<p>Well, it depends on your classes as to how crucial it is to have the book when class starts (like if you take math your first semester you’re probably going to have homework due before your book gets there). But as freshmen, you can probably find somebody in your dorm that’s in your class or that you’ve met during orientation that will let you borrow their copy. Once I was beyond my first semester, I would usually email my profs over the summer/during winter break to ask what book we needed and then go ahead and buy it. I’ve found that prices are a lot better online if you don’t wait until you go back to school and see the book list in the bookstore…because then every other college student in America that needs that book is also looking to buy it on Amazon, and the price goes up.</p>
<p>And yeah, unfortunately, they make you buy a meal plan…</p>
<p>Here’s some tips for negotiating from both collegeboard and an old CC thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/321081-how-appeal-financial-aid-awards.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/321081-how-appeal-financial-aid-awards.html</a></p>
<p>[College</a> Financial Aid Award Appeals - cost of college](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>How to Fill the Financial Aid Gap – BigFuture | College Board)</p>