time for me to jump up on my soap box again… 
No, it’s not about diploma mills (but don’t get me started on that one…)
This tirad I’m about to start is about the ripoff regarding college textbooks.
Ripoff? Absolutely…
Get this - the basic introductory physics textbook for college students has remained pretty much the same in the past 100 years, or longer. So it really bugs me when a freshman physics student has to buy a new textbook that’s about $160., even though the one he used in high school probably has the very same material.
Students all over the US are struggling as it is. So add to that whammy of college costs increasing, now they have to beg, borrow and steal to afford the textbook that the good ‘ol professor tells then they need, and then NEVER uses it in class!!!
:-( In fact, double 
Here are the facts, my dorm room buddy…
There are thousands of textbooks published each and every year, and add them all up and it’s a $6.5 billion dollar a year business.
That’s “Billion” with a B
Don’t take my word for it. That figure comes from the National Association of College Stores.
Fact - The cost of the average college textbook increased 186 percent between 1986 and 2004, according to a study by the Government Accountability Office.
And why, pray tell did the costs go up so mucn? well, according to the GAO, it was “explained” that expenses of developing and bundling additional materials like CDs, DVDs, and websites that supplement the traditional pages kept going up.
Gimme a break…
So now, the sad fact is that the average book bill for the typical student is about $900 a year.
Of course it’s even more if you’re enrolled in like sciences or art history, which use required reading that is particularly expensive to produce.
Boy. these tirads make me tired…
More in my next post
Ben
