Students are turning savvy these days, steering through college all geared up and dodging the obscenely expensive books from the campus bookstores with the help of textbook-centered websites, where you can pick up books that are easy on the pocket.

Paying for textbooks puts a knock on students’ resources. However, you can now be able to purchase new and used textbooks at considerable discounts, thanks to dedicated textbook websites. Here are five of the many textbook-centered websites students can turn to, to save on books.

• Amazon.com, as we know it, is already a household name and need not an introduction. This website has a massive array of new and old books that course into the tens of thousands by means of titles, subjects and categories. It has a specific student/textbook section with improved textbook search and student-focused features that also offer different shipping option, giving students best deals there are!
• Bookgator.com permits you to either purchase, rent, and sell textbooks, to and from other students, offering a savings of up to 90% on used college textbooks. It boasts a textbooks buyback prices that will surely helps you to recoup some cash as well. Among its awesome features is the textbook prices comparison engine that can rally round new, used and rental textbook prices to find cheapest alternative.
• CampusBooksRentals.com is a website that lets you rent your books for a small percentage of the price, excluding the displeasure of selling the books back and the frustration in how little you get back, offering you a savings of up to 80 to 90 percent of the cost if you can sell all your books back to them. Users are given the option to pick out the length of your rental, the sort of shipping you desire and the alternative for a full refund within 30 days of purchase. And as soon as you’re done with the books, slip them in their prepaid shipping envelope and drop them in the mail to send it back, easy as 1, 2, 3!
• TextbooksRus.com presents thousands of new and used DVDs and textbooks online. They store a hefty stock at their Ohio-based headquarters. Aside from offering textbooks from their own inventory, they are also a secondary seller marketplace as well where users can put up their textbooks for sale online via their website and cater to the needs of students with its no-questions-asked return policy. TextbooksRUs.com also purchases books directly, compensates for shipping costs and receives various payment options including check, PayPal and store credit.
• ValoreBooks.com is an online marketplace offering inexpensive textbooks from more than 10,000 independent booksellers nationwide. ValoreBooks.com concentrates solely on students and your textbook needs by presenting only textbooks. Selling textbooks online can be done through the website as well, giving you the option to choose to either put your textbooks on sale directly to ValoreBooks or sign up as marketplace sellers.

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Flavio di Giorgi, professor of USP

Bad school reviews, concerns regarding professors, and poor student performances–these topics, for you, may be none of your business. You might think that these matters should be made private; that these things should be discussed within the school premises only. But then, what if you came from one of those rumored schools? What if some of those professors are your friends or people you know, at least? And most importantly, what if those students, whose cries couldn’t be heard, are your family members? These problems, coming from a big or small community, affect the educational system.

“Rate Professor” websites, online survey systems on schools and professors for students, was made for the public. Although it might sound advantageous, there are still a few people who are against it. The reason behind why some people are against this idea is: they find it as a violation to their right of privacy. When a school or a professor gets mad, it’s either because of untrue stories or shame. Shame, because they are aware that what they’re doing are unethical, but they don’t find any reason to change such attitude. On the other hand, sadly, some students take online professor ratings for granted; they don’t take surveys seriously, and they even make fun of it. But that’s didn’t defeat the purpose altogether.

Several people find such online surveys a great advantage, especially for the future generations. We all know that everything we do today could affect the future, which is why people of today are doing the most they can. These “rate professor” sites still hold authentic and context-consistent reviews that if the student was discriminating enough, he would know that the one who wrote the review was really telling a balanced story. Through these truthful and balanced stories, these review sites increase in credibility and the spillover effect of this is that the professors, themselves, will also depend on it to do self evaluation.

It’s also a way for the professor to get to know his students. You know how grumpy and old-fashioned some seasoned professors can be. They think that because a certain style has worked in his time, he would think that it would still work now. However, times change and the people also shift preferences. When these “rate professor” sites serve as their eye to the other side of their profession (how they ACTUALLY do their job), it gives him more impetus to adjust.

At the end of the day, online ratings will count so if you ever get around to writing one, make it as truthful and as balanced as possible. The future somehow depends on you, you know that!

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Online textbooks are rapidly becoming popular because they have quite a few advantages over their paper predecessors.

When trying to cut down on total budget for books, it is a good idea to look at all possible avenues. Rather than buying textbooks, it is more budget-friendly to purchase the important tomes off an e-bookstore, where you can get a huge array of great books at a really low price.

The best thing about these books is that they are easy to use, purchase, and keep. Here are our top five reasons for choosing these stores over a normal bookstore if you are not averse to the concept of e-books.

