With every new semester comes a reunion with friends, suitcases and boxes full of all sorts of random odds and ends, the anticipation of beginning new classes ... and textbook shopping.
With so many bookstores, deciding where to purchase textbooks can be quite the challenge. Furthermore, there are the questions of whether one should buy books in an actual store or online, used or new, hardback or paperback. With so many options, some find the entire process stressful, but others enjoy the experience nonetheless.
"Actually, I kind of like looking around at the books," second-year Nursing student Joanne Kim said. "It gets me more excited about the school year."
First-year Engineering student Michael Chapman said he looks forward to shopping for textbooks for a different reason.
"I find book shopping fun because it's right when we get back" from break, Chapman said. "It's a bonding experience. I got to bookshop with friends this semester as opposed to with my parents, like first semester, so I enjoyed it much more."
Other students found this particular semester's textbook hunt easier than in the past.
"It's actually the easiest process of book searching I've done," second-year College student Brian Melchiowni said. "It was very simple -- just walk in and out. My time in [the bookstore] was the quickest ever."
For many, the generally high price of textbooks is a major issue.
"For me, the primary concern is saving the most money, which makes [textbook shopping] even more stressful," second-year College student Pamela Kao said. "There's better prices online so [the bookstore] versus online shopping is a tough decision."
Others have come to the same realization.
"I usually try to buy [textbooks] online because I can get better deals," College graduate student Jenny Phillips said. "I don't think [the bookstore] is turning much of a profit, but I do wish they'd release the textbook lists earlier. You do feel penned in once the semester starts."
Still, students see the brighter side of high textbook prices.
"It'd be nice to get [textbooks] for less," first-year College student Patricia Rowley said. "But when you want to sell them back, you want to get a decent amount. It's kind of a trade-off."
Many students are troubled by the high prices, but shop at the bookstore anyway.
"I kind of like being able to walk around and look at the textbooks," fourth-year College student Sarah Burke said. "I sometimes get interested in a class just by walking by the books."
First-year Engineering student Kimberly Everett said she shops at the bookstore because there is no uncertainty about whether or not she has the right textbook.
"You pay money to be less worried," Everett said.
Yet, many students find the bookstore policies unfair.
"I feel like they charge too much, especially for books you can't return or that you can't return once you've taken the wrapping off," Burke said. "And I think they should make the return deadline the same as the add/drop deadline" as opposed to earlier.
Other students had suggestions to make the textbook shopping process easier.
"They should make [the textbooks] more spread out, so it's not as hectic," Kim said, suggesting that different departments keep their textbooks in their department libraries, so that the bookstore is less crowded.
Regardless of the annoyances posed by shopping for textbooks, it is an experience that often brings home the fact that a new semester has begun.
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