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Job-hunting after a lifetime of education and part-time jobs can be both intimidating and frightening. The traditional process of networking, applying, interning, gaining experience, interviewing, and hopefully getting a paying position is painstaking, nerve wracking, and more uncertain than ever. If this system seems less than reliable, consider some careers on the road less traveled.

Teaching English Abroad

Teaching in the U.S. has a multitude of regulations, including various certification and degrees. Teaching abroad, however, often has less red tape. South Korea has one of the best paid opportunities when done correctly and simply requires a native English speaker with a Bachelor’s degree. On top of a decent paycheck, the programs also cover plane tickets and housing, leaving you to pocket most of your pay. Almost every region of the world has an English teaching opportunity, though many are simply a good way to fund a year abroad.

teachFor South Korea, it’s best to locate a service that places you in a public school and negotiates your contract for you. While South Korea is one of the best places to teach English, scams and unsatisfactory contracts do exist. Avoid hagwons or private schools and be sure your contract covers the ticket and housing. You do not need any teaching experience nor do you need to know Korean. There are many other countries in which new graduates can secure jobs teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) as well, including Vietnam, Taiwan, Spain, and more.

Content Writers

If you have any interest (or ability) in writing, check out a few content writing positions. As companies dig deeper into the world of blogging and social media, they find themselves in need of people who can write. Most of these positions are remote so you start work immediately and your office is your home. Rather than interviews and networking, just focus on is a collection of writing samples and consistent contact with the manager in charge.

To begin, find several positions that interest you. Craft a few writing samples specific to the content they will want as well as a tailored resume and cover letter. Identify the person in charge of hiring and send these materials to the person directly (if possible). Keep in touch but avoid becoming a nuisance.

Real Estate Agents

Becoming a real estate agent is a reasonably quick-and-easy process provided you are a self-starter with the ability to market yourself. First seek out a real estate course. The length of courses vary; some are a few intense days while others meet a few nights a week over the course of a month. Keep in mind that education and licensing requirements vary by state. Once you have passed the qualifying exam, you can focus your efforts on finding an agency to join and learning the tricks of the trade.

With the complicated ins and outs of the American job-seeking system, getting yourself on the road to traditional employment can be exhausting and discouraging. Rather than blindly flinging resumes into inboxes, take your career into your own hands. Travel abroad, craft the content that brings companies their business, or find people their dream homes. Just because you can’t see the opportunity on a job board doesn’t mean it isn’t out there.

Image via Pixabay by NgoHuuMoi

Guest Contributor James Mitchell is a freelance consultant who often volunteers with Intern Solutions, which provides resources for job training to students and helps guide young people to better career opportunities.

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While lecturers and friends might be important, research suggests your academic advisor may be the most important person you meet on campus. According to a study from Missouri State University, students with a close relationship to their academic advisor are more likely to succeed in the classroom, feel satisfied with their college experience, and complete their degrees. Consider the following tips to develop a good working relationship with your academic advisor.

Meet With Your Advisor Regularly

Many colleges schedule a mandatory meeting between freshmen students and their first-year advisors. Many new students attend, then never see their advisors again. This approach will not get you the best results. To cultivate a good relationship with your academic advisor, make sure you meet up regularly. Use the compulsory meeting as a jumping-off point, then schedule a follow-up meeting at least every semester.

It’s a good idea to book an extra meeting when you’re faced with a big decision, like which classes you should take or switching your major. Advisors are busiest around exam time and before class schedules are due, so remember to book your meeting well in advance to avoid disappointment.

Chat Openly and Honestly

Getting to know someone is a two-way street. You’ll get the most from your relationship with your academic advisor if you share information about yourself. Talk about your passions, how you feel about your studies, and what you want to do once you graduate. The more an academic advisor knows about you, the better able they’ll be to recommend classes, programs, and career opportunities.

Listen With an Open Mind

As you get to know your academic advisor, you’ll realize that he or she has only your best interests at heart. Remember this and it’ll be easier to keep an open mind during your discussions. Your academic advisor isn’t just there to help you achieve the goals you’ve already established. A good advisor will also encourage you to consider additional or new goals that may better suit your interests or skill sets. Listen to this advice and keep an open mind about it. You can always choose not to follow through later, but considering something new could help you find a new passion or goal.

