Is it okay to buy textbooks different from the ones prescribed by the university? Is there a downside in terms of assignments or exams?

worst case, just look at a friends or the library's version

and you can always view the textbook online quite easily

Originally Posted by Atheist?

worst case, just look at a friends or the library's version

and you can always view the textbook online quite easily

How can I view the textbook online? And what is the "worst case"?

If you mean buy a different version (older versions are usually much cheaper) you might be able to get away with it, but buying a completely different textbook isn't advisable since the professor might test material directly from the assigned course textbook.

A friend of mine in chem 1e03 used his brothers chem book..his brother didn't even go to mac, he went to a different university, and my friend still managed to kill that course
I don't think it really matters if the prof doesn't give out homework from the book !

Most knowledge is the same especially for say sciences. Just make sure your book you are using contains the stuff they cover and cross reference the topics not in the book.

I've seen people torrent the suggested/mandatory textbook as a reference and use completely different books (or even none at all). For science at least, all the info is basically the same anyway.

worst case: if the textbooks have very different questions/layouts then you can also use a friends or use the library collection

and by view online I meant torrent or wait till residence and use DC++

Would never recommened using a textbook that is not advised by the professor. and if you are using a previous version, i personally would never buy more than one version previous to the current version.

Originally Posted by Chris23

Would never recommened using a textbook that is not advised by the professor. and if you are using a previous version, i personally would never buy more than one version previous to the current version.

I dont think the version matters as much as the year. For example, Stewart puts out a new version of the book used for Math 1A like every 2 years. I would deffinitely use the older version, I would even use up to 3 version ago.

But one time I was trying to avoud buying a $150 book, so I was looking into old versions, and the previous version was published in like 1985. So I said no way hozay

Originally Posted by Melanieee

I dont think the version matters as much as the year. For example, Stewart puts out a new version of the book used for Math 1A like every 2 years. I would deffinitely use the older version, I would even use up to 3 version ago.

But one time I was trying to avoud buying a $150 book, so I was looking into old versions, and the previous version was published in like 1985. So I said no way hozay

Ahh must be different then for engineering. In my classes, i find it to be critical that you have all the assigned textbook problems, as the test material tends to relate to the material being tested. And our textbooks seem to change the numberings of some problems from version to version, so 3 versions back might be a bit much for me!
And i think you mean Jose haha

Originally Posted by Chris23

Ahh must be different then for engineering. In my classes, i find it to be critical that you have all the assigned textbook problems, as the test material tends to relate to the material being tested. And our textbooks seem to change the numberings of some problems from version to version, so 3 versions back might be a bit much for me!
And i think you mean Jose haha

Yea if you know your courses are going to depend on questions from the text, it would be a hassle to always check if yours are numbered corretly, or if the questions are even the same.

I only ever get "practice" problems, which I dont do, because we never get solutions! So if I do the problem and either think Ive done it right or cant figure it out. Too bad I dont learn anything cause I dont know what the real solution is. So I just follow the lectures and material, the textbooks are kinda supplementary.

But also I find it hard to find my upper year math textbooks online as pdfs, my books are so obscure now!

lol in elec eng, somebody ALWAYS finds the pdf for the textbook

It definitely depends on the courses. I know for Sciences sometimes you can get away with it but for your electives (Soc Sci + Humanities courses) do not attempt to do it. Much of the time the courses test on specific knowledge that can only be obtained through a certain textbook. I've screwed myself over before by buying an old version that didn't have a lot of the info that I was being tested on. A lot of profs will be honest with you and tell you whether you need that specific textbook or not, you could always ask.

It all depends on the prof. Sometimes the prof will tell you that an older version is okay, sometimes they don't explicitly say anything so it's up to you.

I personally never buy a textbook until around the 2nd-3rd week of classes. Sometime I never get the textbook because the prof posts good lecture notes on Avenue or I have a friend in the class that has the text.

Go to a few lectures and see how the prof teaches, if they post all lectures online (I mean full lecture notes, not some barebones crap) then usually there is no point in buying a textbook since the lecture is probably parroting the textbook anyways. Econ 1B03 with Holmes is a great example of a class where the lecture notes are 100% from the text so don't waste money.

In other cases, usually for classes like English, Sociology, or Pol Sci you can probably do well without buying a text if you attend lectures and take good notes.