Washington Post: As students return to campus for spring semester, many will do what they can to avoid paying full price for textbooks. The cost can be a barrier for students, particularly for those who are already in debt or come from low-income families. Some students search for bargains and buy secondhand materials. Others rent from book publishers, many of which lease books to students at discounted prices. Students such as Reyes play a game of wait-and-see and avoid buying books for as long as possible. Sixty-five percent of college students said they have delayed buying a textbook because it was too expensive and, in some cases, done so even though they were worried the decision would hurt their grade, according to the consumer advocacy group U.S. PIRG.

“When you grow older, you realize, I don’t need the book. I have my notes, I have the lectures, I have the slides and the PowerPoints. I’m good,” Reyes said. He said he doesn’t buy books he feels he will not need, and he once had a professor who asked the class to purchase a textbook Reyes never opened. It was the most expensive textbook he bought that year. “I wish the professors could be a little bit more honest about how their class is going to be structured,” Reyes said. The days leading up to the beginning of the semester can be stressful, students said. Some professors do not reveal which books are required until classes start. “They expect us to then have all of these books immediately,” said Alex…”<