When deciding whether to rent or purchase textbooks, it's important to keep one detail in mind: How and when do you want the university to swindle you out of hundreds of dollars?
If you firmly believe you will be getting paid a fair percentage of the book's price upon resale, you should probably purchase the text, especially if you're on book scholarship or you enjoy looking forward to a lump sum of cash at semester's end. However, if you're trying to save some money and you have a feeling the university is just going to be implementing a new edition of the book next semester, leaving you empty handed, then renting is the obvious solution.
It's not particularly thrilling to know you will be without compensation for certain books when buyback week comes around, but it all really depends on your area of study. Some majors, like business, biology and engineering can require nearly $1,000 in textbooks to complete the courses. Less demanding majors may only require a few hundred dollars and will demand the use of the same text in the following year.
In that case, it would make sense to purchase the books and get paid later. As a business major, I rent as much as possible. Newer editions for the fall have replaced all of the texts I was forced to purchase this year. I was left with no money from textbook buybacks after having spent nearly $700. I would have lost more in the long run if I hadn't rented three or four books.
The rental process is just as easy as purchasing. While being guided through the textbook reservation process, simply choose "rent" while ordering each book, saving you a huge sum, especially if it is used. The only drawback to renting textbooks is the deadline. If any books are lost or turned in late, the student is charged. Keep track of your books, and be cognizant of texts you may not even be required to purchase. Blackboard can be a useful tool in knowing whether professors believe all indicated texts are required for the course, so keep an eye out for early announcements.
dylanbliss@dailynebraskan.com
is a member of the 