Take Notes During Meetings

Listening is important, but it’s not the only action you should take during meetings with your academic advisor. Come to your meetings armed with a pen and notebook or laptop, ready to take notes about pertinent topics discussed. The act of note taking itself can make you more alert during your meetings and help reinforce what you’re talking about. Your notes will also remind you of key details weeks or months after your meetings.

Some academic advisors offer to email notes and material to students, but you shouldn’t rely on this generous offer. Your own notes can be reviewed immediately and you can feel confident they’ll contain all the information you wanted to remember.

Follow our advice and you can get to know your academic advisor better and reap the rewards.

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University life affords students a variety of new freedoms, including the opportunity to eat what they want. Many freshmen opt for on-campus meal plans that allow them to eat in dining halls where food is in abundance. Thrown into this environment, freshmen often struggle to make healthy choices. As a result, some new college students gain weight, a phenomenon known as the Freshman 15. The number 15 refers to the number of pounds a typical student gains during his or her freshmen year. Fortunately, there are strategies to help you avoid the Freshman 15.

Practice Portion Control

In many dining halls, some or most of the food is self-serve. That means you can plop as many fries as you want on your plate, a habit that’s sure to lead to the Freshman 15. Instead of grabbing large quantities of food because it’s available to you, learn to use your hand as a guide to giving yourself proper portions. For example, your palm is about the same size as 3 ounces of meat, which is the ideal serving size for adults. If the meat on your plate is bigger than your palm, the portion is too large. It’s also a good idea to pack a protein bar for a healthy snack, they are easy to pack and you can eat them anywhere.

Eat Three Meals a Day

Even though classes, study groups, a job, and social events monopolize your time, get in the habit of eating three meals every day. If you skip a meal, you’re more likely to give yourself permission to overindulge when you finally do sit down to eat. If you absolutely have to skip a meal, at least eat a healthy snack such as fresh fruit or Greek yogurt to hold you until you can have a full meal.

Remember That Liquid Calories Add Up Quickly

For many college students, the soda fountain in the dining hall is very tempting, but an endless supply of sugary soft drinks quickly packs on the pounds. While you chat and laugh with your new friends, it’s easy to lose track of how much soda you’re drinking. If you want soda, limit yourself to one 8-ounce serving per day. Otherwise, grab water, sparkling water, coffee, or tea. Just don’t load up your tea or coffee with sugar.

Build Exercise Into Your Routine

You may notice that a week goes by and you haven’t gone for a jog or visited the gym. Put time in your schedule for exercise, just as you plan time for all your other activities. By being intentional, you can work in time to exercise three to four times a week.

Keep Healthy Snacks on Hand

Create a stash of healthy snacks to keep in your dorm room and backpack. When you have nutritious food on hand, you’re less likely to buy something impulsively and scarf it down. As you browse potential snacks, check for sugar content. You may be surprised by the amount of sugar in common “healthy” treats such as granola bars, freeze-dried fruit, and trail mix. Opt for low-sugar nut bars, cheese sticks, apples, bananas, and jerky.

Through careful planning, portion control, and regular exercise, you can fend off the Freshman 15 and maintain a healthy weight during your first year on campus.

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Feeling a little down? Sometimes a health issue is as simple as a mild cold, allowing you to get by with using over-the-counter medicines and extra rest. At other times, though, you may need to see a medical professional. When is it time to make an appointment at your campus health center?

When You’re Ill

The pressures from your classes and your job can make you feel as if you don’t have the right to take a break from your routine so that you can care for your health. However, if a cold or influenza becomes serious enough, it can lead to other, more worrisome problems. You also don’t want to go to class if you’re contagious and then become the reason why half the people in your class get sick.

If you experience any of the following symptoms, it’s time to make an appointment at the campus clinic:

  • Inability to keep food down
  • Painful swallowing
  • Cold and flu symptoms that last longer than a week
  • Earache
  • Coughing that lasts longer than a couple weeks

When You’re Injured

Sports are a great way to blow off steam on the weekends, but what if you take a fall and find yourself limping afterward? You might be tempted to avoid the clinic and tough it out, but doing so can exacerbate an injury. The following are some signs that you should get a professional opinion on your injury:

  • The pain becomes progressively worse.
  • Your joints are swollen.
  • You have pain even when you are resting at night.
  • You have bruises that do not heal.
  • Your knees, elbows, or other joints lock up or are otherwise unstable.

