Buying Books

Hey guys,

Georgetown has a plot to get your money. Well, maybe that’s a bit cynical; however, if you keep that principal in mind, a lot of the things Georgetown conveniently forgets to mention to you begin to make sense. Item number one on my list of ways they get into your wallet: the school book store.

None of Georgetown’s welcome packets tell you how to order your books. The assumption is that you will buy your books when you get here from Georgetown, who provides all of the textbooks you need, sorted according to class and guaranteed to be in-stock for you as soon as you arrive...for full price plus.

If you have a class that you registered for, but are not positive you will take, I recommend waiting and buying the book store books. Georgetown does offer a very handy beginning-of-semester return policy which allows you to return books within the add-drop period (so that you can return them if you choose not to take a class) and a regular policy that lets you return a book within some short number of days. I’ve already managed to abuse this policy by actually finishing a 70$ book in two days and returning it. However, if you are pretty sure you are going to take a course, I would very highly recommend you purchase or rent online.

You can find out what book you need by entering your course numbers into the GU bookstore site (http://www.bkstr.com/CategoryDisplay/10001-9604-11006-1?demoKey=d). You can get course numbers by going to your myaccess page, then student>registration>student schedule. They should look like "COSC 071" or "HIST 001" and be followed by a section number ("01" or "02", usually). I’ve heard reports that some freshman no longer have a schedule tab. Not to fear! If you don’t, continue to poke around your myaccess page, being careful to look through registration and/or pre-registration pages. You should be able to find your course numbers there. If you still can’t find them, you can google “Georgetown University + the name of the course” to find the course numbers you need. Just be sure to watch out that you don’t look up information on the wrong school. There is also a Georgetown College. That’s not us; it’s some copy-cat school in another state.

When you look online, I suggest that you use the invisible hand application to find the cheapest book (http://www.getinvisiblehand.com/). This application automatically searches a variety of book sellers to make sure that you are buying the least expensive item available—and it’s available for firefox and chrome in a very nice little add-on extension that does all the work for you. Also be sure to search by ISBN number so that you get the correct edition of a book.

Editions can also be a good place to save money. Be sure to contact your professor about edition differences if you notice that a previous edition of a book is both recent and substantially cheaper. Often they do not change substantially, and, while many professors are picky about editions, some are willing to let you take the cheaper route out. Sometimes book are even not required! I’ve had one class that has a required book that costs about 80$ in the listing (Computer Science I, if you are interested) that the professor does not require. Writing your professors a brief note can save you a lot.

If you have a friend who is taking a class with you, you also may be able to split the book costs. You can also check out a book from Lauinger library for class use if you can find it. Be sure to search Lauinger’s website (library.georgetown.edu) before you buy a book. Of course, trusting on Lau to have a book when you need it can be slightly dicey. But the resource is available if you think your book is obscure enough to not be under high demand.

If you'd like to save on some shipping prices, be sure to get Amazon student advantage for Amazon orders (they have a one year subscription for free), and you can ship your books ahead if you have a contact at the university. I have some limited space and may even be able to help out if you like, so that your books are here at Georgetown before classes start and they don't take up too much room in your packing. Just let me know via email from your hoyamail account (ale35@georgetown.edu) if you want my address.

I hope all the preparation is going well! If you have any questions, leave them in the comments! See you soon,

April