As a new student, you’ve doubtless been inundated with advice. Given that much of this advice was compiled and approved by Portland State’s administration, it’s neither complete nor entirely trustworthy. For good or ill, university administrators have concerns beyond your well-being. Therefore, the most helpful advice gets left out of college orientation packets and seminars.
As a new student, you’ve doubtless been inundated with advice. Given that much of this advice was compiled and approved by Portland State’s administration, it’s neither complete nor entirely trustworthy. For good or ill, university administrators have concerns beyond your well-being. Therefore, the most helpful advice gets left out of college orientation packets and seminars.
Trust me. I’m a student.
College textbooks don’t have to cost a fortune. The outrageous price tag on a textbook at the university’s bookstore might somehow be justified—still, shopping there is for suckers. Clever students will save themselves many hundreds of dollars a year by avoiding the PSU bookstore entirely.
PSU’s Millar Library, eager to help, provides an extensive list of alternatives for students at library.pdx.edu/textbook_savings. The best sites for comparing textbook prices are DealOZ.com, Half.com and Amazon.com.
And don’t forget that you live near one of the most magnificent bookstores in the country. Beyond the vast “city of books” that you can see and touch, Powell’s Books probably has what you need in some dark illimitable warehouse somewhere.
Considering you’ll probably never reopen your old textbooks after finals week, it will in some cases be smarter not to waste your money on a “required” book. The campus library may already have the books you need behind the checkout desk on the first floor. If they do, they’ll lend them to you free of charge. The county library is also a good place to check for your required readings.
Also for suckers: buying the newest edition of a required textbook.
Buying a past edition of a book could save you well over $100. Resist falling prey to the college textbook racket. This will, at times, be difficult, since some of your professors are in on it—namely, the ones insisting the newest edition is “essential.”
Older editions of college textbooks, in most cases, contain all the same information as the new ones but with slightly different pagination. I’ve never come to class with the most recent edition of the required textbook, and I’ve never suffered as a result.
If you follow this advice and find that the old edition you purchased for $1.25 at DealOZ is missing vital content, try borrowing a copy of the most recent edition from a classmate who didn’t read this article. Photocopy the necessary pages and buy the rube a cup of coffee or something.
Hiring banking corporations to manage student financial aid accounts is like releasing packs of wolves to “manage” hen houses. Despite this, PSU administrators invited Higher One to handle your financial aid disbursements.
Thanks to Higher One, your PSU student ID card doubles as a debit MasterCard (how convenient). In fact, it’s so convenient that students in Connecticut sued Higher One after they paid $66 million in “convenience fees.” Higher One currently faces a similar class-action lawsuit in California for chiseling students at Ventura College. Higher One is under FDIC scrutiny thanks to its predatory business practices.
Do not activate your PSU OneCard.
Instead, bypass Higher One altogether and opt to have financial aid money transferred directly into your preexisting bank account, or ask for a paper check.
Don’t forget, new kids, we’re all in this together. The most trustworthy advice will always come from fellow students.
