<p>@nYc91: Not necessarily; I recommend emailing your professors and asking, because some do assign problems from the textbook, and you don’t want to be stuck wondering why yours says to use a slide rule to do some calculation, while the newer edition says to use a graphing calculator.</p>
<p>@Jewels_08: This has always been a tough situation for me. It depends on whether you want to buy online or get them from one of the bookstores in the area. I have had professors told us not to get such and such book the first day of class, but also most professors jump right into the material, so if you’re stuck waiting a week for a textbook and it can put you at a disadvantage. Emailing professors is a great way to find out in advance which books to get, though.</p>