(Big) College Conspiracy

[KILLER_CLOWN]

Posted for Cal Country!

[BucEyedPea]

#1 Most employers don't care what college you went to

#2 A fair amount of college is a scam, particularly the costs vis-a-vis large auditorium-style classes taught by teaching assistants, but it is not all worthless.

#3 Florida is going up 15% a year in a horrible economy in a low wage state. Admittedly it was too low—among the lowest in the nation but it's already hit a total of a 50% increase.


I knew about the textbooks scam but there are now places that rent them. The markets wins again. But they're still crooks.

[Jenson71]

Can we get a summary of the hour long video?

[Jenson71]

Originally Posted by BucEyedPea

I knew about the textbooks scam but there are now places that rent them. The markets wins again. But they're still crooks.

What is the textbook scam?

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by Jenson71

What is the textbook scam?

they're ridiculously expensive; the prices are jacked up to **** with students, new editions every few ****ing years (especially in subjects that don't need new editions that often), etc.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by H5N1

they're ridiculously expensive; the prices are jacked up to **** with students, new editions every few ****ing years (especially in subjects that don't need new editions that often), etc.

My college bookstore will sell a used book for nearly full price like $85-$100, you can return it with no discernible damage and get maybe $10-$30 bucks for it. They'll turn around and sell the same thing for $80+ again.

[Jenson71]

Originally Posted by H5N1

they're ridiculously expensive; the prices are jacked up to **** with students, new editions every few ****ing years (especially in subjects that don't need new editions that often), etc.

The prices are high, but is there an alternative to the current price of a new chemistry book? And how do we make them lower?

As for the new editions the professors make kids get, I do think that's something that can be and often should be determined by the professors.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by H5N1

they're ridiculously expensive; the prices are jacked up to **** with students, new editions every few ****ing years (especially in subjects that don't need new editions that often), etc.

He can't see that in the video. Geez, is this what college produces?

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by J-Town Fan 1988

My college bookstore will sell a used book for nearly full price like $85-$100, you can return it with no discernible damage and get maybe $10-$30 bucks for it. They'll turn around and sell the same thing for $80+ again.

Oh yeah, that's another scam. I have a bunch here from my kid's Dual Enrollment classes and all her college prep stuff. I think I'm gonna advertise on my own though.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by H5N1

they're ridiculously expensive; the prices are jacked up to **** with students, new editions every few ****ing years (especially in subjects that don't need new editions that often), etc.

Yeah, and the new edition has one minor change too.

My kid bought a Cultural Anthropology that was PAPERBACK and that was over a hundred bucks! I got it for $70 at Amazon.
It was even loaded with PC crap and I have to pay for it too!

[Reaper16]

Textbooks are a major scam. It sucks having to tell my students that they have to buy a new edition of a book for $80 instead of the previous version for $50 on Amazon. As I told them the other day, "Don't hate the player, hate the game."

[Jenson71]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Textbooks are a major scam. It sucks having to tell my students that they have to buy a new edition of a book for $80 instead of the previous version for $50 on Amazon. As I told them the other day, "Don't hate the player, hate the game."

Is that mandated by the Department?

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Textbooks are a major scam. It sucks having to tell my students that they have to buy a new edition of a book for $80 instead of the previous version for $50 on Amazon. As I told them the other day, "Don't hate the player, hate the game."

I teach a Freshman Comp. class now, and mine have to buy this huge 3 volume anthology set, one volume of which is poetry and another of which is drama. The third is fiction. We might, maybe maybe do one play out of the Drama anthology.

Textbook companies are going to shoot themselves in the foot. My English Department is talking about abandoning text books altogether and just buying standalones of the works we all do. So much of the crap that fills our textbooks is in the public domain anyway.

[Garcia Bronco]

Wait until kids really start carrying tablets. They won't be able to charge that much.

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco

Wait until kids really start carrying tablets. They won't be able to charge that much.

sure they will. sadly enough, 'online' versions, PDFs, and ebook versions are all ****ing expensive as well. I had the option of getting the kindle edition of my immunology book for grad school this semester--it was freaking 120 bucks (compared to 130 for the actual hardback textbook)... huge bargain there, I can't sell back the ebook.