ValoreBooks Releases 2015 Student Trends Report

BOSTON, June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, ValoreBooks released the report "Student Trends 2015" outlining students' perceptions of the cost of college and their tactics for managing those expenses.

With the cost of tuition and textbooks continuing to rise, ValoreBooks set out to better understand the creative ways in which college students are saving money. With more than 3,000 respondents, the ValoreBooks Student Trends Report 2015 found that most college students strongly agree that the cost of college textbooks and materials are too high, with three out of four students reporting that they pay for their own books. Only 19 percent of students responded that their parents pay for their textbooks and fewer than 10 percent of students purchase new textbooks.

According to the College Board, the average undergraduate student should budget between $1,200 and $1,300 for textbooks and supplies each year. That's as much as 40 percent of tuition at a two-year community college and 13 percent at a four-year public institution.

"More than ever, students today are burdened with the rising cost of tuition, room, board and other college expenses. Our report looks at how students are coping with these rising costs, particularly when it comes to purchasing course materials," said Kevin Walker, CEO of Valore, the company that operates ValoreBooks. "What we found is that students are being very proactive and creative about finding ways to reduce the burden of these expenses."

According to the ValoreBooks Student Trends Report, more and more students are going out of their way to save on their textbooks: opting for used books instead of new, taking advantage of textbook rentals, and selling back their books at the end of the semester. Almost half (43 percent) of students surveyed purchased used textbooks or rented textbooks during the 2014/2015 school year, with more than 60 percent of survey respondents saying they refuse to pay retail price for textbooks.

To help recoup some of their education costs at the end of the semester, nearly 40 percent of respondents indicated that they sell back at least 1-2 books per semester through college bookstore buyback programs, on Amazon and through ValoreBooks. 77% of respondents reported working part or full time during school to help pay for their education.  

In addition to being savvy about their textbook purchases, survey respondents shared other tips for how to manage the financial burden of college, including being on the lookout for the best deals, scholarships, jobs, internships, and opportunities to maximize learning while minimizing expenses.

View the complete report with all survey findings.

Related: Find out how to sell textbooks with ValoreBooks Ultimate Guide.

About Valore
Valore is a collection of online brands including ValoreBooks, SimpleTuition and Boundless, that provides innovative solutions to help students pay less for their education by providing cheaper textbooks, more affordable student loans and resources that help graduates get debt-free faster. Founded in 2006, Valore offers a comprehensive set of education-focused tools and one of the biggest online textbook marketplaces designed to save millions of students money on textbooks and improve economics for the entire textbook value chain.

With the acquisition of Boundless, which provides ready-to-use and customizable online content, study materials, and assessment items to make teaching more efficient and learning more effective, Valore is uniquely positioned to be an agent of change in how college textbooks are created, acquired and consumed.

Media Contact:
Kim Pegnato
KW Communications
[email protected] 
781-620-0016

SOURCE Valore