Tyler (KYTX) - Putting your student through college could cost you between 5 and 10-thousand dollars a year just in tuition.
And top that off with all the expenses that follow.
Many college students are finding the cost of textbooks rising, and they're finding ways to cut costs.
Many students say they can easily rack up a bill of more than $500 a semester just in books.
One study found the cost of college textbooks jumped 14% in less than 3 years. And that leaves many with limited funds looking for the cheapest buy.
Tyler student Brittanni Hanna is pricing books for the fall semester.
"I was expecting to probably spend at least $500, it only added up to less than $400. So not bad for this semester," says Hanna, an education major at UT Tyler.
And the cost adds up fast.
"$400-500 my freshman year was more, had to get Biology books, and a&p books and history books," says Loren Sedej, a UT Tyler student.
Students hit stores like textbook brokers in Tyler early, looking for the best way to save a little paper on hardbacks.
"Prices definitely vary, depending on how many classes they're taking and if the book is new or old," says Billy Plasket with Textbook Brokers.
From used copies, to buying online ..
"Students actually like to have a hard copy, I've found," says Plasket.
Even the option of renting books.
Sites like rent scouter.com now offer students books to rent .. Shipped right to their door.
"Never heard of renting them. Usually buy mine and sell them back and get cash back," says Hanna.
"I like buying them here," says Sedej.
Whatever method works.
"Keep options open, hunt, hunt, hunt and see what you can find as the cheapest," says Hanna.
Students are hunting for new ways to foot the bill before heading to class.
Textbook brokers says its looking into renting books from their store in the spring.
A federal law could play a big role in cutting costs.
It requires publishers to provide textbook price information to professors in advance, in order to get the cost out to students sooner, so they have more time to find a good deal.
