Paying for College Textbooks When Loans Don't Cover Them

Per The College Board statistics, the average yearly cost of textbooks at a four-year college or university is $1,200. For a student who is on a tight budget, that can be a huge expense. Some scholarships and grants will not allow you to use the money on textbooks. In other cases, you may not have enough scholarship or student loan money to cover the cost of books. This puts a strain on the student who has hundreds or thousands of dollars in textbooks to buy. A cash loan can be a tremendous help to students in this position.

Before Taking Out Another Loan

Gather up your old textbooks and sell them. Sites like AbeBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and BookByte will give you cash for the textbooks you no longer need. Use this cash to fund the purchase or rental of the textbooks you currently need.

Some Colleges Refund Excess Scholarship Funds

Depending on the college or university, if there is an excess in your tuition, they will mail you the check once your college bill has been settled. If your semester’s tuition and fees are $5,000 and you have $3,000 in student loans and another $2,500 in government college loans, that excess $500 may be refunded to you by your college or university. Take out a cash loan to pay for your books before the semester begins and then use that refund to quickly pay off the cash loans once the semester is underway.

Borrow Wisely

When you must borrow money to pay for college textbooks, borrow wisely. There are a number of cash loan products available, and many ensure you have the cash in hand within one business day. As these loans take little time to process and close, you have time to shop around for the best cash loan. Compare interest rates and payment terms and find the best loan for your needs.

Do not borrow more than you need. You will be paying back the loan, whether you do it with the money you get back from selling your textbooks, your next paycheck, or with a tuition refund. Make sure you haven’t borrowed so much that you won’t be able to afford the payments. Use online payment calculators to find the amount you can afford to borrow and then start comparing rates and terms with a variety of lenders. Remember that these banks and lenders want your business, so you can use their competitive nature to get the best personal loan for your needs.