Students refuse to buy books, save cash

TEXTBOOKS, page 1bookstore’s sales come from textbooks, but the profit on e ach textbook is marginal. There is more profit in merchandise and miscellaneous items,” Kennedy said.

the books, such as CD-ROMs, web sites and workbooks. And publishers revise texts more quickly than they used to, limiting the used-book market, according to the Washington Post.

Michele Kennedy, store manager of Cabrini’s bookstore, said, “Nationwide students spend about $850 on textbooks each year. At Cabrini, students spend about $400 ontextbooks in the fall semest er and about $225 in the spring. I think Cabrini students spend slightly less money than the average student because the bookstore sells about 40 percent used textbooks while the national average is only about 23 percent. In that respect, Cabrini is doing the best it can to keep prices down.”

For many parents who sign the checks and buck-up the $33,000 each year for their child to attend and live at Cabrini, the cost of textbooks are just part of the deal and just another check to be signed. But for parents who fear the tuition hike each year and for students who finance their own education, the dreaded start of each semester brings the dreaded textbook bill.

Rebecca Gallagher, a junior finance major, said, “I have been very fortunate to have been able to buy every book I need every semester. My mother hands me her credit card, and I don’t think twice about it. I think I would have adifferent view on this issue if Iwas footing the bill. That finance book for $190 might not seem so necessary.”

“Eighty percent of the

“The used-book buyback program is very successful at Cabrini,” Kennedy said. This past December, Cabrini put $57,102 back into students’ wallets, and last May students received $46,524 from the bookstore.

Kennedy also said, “I worked at Rosemont College and I would say Cabrini gives back about 70 percent more money than Rosemont. The key to giving students the most money back is the professors. We ask that professors submit the books they will use in the fall by April 15. When we know what books will be in demand we are able to give students who have those books half of what they originally paid. About 80 percent of the teachers at Cabrini meet this deadline. That is phenomenal, most bookstores see about 20 percent meeting the deadline.”

Sophmore Daniel De Rosa said, “The price of textbooks is so high that I actually received a scholarship from my home town to pay for my books, but it is encouraging to know that Cabrini is doing more than most to help keep the cost down for students.”

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