Textbook Treachery

Ok, I go to community college because I cannot afford to go elsewhere. When you are the one footing the bill, you go where you can afford to go. I am lucky that I do qualify for grant money and scholarships or I would not be making tuition each semester. There is one thing that bugs me, like really, really irks me.

The community college was designed for working class and low-income families to get an education and/or degree to get better paying jobs, so they can move up in the world. So, though tuition is cheaper at a community college with decent courses, which transfer to most four-year universities, the textbook prices remain astronomical. Now there is the option of buying books online used, however, the campus bookstore is not going to make that easy for you. In addition to that, there are always new editions coming out and the professors require these new additions. I just spent 188.00 for a book for one class brand new because there is not option to buy used. That is nearly the cost of a course. Many books now range brand new in the $100 to 125 range if hardback and $80 to 100 in soft cover. This is supposed to be a college encouraging the working class to return to school and help low-income families afford higher education. The cost of textbooks is making this increasingly difficult.

Textbook prices should be capped at an affordable level, especially when it comes to the community college. The government wants people to seek higher education, than they should make it easier for them to achieve and be adding hidden costs to the bill. Books for classes should not cost a third or more of the class for which is for.
I will pay good money for books, however textbook prices are ridiculous and uncalled for.