EDITORIAL: Amarillo College Bookstore: Worth the Wait?

September 12, 2012

Two weeks of the semester are already down and there is more than enough stress to be passed around. Assignments and projects are already due so let the procrastination begin.

As is always the case with a new semester students also have to prepare for each class by buying the required books for those classes. If only that were as easy as it sounded.

The scene at Amarillo College just a couple of weeks ago was that of hundreds of students rushing to the bookstore to get copies of the overpriced books they needed for each class. Many students are already familiar with the process and how dreadful it can be, while others are new to the process and have no idea what they are in for.

As a new student one might expect friendly customer service and help in finding the materials that can be hard to locate. The reality is that too often at the AC bookstore students are left stranded with little to no help at all or may find that the materials they need are completely sold out. If that isn’t frustrating enough, customers can spend hours at a time waiting in a long line only to see the jaw dropping total and then learn that they don’t have enough financial aid to cover the cost and eventually shelling out their own precious dollars.

Many times the bookstore option are outdated or short on supply leaving many students with no other options but to look outside of AC for their materials.

When all is said and done at least at the end of the semester one can return those books for at least a portion of what they spent right?

Well sometimes at least. Always seems to be the most expensive books are yours to keep forever unfortunately, or at least don’t seem to be worth as much after all the use you got out of it says the AC bookstore.

How ironic. What happened to the old public school days of free books and no lines, and occasionally gold stars for good behavior. Well we had to grow up at some point.

No worries fellow Badgers, alternatives do exist. Some students find that others may already have the necessary books and can simply buy them from those people. Others find rental services where books can be returned at the end of the semester.

One of the more common alternatives is that of buying online. Websites such as Amazon can offer better deals at times for the required books.

Preparing for school will always be a stressful time and while schooling and books will always go hand in hand students can find ways to make it easier.

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