Ask whether anyone who works at the campus health center is an expert in sports medicine. Sometimes regular physicians do not have the training necessary to address sports injuries in the best way.

When You’re Stressed or Depressed

Your mental health is just as important as, if not more important than, your physical health. Why, then, do so many college students ignore obvious signs of depression or severe stress? According to one survey, only about 10 percent of students take advantage of campus mental health services even though these services are often free or low-cost.

If any of the following is true of you, you may benefit from a trip to your campus counselor:

  • You don’t feel like yourself. You’re inexplicably sad or angry.
  • You’re abusing substances to cope with trauma or stress. You may be overindulging in food, alcohol, sex, or drugs.
  • You’ve experienced a loss. Everyone deals with grief in different ways, and counseling may be what you need to weather the death of a loved one.
  • You’ve lost interest in things you normally enjoy.

Too many college students avoid taking advantage of therapy because they feel ashamed. However, there is no shame in getting needed help. The sooner you can get your life back on track, the better.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” Indeed, your health is one of your most valuable possessions. Take care of it by heading to the campus health center when you experience a serious illness, injury, or mental health issue.

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Greek life means instant friends, instant support, and instant gratification, but it’s not right for every matriculating student. As soon as you arrive at your college campus this fall, you’ll likely receive dozens of invitations to pledge a fraternity or sorority, but don’t make an instant decision. Instead, carefully consider your personality and goals to determine whether you’ll benefit from Greek life.

Are You an Introvert or Extrovert?

Introverts like to spend time by themselves and they often feel overwhelmed in social situations. Extroverts, meanwhile, derive energy from social engagement and enjoy sitting in the spotlight. If you fall into the latter category, you might love Greek life.

Introverts, however, might feel uncomfortable with the social obligations inherent in sorority and fraternity activities. Your fellow members will expect you to take part in these activities, and you don’t want to put yourself in a position where you might regret your decision.

Do You Have Extra Cash?

You won’t find this detail in any of the invitation handouts, but Greek life costs money. Writing for U.S. News and World Report, Julie and Lindsey Mayfield report that Lindsey’s first year of Greek life cost $3,258. You’ll have to pay for your pin, for instance, and your recruitment fee. Ongoing costs can include event contributions and wardrobe extensions.

Many college students arrive on campus with very little money in their bank accounts. They don’t always have financial support from Mom and Dad, so they have to get creative. From getting great deals on textbooks to foregoing restaurants, these students don’t have the extra cash to spend on Greek life.

If, however, you have the dough, you might consider joining a sorority or fraternity. As long as you’ve thought through the decision, you can accept the invitation with a clear conscience.

Do You Have Extra Time?

First-year college students sometimes struggle to keep up with their school work, so adding Greek obligations can prove even more overwhelming. You’re at college to get an education — preferably with respectable marks from your professors — so make sure you can handle the extra time a fraternity or sorority will demand.

What Are Your Goals?

While Greek life might have a few drawbacks, it can also open doors. It’s an excellent networking opportunity and a way to prepare yourself for life outside college. Samantha Reid of USA Today College reveals that, in a 2014 study, “When asked about whether or not they felt prepared for life after college, fraternity and sorority members reported that they felt prepared at a 10 [percent] higher rate than their non-Greek peers.”

You’ll also take part in philanthropy projects and help raise money for your school. These activities can add bulk to your resume, which is often rather thin for the recent grad. Plus, you can use these connections for the rest of your personal life to find new job opportunities, start businesses, and reach other goals.

Greek life isn’t for everyone, but it offers many advantages. Before you start decorating your dorm room, give all the facts some thought so you know whether you want to join a fraternity or sorority.

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Whether you’re a freshman or a transfer student, you face a major challenge as a new person on campus: meeting people and developing friendships. Connecting with those around you is one of the best ways to fend off homesickness. Fortunately, most colleges and universities make it easy to meet people and cultivate friendships. Check out these tips for meeting new people when you’re the fresh face on campus.

Attend Orientation on Campus

On-campus orientation is a great way to meet other freshmen or new students, many of whom have the same concerns as you do about making friends. During the days your group is together, join people you don’t know very well for meals. Ask them questions about their hometowns, what they plan to study, and any groups they plan to join. Not only will you learn more about each person, but you may find out about communities and activities on campus you hadn’t previously discovered. To cultivate these new friendships, set a time and place during the first couple of weeks of school when you can hang out with the people you meet during orientation. Choose to meet someplace fun that lends itself to conversation, such as a restaurant or a park.

