Congrats on your first day of college! Do you know what your major is going to be yet?

Yes, it is quite expensive, and the books are a total rip off. I would recommend buying used through amazon.com or another online vendor- you will save hundreds of dollars each semester. I also really like bigwords.com, where you can search for the cheapest prices (but you don't have to buy there). The best way to look these up is find the ISBN first through your college book store- then you know you have an exact match!

I also used to buy slightly older additions of books online and saved tons- most of the time they update the books yearly to make more money but change almost nothing content wise. You may run in to different page numbers, but I think it's a small price to pay for saving $$$$$.

The only drawback to purchasing online is that you need to do so ahead of time to be ready for the semester, but it's very worth it.

Good luck with all of your classes, I'm sure you will love them!