College is an amazing experience – but it's also an expensive one, especially when it comes to the preparation part. From textbooks to notebooks to computers and furniture, just getting ready for the first day of class can run a few thousand dollars, dipping into the already-tight pockets of students. With that in mind, we've got five great ways to cut those costs dramatically when preparing for another year of class:
Rent textbooks and save big
It was only a few years ago when the only option for college students was to shell out hundreds of dollars for textbooks, or try and survive without them. But over the last few years, services like Chegg and Campus Book Rentals have offered a great alternative: renting textbooks instead of buying them. For a fraction of the cost (often 50-60% less than buying it outright), students can get the materials they need – often for as long as they want: many sites offer flexible renting lengths (Skyo is a great example of one of these services). Throw a textbook rental coupon on top from one of our sites, and textbook expenses no longer have to break the bank for college students.
Use promo codes and coupons to save extra $$$
Shopping for a laptop? Looking for a way to save a few bucks on pens and paper? Or maybe you're just looking to get some new threads before returning to campus: whatever you might be looking for, we've got coupons and promo codes lined up for every student need. Check out some of our college-themed Insider's Guides, and bookmark a couple dedicated store pages – we always keep them updated, with new coupons posting as soon as they become available. Here are a few great stores to follow:
Best Buy
Apple
Staples
Bed, Bath and Beyond
Campus Book Rentals
Bundle laptops with printers and other acessories
Although many private and public colleges offer on-campus printing services, the cost of these (combined with the inconvenience of running around campus to pick up papers) can be more of a frustration than a benefit. That's why its a great option to buy a bundle when shopping for a new laptop or desktop: it's an easy way to save up to $500 on the cost of buying a printer, cables, and other accessories independent of each other. Whether it's Best Buy and their Windows options, or the Apple store bundles (which often come with a free iPod touch, depending on the model), computer bundles should be one of the first options shoppers look into.
Download e-textbooks and save the trees
We've already talked about renting textbooks: but there's another option for the tech-savvy who'd rather avoid carrying heavy textbooks to each and every class. Thanks to innovations like the iPad, downloading e-textbooks are not only a viable option for students, but often a superior one. They often cost less than physical editions, with additional multimedia features like informative videos or three-dimensional images students can study and manipulate.
Buy the basics after school starts
Back to school sales are great – but shopping clearance sales the week after school starts is even better. Once the school year begins and students head off to school with their brand-new supplies, many retailers (physical and online) will have an excess stock of basic school products, and will drop them for a deep discount. If you can survive for a week or two on last year's materials, waiting a couple weeks and shopping in early to mid-September can lead to huge savings on folders, notebooks, binders, and the like.