Join a Group or Club

Campuses are the ideal setting for groups of people with common interest to come together, form friendships, and engage in meaningful activities. Look for groups supporting people who have the same major as you because you may end up having classes with some of these students. You may also find clubs that are for students who share your religious beliefs or interest in a particular hobby.

Create a Study Group

Ask some of the students in one of your most-challenging classes if they’d like to form a study group. You can set a time to meet during the week to discuss questions and assignments. In addition to helping you form new friendships, a study group enables you to perform better in your class. It’s a win-win for all those involved. If you click with your group, propose that you all grab coffee after a session.

Work Up a Sweat

Attending an on-campus fitness class is a great way to get acquainted with people who also enjoy working out. Yoga, aerobics, Zumba, and spinning are exciting exercise classes that not only improve your body but may enhance your social life. These activities tend to attract students of all ages and backgrounds. After class, invite a couple of people to go to a juice bar for a smoothie. Remember that studies show that both exercise and friendships lower stress levels.

Be a Friendly Neighbor

If you live on campus, make it a point to get to know other students who live in your dorm. If your floor of the dorm offers community-building activities, that’s a prime opportunity to become acquainted with your neighbors. Resident assistants, who usually are older college students, often arrange for their floor to have dinner together one night a week.

Regardless of how you choose to meet new people, you have to be intentional about doing it. Otherwise, it’s easy to spend your free time studying or doing other solitary activities in your dorm room instead of putting yourself out there to form friendships that could last a lifetime. Remember to take chances on people and activities that may require you to stretch a little. This is how some of the best friendships (and memories) are made.

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The internet is full of college survival guides that teach you everything from how to settle into campus life to how to create simple meals in your dorm room. But many of these guides forget about the real survival tips that will help keep you safe on campus. With all the fun and frivolity of campus life, it’s easy to forget that you could put yourself at risk without following some common sense safety tips like the ones below.

Be a Buddy, Have a Buddy

The old saying that there is safety in numbers certainly holds true in college. Pair up with a buddy when you’re socializing in and around campus. If you’re about to make a poor choice, your buddy should be able to help you out and vice versa. You’re also less likely to be a victim of a crime if you’ve got a friend by your side.

You don’t need to be joined at the hip, but you should keep an eye on your buddy and know where he or she is throughout the night. If your buddy wants to leave an event with someone else, make sure it’s a smart choice. Never leave your buddy behind at a party, especially if he or she is drinking and may not make the right decisions later.

Avoid Pre-Mixed Drinks

If you are drinking, avoid pre-mixed drinks. Cups of pre-mixed spirits can contain the alcohol equivalent of more than two standard drinks. Pre-mixed spirits are often mixed with juices or sodas which makes them easier to drink more quickly, unlike beer and wine which people tend to sip. That means that when you choose pre-mixed drinks, you’re drinking more-potent drinks, often at a faster rate.

Alcohol in carbonated drinks is absorbed more quickly into the bloodstream, so these drinks will raise your blood alcohol level faster. If you can’t resist pre-mixed drinks, set yourself a hard limit and don’t exceed it. And remember, when at a party, NEVER drink anything out of a bucket, vat, trashcan, or other bulk-type vessel. These tend to be cheap fruity mixers and low-quality alcohol (and occasionally worse things like date-rape drugs) made for the purpose of getting as many people as drunk as can be for as cheap as possible. If you don’t know what’s in it (or you think you do but you’re a little skeptical), don’t put it in your body.

If You See Something, Say Something

“If You See Something, Say Something” isn’t just a good policy for national security. It can also help maintain a safe college campus. Look out for anything that seems unusual, like anyone forcibly entering a dorm room or vehicle, strangers loitering around campus buildings, people carrying weapons, or packages left unattended. If you see something that doesn’t seem quite right, alert your college police or campus security. Keep the campus police number in your phone so you can access it easily at any time.

Wear Reflective Vests When Riding at Night

Bicycles and skateboards make it easy to get around campus quickly. Helmets will keep you safe during the day, but when night falls, it’s smart to up your safety measures and wear a reflective vest. Admittedly these vests are never at the height of fashion, but they’ll help cars spot you and reduce your risk of getting hit.

College is meant to be enjoyed, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to think about safety. Keep your wits about you and take steps like these to stay safe on campus.

