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What's the average cost of books per semester? What's the standard deviation?

3|ink wrote:What's the average cost of books per semester?

For required texts I average 300-350/semester, plus another 100 in supplements. I usually recoup about 150 selling back at the end of the semester (but this is unpredictable with new editions coming out, demand, and so forth).

What's the standard deviation?

53.46

I wouldnt worry about books. Be prepared to get paranoid and buy a bunch of supplements.

3|ink wrote:What's the average cost of books per semester? What's the standard deviation?

This is meaningless without chi squared analysis.

concurrent fork wrote:

3|ink wrote:What's the average cost of books per semester?

For required texts I average 300-350/semester, plus another 100 in supplements. I usually recoup about 150 selling back at the end of the semester (but this is unpredictable with new editions coming out, demand, and so forth).

That would have been nice. I spent close to $600 on the required texts. I did buy new, though. So, I assume you could get that cost down a bit.

jack duluoz wrote:I wouldnt worry about books. Be prepared to get paranoid and buy a bunch of supplements.

I see people collapsing all around me with stress and paranoia. Initially I thought Pitt was different. Yeah, it's not cutthroat, but everybody's losing their shit! I guess that's just law school in general.

My costs were between $0 and $400 per semester. The higher amounts were 1L year. Generally, I buy used and rarely from the bookstore.

nealric wrote:My costs were between $0 and $400 per semester. The higher amounts were 1L year. Generally, I buy used and rarely from the bookstore.

Seriously, you can save a TON of money by emailing your professors a couple weeks before school and asking which books they're using. Half.com and amazon.com can save you hundreds over the bookstore.

What supplements are you buying?

I spent $500 for first term required books. Optional books were about $100 more.

Supplements ran me over $400. I went a little crazy. I have Crunchtimes, Glannon Guides, E&Es, flashcards, case briefs, outlines, treatises, as well as some test-taking books like GTM and LEEWs. The only thing I neglected to buy were the hornbooks since those are on reserve in our library. I simply didn't have enough time to use most of my supplements. I'll probably only pick up the E&Es and Crunchtimes next term.

Thanks all. Wow. People tell me books are super expensive in LS, but what you all are saying isn't much more than what I spent on books in UG. I averaged $300.00 and I did my best to buy used.

I managed to keep my first semester books right about $1000, but I have 6 classes.

$1100 for new books and supplements at Pepperdine for both semesters. Not horrible.

~ $300 for 4 classes + LRW. If you stay away from the bookstore and new books you can save a ton.

Also, supplements are for the weak like men with curly hair and those who wear glasses :p

JOThompson wrote:I spent $500 for first term required books. Optional books were about $100 more.

Supplements ran me over $400. I went a little crazy. I have Crunchtimes, Glannon Guides, E&Es, flashcards, case briefs, outlines, treatises, as well as some test-taking books like GTM and LEEWs. The only thing I neglected to buy were the hornbooks since those are on reserve in our library. I simply didn't have enough time to use most of my supplements. I'll probably only pick up the E&Es and Crunchtimes next term.

Wow thats a lot on supplements. Some people on here say they are worthless. I know you said you wont get as many next term but do you think they help a lot or is it just worth it at the margins?

My 2nd semester books alone would have come out to about 900. But I went to half.com and got them for 449. One dollar away from living up to its name.