• Online textbooks are cheap. The truth is, when you go and buy expensive books, they actually cost you much more than an e-book version. Most intelligent publishers produce books which come in paperback, hardcover and e-book version nowadays. When looking for college textbooks, you can also stumble upon a reasonable store from where you can actually purchase them for cheap.
• One storing device for many. Mostly, if you purchase a Kindle, or have an e-book reader, or just own a computer, then you can easily go into any online ebookstore and purchase a good book from them. One storing device can actually keep a lot of books, so you do not have to waste time or space on these books.
• Environment-friendly. One of the biggest advantages of going paper-free is to conserve trees. Books, made of paper, make use of a huge number of wood or lumber to create, and it is a very good idea, which is safe too, and thus, makes you friendlier to the environment. Each small step from every online reader can save up a huge amount of paper, and that can add up to saving the universe.
• Easy to carry. Instead of carrying a huge number of college textbooks, and lug them across the campus, you can simply buy an online version from an e-bookstore. In college, a lot of students complain about back pains due to carrying heavy bags. This is a great way of lightening up the bag.
• Can be shared easily. A lot of times books are not available in the libraries or with the sellers, and the demand for them grows by the tenfold. However, online versions can be purchased easily and they can be easily shared as well.

So, in the end, you should look out for different kinds of books from an e-bookstore, but then, look for availability of those books. There are still publishers who have not converted their books to online versions, so be on the lookout for the ones who have.

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Just like other books, textbooks can sell millions of copies worldwide. Here are 10 of the best-selling college books for different courses.

There are several textbooks that are noted for having accumulated impressive sales over the past couple of years. There is no doubt that when it comes to books, the best sellers are usually those that are categorized as fictional novels, biographies, and historical accounts. Textbooks are not usually included in such lists but in reality, these have the potential to sell more because thousands of students are required to buy them when taking specific college courses.

When it comes to such books, here are 10 of the best sellers. You may have already come across any of these in college. You may also check these out if you want to find out what the hubbub is all about. These can also be perfect for supplemental reading.

1. Understanding Nutrition (Authors: Eleanor Noss Whitney and Sharon Rady Rolfes)
   This textbook covers basic nutrition topics like macronutrients, diet planning, food safety, and vitamins and minerals. It is so far the best selling reading material about introductory nutrition, having sold more than a million copies.
2. Psychology (Author: David G. Myers)
   As a psychology class standard, the book is one of the top choices about the course. Each new edition features meticulous updates specifically about new technologies, case studies, and latest research in the field.
3. Chemistry: The Central Science (Authors: Theodore E. Brown, Bruce E. Bursten, Patrick Woodward, Eugene H. LeMay, and Catherine Murphy)
   The book has easily outpaced all other textbooks about chemistry. The reason is that its content has been written in a way that can be more easily understood by students. Many professors also prefer to use this textbook. The 12th edition has so far sold millions of copies since its launch.
4. Principle of Microeconomics (Author: N. Gregory Mankiw)
   Not too many students like to study economics, which they often declare as an intimidating and challenging subject in college. However, this book has presented economics in a more interesting, friendly, and engaging way. Students are also given the opportunity to have an online interaction with the author for clarifications and inquiries about specific content of the book.
5. Business Law: Text and Cases (Authors: Roger LeRoy Miller, Frank B.Cross, and Kenneth Clarkson)
   The book blends teaching of classic ‘black letter law’ with cutting-edge examples that are drawn from contemporary issues and cases. Now on its 12th edition, it is used by more universities and colleges than all other business law textbooks since its initial release in 1980.
6. The Art of Public Speaking with Connect Lucas (Author: Stephen Lucas)
   Since its first release in 1989, this textbook has become among the most widely used books about speech and communication in the US. The author, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has written the content to be easier to read. To date, it has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
7. Managerial Accounting (Author: Peter Brewer, Ray Garrison, and Eric Noreen)
   The popular accounting textbook focuses on major functions of managers within organizations. The book presents accounting information required to fulfill specific financial functions. Since it was initially published, this has sold more than 3 million copies already.
8. Calculus, 7th Edition (Author: James Stewart)
   This is logically the most popular textbook for college students who take Calculus. It is filled with loads of exercises, helpful graphics, and detailed text content. Proof of its popularity is the fact that the book has already been translated into various languages like Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Italian, Korean, Indonesian, and Greek.
9. Biology with Mastering Biology, 8th Edition (Authors: Beil Campbell and Jane Reece)
   The best selling and most popular college biology textbook in the US and around the world has so far sold more than 6 million copies. The book is known as a good source of knowledge about important biology concepts like the foundations of ecosystems and cell reproduction. The 8th edition comes with a free version in e-book format for students who prefer to use virtual books.
10. Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function, 5th Edition (Author: Dr. Kenneth Saladin)
    It took Georgia college professor Kenneth Saladin four years to complete writing this textbook. The content uses conversational writing, numerous illustrations, and storytelling to help students take a better understanding of the complex topics in the subject. It has a unique perspective that is favored by students and professors alike.

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