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We all know that textbooks aren’t getting any cheaper. Textbook prices have historically risen at over twice the rate of inflation and last year the average student spent over $1,000 annually on textbooks. Luckily, the Internet has unleashed a torrent of products and services to help you cut your textbook bill. From textbook rentals, to online price comparisons, to international editions, to textbook sharing, there have never been more options for you to save on textbooks.

Now, the latest technological marvel at your disposal will not only help you save on textbooks, but it can even be used to get your books for free. In fact, it’s even possible to make money on your textbooks! The reason has to do with simple economics: the law of supply and demand, and the nature of the textbook industry. In the financial world, this type of move is called arbitrage. Arbitrage is the simultaneous purchase and sale of something to profit from a price difference, and it exists due to market inefficiencies. In the textbook business, if you can time the purchase and sale of your textbooks correctly, you can take advantage of the big swings in price for both buying and selling books.

The tool that allows you to arbitrage your textbooks is the patent-pending CampusBooks Buy Vs Rent (BvR) SuperBot. Our tool takes into account historical pricing patterns for not only your particular book, but the industry as a whole, and uses that data to predict future sale prices of your book in both rush and buyback seasons. To use the BvR tool, simply search for your book on CampusBooks and the BvR tool will automatically present you with the suggested buy or rent option, based on the total cost of ownership of the book. The BvR tool also gives you customizable options based on your unique circumstances to give you a more accurate recommendation.

In order to maximize the BvR tool and get free textbooks, or even make money on your books, you need to be flexible in when you buy and sell your books. The best strategy is to buy and sell your textbooks off season due to the fact that there are tremendous seasonal price differences. For example, the traditional back-to-school months of August, September, and January are when most students purchase their books and prices are the highest. If you are able to purchase your books in the off season, especially in December and May, you can usually find significant discounts. On the flip side, if you can sell your used books during a rush month such as August or September, you can usually make much more money on your used textbooks than if you sold during a traditional buyback month of May or December.

Of course, this is all easier said than done. The secret is to find out beforehand what books you need and to buy early. If you know what class you are going to take, and you can contact your professor ahead of class to get your book over the summer, then you will be ahead of the game. If you then sell your book in January, chances are you will have spent very little on that book. Now, if you are unable to time your book buying and selling perfectly, you can still lower your costs by hanging on to your books until the next rush month and selling then, instead of selling during the end-of-semester buyback period when buyback prices are lowest. Of course, no matter when you sell your books, you always want to keep them in as good condition as possible, since buyback companies not only pay more for better condition books, but most won’t even purchase books in poor condition.

The caveat to the textbook arbitrage strategy is future editions of your book. If a new edition comes out, your book value will take a big hit so if you should sell your book as quickly as possible if you discover a new edition is being released. You could also use this knowledge to your advantage, and purchase a cheap older edition book. Most times the content of the textbook changes very little from one edition to the next, the main difference is that an older edition book won’t have the textbook access codes so if you need the access codes, an arbitrage strategy is your best bet.

We hope this blog post saves you some money on your books and you can take full advantage of the technology available to you on CampusBooks.com.

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By now, you’ve probably noticed that every purchase you make these days comes with a pitch for an upgrade or some add-on that the seller swears that you need but that makes you wonder if it’s at all legit. Whether it’s the rust-proofing on a new car (H/T Seinfeld) or an extended tech-support subscription, nothing is just a product anymore; there are always extras and they always have fees… and publishers know this so they perpetuate the highly profitable model when it comes to college textbooks.

With academic publishing being a for-profit endeavor and textbook publishers being clever producers well versed in creating demand, you need to be a smart shopper and just as savvy when it comes to buying textbooks as you are when it comes to buying the latest smartphone. What used to be a simple choice between expensive new books and cheaper used books now involves factoring in whether it’s better to buy or rent textbooks, whether eBooks are worth a try, whether or not you can get by sharing textbooks (or not using the textbook at all), and of course, whether or not you need the mysterious access code.

So what’s the deal with textbook access codes and do you really need them? And if you really do need an access code, do you absolutely have to buy a brand-new book so as to guarantee that the code is still valid and you can get the material that is beyond the book?

In a nutshell: access codes are complicated and whether you need them or not is really on a case-by-case basis. So knowing that you need to evaluate your own particular needs (with regard to the text, the syllabus, your professor, etc.), there are still some general rules that will help you decide whether or not you need to pay extra to get a book that has a brand-new active access code.

