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Old edition textbook vs. New edition.

 
Old 08-25-2010 at 12:52 AM   #1
knguyens2
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Old edition textbook vs. New edition.
I want to hear from those who has used an older edition textbook. Was it less convenience, since things are on different pages? Did it make anything more difficult for you?

And from those whos bought the latest edition, do you think you could have lived with and older version?
Old 08-25-2010 at 12:57 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by knguyens2 View Post
I want to hear from those who has used an older edition textbook. Was it less convenience, since things are on different pages? Did it make anything more difficult for you?

And from those whos bought the latest edition, do you think you could have lived with and older version?
I always buy the edition that my professor recommends and references out of. Sometimes professors will reference out of two different edition while some just reference out of the newer edition.

I generally don't use all my book a lot but when I do I can't be bothered to search things up. I like to be able to go to the page with the image and read the section that it's in.
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Old 08-25-2010 at 09:42 AM   #3
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Honestly, it depends so much on the class that most of the advice you get here won't be that relevant. The best person to ask is the prof, most understand how expensive being a student is and want to help you save money. If its doable, they'll tell you.
Old 08-25-2010 at 10:47 AM   #4
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90% of the time, you will save a ton of money, and be caused very little inconvenience.

I would recommend however, to get a used copy of the current edition as your #1 option. If that fails, then buy an older edition. Buying a book new should be your last resort, unless it's hot off the presses, and even libraries don't have them yet.
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Old 08-25-2010 at 11:51 AM   #5
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Definitely check with the prof first.

For 2A03 the professor referenced the old edition of the text rather than the new edition. And for organic chem the textbooks are exactly the same in content and they have been for the past 2-3 editions.
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Old 08-25-2010 at 02:03 PM   #6
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New editions are a waste of money. The first year bio books are the biggest culprit for this... One of the profs is good friends with the author of the textbook so a new edition is on the required list every 1 or 2 years

What I do is I just buy any old textbook with similar content to what the prof is teaching. Meaning, I bought a huge A-levels chemistry book for $8 or something and ended up getting all my practice questions, readings etc from there, while the $100 one I bought from the reading list was opened about twice.

But again, I'm in science, so that might not work for other areas of study. Meaning, the laws of calculus or physics are not going to change regardless of what author is putting the book together, but econ, history, or other subjects might have a more subjective angle and need to be updated more often.

Either way, check the classifieds, new books are never worth it and the required materials can often be substituted for cheaper books.
Old 08-25-2010 at 05:05 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by madBiologist View Post
New editions are a waste of money. The first year bio books are the biggest culprit for this... One of the profs is good friends with the author of the textbook so a new edition is on the required list every 1 or 2 years
All of those dinners with the author paid off...there's yet another 'new edition' this year, but this one is a 'custom' one that she co-authored.

madBiologist says thanks to nerual for this post.
Old 08-25-2010 at 08:08 PM   #8
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FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUU UUUUUUUUUU-

I'm almost ready to GIVE away my 3rd editions to first years o ut of spite.
Old 08-25-2010 at 08:28 PM   #9
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I bought the wrong edition for Physcis 1B03 and it was fine, the prof never referenced anything, and never assigned questions from the book. I used it to learn concepts I was unclear with and it worked fine, since I bought the matching study guide I was able to practice just fine as well. Either make a friend in the class with the proper edition, just in case. Or if the prof does assign questions, look for the book in the library.
The only downside Im finding to having bought the book is that no one seems to want to buy it from me. I saved $60 buy buying it, but I would feel much better if I could resell it.
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Old 08-25-2010 at 08:46 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Melanieee View Post
I bought the wrong edition for Physcis 1B03 and it was fine, the prof never referenced anything, and never assigned questions from the book. I used it to learn concepts I was unclear with and it worked fine, since I bought the matching study guide I was able to practice just fine as well. Either make a friend in the class with the proper edition, just in case. Or if the prof does assign questions, look for the book in the library.
The only downside Im finding to having bought the book is that no one seems to want to buy it from me. I saved $60 buy buying it, but I would feel much better if I could resell it.
You can always try to sell it to other university students. Just because we don't use it doesn't mean other universities don't either. Chances are slim, but it's still worth a try.
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Old 08-25-2010 at 09:08 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jhan523 View Post
You can always try to sell it to other university students. Just because we don't use it doesn't mean other universities don't either. Chances are slim, but it's still worth a try.
I agree.

I bought a new ecology book for $110 and then the professor changed so I couldn't even sell the book back. I put it on Amazon for $80 and someone bought it (plus, I got a cash credit for shipping as well).
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Old 08-26-2010 at 12:25 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by madBiologist View Post
New editions are a waste of money. The first year bio books are the biggest culprit for this... One of the profs is good friends with the author of the textbook so a new edition is on the required list every 1 or 2 years

What I do is I just buy any old textbook with similar content to what the prof is teaching. Meaning, I bought a huge A-levels chemistry book for $8 or something and ended up getting all my practice questions, readings etc from there, while the $100 one I bought from the reading list was opened about twice.

But again, I'm in science, so that might not work for other areas of study. Meaning, the laws of calculus or physics are not going to change regardless of what author is putting the book together, but econ, history, or other subjects might have a more subjective angle and need to be updated more often.

Either way, check the classifieds, new books are never worth it and the required materials can often be substituted for cheaper books.
Can you tell me if there is a new edition for bio this year or not? I checked on titles, and it doesn't tell you the edition, and I've heard that there is one, but also that there isn't.
Old 08-26-2010 at 12:36 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by knguyens2 View Post
Can you tell me if there is a new edition for bio this year or not? I checked on titles, and it doesn't tell you the edition, and I've heard that there is one, but also that there isn't.
It's new, Kajiura wrote a part of the book this year.
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Old 08-26-2010
knguyens2
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Old 08-26-2010 at 12:39 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by madBiologist View Post
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUU UUUUUUUUUU-

I'm almost ready to GIVE away my 3rd editions to first years o ut of spite.
give it to me then (=



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