Is it absolutely necessary to purchase the newest edition of a textbook in order to follow along in a course? After looking at some of the deals in the marketplace I do not want to buy brand new textbooks that cost up to $100 more simply because the new edition is out.

In general I would say you're fine with the older editions, especially for upper year classes. The newer versions are definitely more aesthetically pleasing, but often the bulk of information is the same. When you consider that the textbook plays a very small role in many courses, there's an even bigger reason to get older editions.

I wouldn't go more than one version behind the currently used text book though, and I definitely wouldn't use a completely different text. The difference between Molecular Cell Biology v5 and v6 might be very small, but the difference between v3 and v6 can be huge. And Principles of Cell Biology v8 is most likely extremely different to the point of being unusable.

Hope that helps, and that my semi-hypothetical example wasn't too confusing!

No, you definitely do not need the newest edition. In my first year, for 2 of my courses, I had an older edition of the required textbook. One was math and the other was physics. The funny thing was that those 2 textbooks were used more than all the other textbooks COMBINED. (I had 2 math and physics courses that used the same textbook).

For physics, they gave us a list of chapters to read if we had the older edition.

For math, I ended up doing every question anyways so it wasn't a big deal.

Most of the time, the only difference between editions is moving the chapters around, and even so, not by much. You can find the chapter just by knowing the topic your class was covering.

Usually, it's not necessary. The prof will probably tell you at the first class whether or not an old edition is okay--it depends how much they reference figures and whatnot. You do the practise problems yourself, they're usually not assigned, so it won't really matter what edition you have. I know of at least one prof that doesn't include figures in his notes, just the figure number, so in that case having the proper edition is important. Also, if you don't use the textbook that much, then an old edition is perfectly fine.

It's waaaay too early to be looking at textbooks, though! The book lists won't be up until August, and you should wait until the first class to make sure it hasn't changed or to see if it's mandatory or just recommended (sometimes it will say mandatory on the Titles website, but the prof will tell you it's optional). And depending on the course, even 'mandatory' textbooks aren't really mandatory, unless the prof tests material only covered in the textbook and not in lectures--for science courses, that isn't really common.

Unless you're apt with textbooks and intuitively knowing if they'll change between versions, you're advised to wait until your first class to find out from the prof if its worth buying the newest edition. I've heard that some profs can get paid to promote a text, or just don't really care.. so if they look sketchy, don't listen to them; talk to a TA if you can.. they're usually bright and helpful people, unlike the sometimes-removed-from-learning teachers.

Also: make sure if its a science textbook, that you get the solutions manual! Used books sometimes won't have the solutions manual included because they usually come in packs when originally bought.
General order of bookfinding process if you're poor :
1. Find if you can google books, torrent, or just plain download the text you need.
2. Share with a friend, depending on the course; since a few classes you'll have, you won't use the text very often, if ever. (especially writing guides, design courses, some custom courseware, and possibly lab manuals)
3. Buy used
4. Buy course packs that save you money for buying multiple texts at once
5. Buy new, but cheaper old editions
6. Current used edition
7. Buy the new text (avantage is that you get extra content such as helpful website access codes)

Check out my website, you can save alot of money and books have decent descriptions on them,

www.textchangebooks.c a

Its basically a classifieds posting for textbooks!

There are cheap ways to get the newest versions, (unless if the book itself is published that year). Things like MacInsiders Marketplace, or Amazon.ca, or Facebook or Kijiji or Ebay. You just gotta look around I suppose. I myself have bought used textbooks from upper years, as well as Titles if they have a good deal.