First, Check Yourself and Ask “Do I Even Need the Textbook with the Access Code?”

  1. Look at your syllabus. If on your syllabus you see no indication of using the supplement or online components such as readings and quizzes or problem sets, you might not need that pricey little code and you might be able to get a much cheaper used book without the extras. Note: If you need to complete graded assignments online, you’re going to need a unique access code (more on those in a minute).
  2. Talk with your professor. Even if you don’t see supplemental stuff on the syllabus, talk with your professor and make sure that you will not need the online access components and that the in-textbook readings themselves will suffice. This is also a great way to meet your prof and indicate that you are on board and into doing all you need to do for the course.

If You Really Do Need a Textbook with an Access Code…

So you’ve checked and asked, and yeah, you do need the access code. What now? Are you condemned to buying a brand-new copy of the book and paying that crazy price that includes the access code? Maybe but maybe not.

It used to be that the answer was always yes and there was no way around that. If you needed access codes for textbooks, you had to buy what is called the bundle or the package. This included a new print textbook and the supplement that could only be used once. And publishers loved this monster that they had created because it meant that they eliminated the used textbook market and the textbook rentals options for entire books and even courses. Mo’ money for them, mo’ problems for students.

In short, it got messy. A lot of third-party sellers took used editions where the access codes were no longer valid and they sold those books not caring whether or not students needed the codes. Some sketchy third-party sellers even started sites where they promised that students could download textbook access codes (for free or at serious discounts). But those downloads were useless and they contained things like malware or they required that the user enter private data, which compromised the user’s identity, and scammers profited. Beware offers on YouTube and eBay for access codes!

Things are a little better now. Students voted with their wallets by simply not buying new books with expensive access codes or buying used copies and doing without the codes. And because money talks, publishers realized that they had alienated a lot of college students by creating these massively expensive bundles of textbooks plus access codes. Publishers got wise and came up with a compromise, one that we recommend for you if you really do need textbook access codes: Legal and legitimate downloads of just the access code and supplemental material directly (and safely and securely) from the publisher thus freeing you to buy or rent a money-saving used textbook. This sort of a la carte option isn’t available for all textbooks with supplements but leading publishers like Pearson, WebAsssign, McGraw-Hill, and MyMathLab are making it increasingly so.

Bottom line: Only get the access code if you absolutely must have it and you have verified that on your syllabus and from your professor. If you do have to purchase a textbook access code, do not immediately buy the new bundle but instead consider buying just the code from the publisher or portal as well as a copy of the used textbook or even renting it.

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Is it better to buy or rent textbooks? If we had a nickel for every time we get asked that question . . . well, we’d have a lot more money than the college bookstore is offering to buy back that $200 math textbook you bought last semester.

In truth, the answer to “Should I buy or rent textbooks?” is complicated because there’s no single right answer that applies to all textbooks for all students (or even most books for most students). But that doesn’t mean that the question doesn’t have an answer, it just means that arriving at that answer happens on a textbook-by-textbook basis and it relies on a lot of data and knowledge.

After nearly twenty years saving college students money on textbooks and going through all of the changes and innovations with rental textbooks and eBooks and access codes and custom editions, CampusBooks.com has the answers and now we can tell you if it’s better to buy or rent textbooks. And we’re not talking generally, we’re talking specifically about you (you, the individual student) and whether or not it makes more sense to buy or rent the exact textbooks that you need.

Behold the Buy Vs. Rent SuperBot and never wonder if you’re paying too much for textbooks!

It’s so easy and so helpful and it takes the guesswork out of getting textbooks without getting ripped off. Just do what you already do: go to www.CampusBooks.com and enter the ISBN for the textbook you need.

When you get your price-comparison results and you see all of your options, look for the Buy Vs. Rent tool in the left column just under the book’s cover image. There you’ll see our recommendation for your best option. We literally do all sorts of complicated math behind the scenes in order to tell you (based on tons of data) whether it’s better to buy or rent a textbook.

And if you want more info or to customize the recommendation based on things like how well you take care of your books, hit the Find Out Why button. You can personalize your recommendation and even see trends about the textbook and its historic and estimated buyback values. And then you can make the best decision as to whether it’s better to buy textbooks or to rent them.

Enjoy the savings and the peace of mind.