August 1–7, 2007, Number 454
The Campus Store is located on the first floor of the Memorial Union Building.
Textbooks
The school year is quickly approaching and I am sure you and your student are very eager to get on the Michigan Tech campus. This time next month, your student will be starting their classes and starting a new stage of their life. Before that happens though, there is one more thing that needs to be talked about regarding their classes.
Almost every class at Michigan Tech requires at least one textbook. Buying textbooks is an expensive process, especially for first year students. Most first year students can expect to spend $400–$600 on their textbooks; engineering students are usually on the higher end of that range. But don’t worry; the first semester of buying books is almost always the worst, since some courses use the same book.
So now comes the question of where do I buy these books? The easiest and most convenient way to buy books is through the Michigan Tech Campus Store. The Campus Store is located in the Memorial Union Building, which is located right on campus. The Campus Store has a policy where they will beat any competitor’s book price by 10 percent of the difference. A nice feature that they offer is the ability to order your books ahead of time and have them set aside and ready to be picked up when you come to the campus. Whether the books are ordered online or selected and purchased in person, I would highly recommend trying to find the used versions. The used books are considerably cheaper than brand new ones and are usually in very good shape. Not to mention, I like when some important areas are already highlighted or have notes jotted next to them.
The Campus Store is the most convenient way to buy and sell books, but it is not the only option for students. The College Bookshelf is also a small bookstore located about a block away from campus by Jim’s Foodmart in the Pearl Street Mall. If the Campus Store is still waiting on a certain book, the College Bookshelf may have it. A third option is the Michigan Tech Barkboard; the online forum that students use. There is a forum that is dedicated to buying, selling and trading textbooks. I know in the last couple of years I have used this quite a bit (buying and selling). Of course another option some students use to order books online are large bookstores like Barnes & Noble or Borders. If this last route is chosen, be careful to watch the shipping costs as they can add up fast and make you pay a lot more for the book.
IMPORTANT: If your student purchases their books through the Campus Store or College Bookshelf, remember to keep the receipt. If the book is new and is wrapped in plastic or a packaging, do not remove it until your student is sure they have the correct book and will be using it. Both of these bookstores will give a full refund within the first week of classes if the books have not been opened from the packaging and you have a receipt. I have had a couple of classes where the professors decided not to use a certain book after all. By keeping my receipt and not opening the book, I was able to get a full refund.
If you do wait to buy your books until you come to campus, the bookstores will have extra staff on hand that week to help you. If your student does not have a schedule with them, one can be printed out in the Campus Store so the books for each course can be found.
If there are ever any concerns or topics that you feel should be addressed, please send me a personal email and I will try my best to include them in my future articles.
Until next week,
- Michigan Technological University
- 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
- 906-487-1885