this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2025
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[–] aquinteros 2 points 1 day ago (4 children)

is that price an exaggeration or do the texts in the US actually cost that much?

[–] FlyingSquid 6 points 1 day ago

I had a $200 textbook when I was in college in the late 1990s in the US. That appears to be around $375 when adjusting for inflation.

And I'm sure I was far from the only person who had a professor who made us buy the book he wrote and then never use it in class.

[–] GlendatheGayWitch 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

When I was in college, most books were $150-250, although there was one book that was $350. That was a while back, so they could be gouging students even more.

For reference at the time, you could rent a room for $250-300 in the college town that I was in.

[–] RagingRobot 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you are homeless for a month you could buy one book!

[–] GlendatheGayWitch 1 points 1 day ago

I worked part time at minimum wage (if I worked a graveyard shift I earned an extra dollar per hour) and typically earned around $600/month. When I had to go to the doctor, I'd typically have to go down to a bowl of ramen a day to save enough money for the copay and prescription (if there were meds prescribed). The university offered some insurance, but only for emergencies. If I recall correctly, it listed some payouts for major emergencies and losing an eye or something would get you a payment of less than $1000.

[–] LifeOfChance 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

My most expensive college book was $450 and we were even told it was required but there was only 1 chapter that would be referenced nothing else.

[–] aquinteros 1 points 1 day ago

jesus thats a lot

[–] AdrianTheFrog 1 points 1 day ago

Sometimes I think