Welcome Back

Hey everyone! School starts up again tomorrow, and as the beginning of the end of my college career approaches, I feel both nervous and excited for what the future holds. For now, though, I'd prefer to focus on enjoying my last semester at GW! After a pretty hard semester in the fall, I decided to take only four classes instead of the normal five. My schedule as of now has five academic courses and includes two exercise science classes, squash and weight training; a psychology course on the theories of personality to finish up my minor; an American Studies proseminar on American in the 1990s; Introduction to Acting to fulfill my art requirement; an Art History course on Spanish and Portuguese art in the 16th century; and a Media and Public Affairs course about Media, Politics, and Film. Of my main academic courses I have to choose which class I am going to drop but I'm going to attend them all this week to see how it goes. Luckily, almost all of the books I need for my courses can be found in GW's main library, Gelman, or through the Consortium with other DC area universities.

However, in most cases, students have to pay ridiculously high prices for their text books each semester, only to sell them back for half of what they paid. The bookstore does offer used books but they are still expensive and you get less money when you try to sell them back. I am so glad someone told me to buy my books online so I didn't pay full price at the bookstore. I suggest that--and this goes for any school you attend--you buy as many of your books online as you can. Amazon usually has really good deals on new and used books, plus you can sell them back there too. Half.com, a division of Ebay, also has great deals on textbooks. A new place to get books online, Chegg.com, allows students to rent books for a low price and then you just send it back to them at the end of the semester.

If your classes require more literary or smaller books that are not necessarily "textbooks," you can check to see if they are at the library. But sometimes, even if they are more traditional textbooks, you may even be able to find it through the Consortium. I found my psychology textbook that way, so I don't have to pay $130 for my book now! The other thing about books that are available at the library is that most of the time your professor will place them on reserve so that students can use them for 2 or 3 hour periods at a time and not purchase the book for themselves.

While I am excited that I will only be purchasing one book this semester, I am saddened that I will not have the opportunity to keep my books. Sometimes I like keeping texts from my favorite classes as a memento, or just to have to read in the future. It's nice to have a full bookshelf and see the books that helped shape your understanding of the world, made you laugh or cry, made you realize something you never thought about before, or remind you of a great class experience. I saved my copy of Hiroshima after my Dean's Seminar about World War II since it was one of my favorite classes and one of the reasons I majored in American Studies. I guess I can always buy my favorite books from the semester after it's over...


Stay tuned for more about Welcome Week Activities (that means lots of free food and events)!

--Abby