Recent interns and graduates working at Google have put together College Tips by Google to help college students utilize Google Services to improve the college experience.  These college tips are broken up into three main categories:

1) Prospective College Students

This category is focused on helping anyone thinking about getting into college.  The tips start with utilizing Google Docs to create a list of prospective tools.  From there utilize Google Mail to generate a “professional” email address for the application process, using Google Maps for directions and street views, maybe use Google Product Search to find items for your eventual dorm room.  Perhaps you can find your roommate on Google+ to learn about each other before that first awkward hand shake after you found your ticket on Google’s Flight Search.  Another useful site for prospective college students is Zinch, which was recently purchased by a leading textbook rental company, Chegg.  Zinch is like LinkedIn for high school students by helping them with the admission process and finding college scholarships while creating a professional profile.

2) Current College Students

Argh, how can you possible manage everything happening at college?  Google Calender to the rescue, which you can easily share with friends, though you may prefer to handle that by creating and managing circles from within Google+.  When working on literary assignments there is Google Scholar to help find creditable sources for citation in your papers, but don’t forget perennial favorite Wikipedia.  Need to work on your group project, but it is too cold to leave your dorm room? Utilize Google+ Hangouts for a video chat similar to what is offered by long time favorite, Skype.  There are many other apps to help you find what is best around, but Google is certainly going to plug their Google Places functionality to help find your local college favorites.

3) College Seniors

Getting ready to join the real-world? Manage everything with Google Tasks and Docs, and even build a promotional website with Google Sites.  You might have been penniless for years during your college life, but don’t go too crazy when you start getting paid by implementing Google Advisor to understand and quickly compare checking accounts, credit cards, or eventually mortgages.  Don’t forget to document your final days at college with Google+ Instant upload and find your way to your new life with Google Maps.  Think you are totally awesome?  Google recommends applying to work with the big G.

Overall, the site is new and only provides basic tips, but for those not familiar with Google Services it can be very helpful.  Heck, if you think you have some useful college tips apply at Google Student Blog to possibly get featured.  Organize your life with Google Services, but don’t forget cheap textbooks or textbook rentals from your friends here at RentScouter helping you save money at college.  We can even help you find free textbooks with our growing free book resource page.

This continues our coverage of Nebraska Book Company’s (NBC) bankruptcy reorganization plans as NBC attempts to recover from filing for Chapter 11 protection in February of 2011, first reported by Reuters.  During its bankruptcy filings, NBC said it lost over $100 million in its most recent fiscal year on revenues of over $600 million.  NBC reports that it is also evaluating nearly 30% of their other college textbook stores, or at least 40 of their 138 off-campus stores.  Nebraska purportedly owns or helps operate nearly 280 bookstores on and off campus, though they claim

Our on-campus stores continue to perform well, and it is our plan to expand the company in this direction

per Barry Major, the company’s current president.  Major notes that closing bookstores is not an easy decision, but it must be done in the interest of NBC surviving.  He further states, their online textbook sales are growing especially in the area of textbook rentals, and is excited by the prospect of more and more schools wanting to outsource their bookstore operations.  Major also sited praise for the company’s debt partners that have stood by NBC as they navigate their way to profitability in an every changing college textbook marketplace.

The story on MarketWatch covers many of the forward-looking statements for NBC.

Students, teachers and administrators alike find themselves excited over certain classroom technologies, and this will give them something more to be excited over for the next semester.  Kno and 20 Million Minds are collaborating to launch the nation’s first web-based 2.0, an open source eTextbook for college students and teachers.

The first of the eTextbooks to be offered will be based on the top twenty-five courses of undergraduates in the country.  Some numbers were run looking at California community colleges alone.  There will be more than 120,000 students taking General Statistics this year, and the median price for a new book of this subject is typically above $150.  Together, students will spend over $10 million on textbooks for General Statistics alone.

If you are one of these students, do not spend your money yet.  This week, Kno has launched a promotion offering students the chance to win a free textbook from its Kno eBookstore for anyone who possesses an EDU email address.  Simply, give them your email.  In addition, they also state that your chances of winning might increase for those who share this information on Facebook with friends.

If you are not familiar with Kno, they debuted their digital textbook program the previous fall, with the intention of lowering costs for students by offering them eTextbooks.  They originally created a “Kno Tablet”, including a dual screen, however, the tablet was too expensive.  For the spring of 2012, in keeping with the concept of lowering textbook costs, they now will provide eTextbooks via an iPad app.  In addition they have launched the browser based textbook app, allowing the student to view the book in the iPad app as well as the browser simultaneously.  With these options, students can purchase the 2nd Edition of Collaborative Statistics for $20.

As with most innovative, cost-saving technology, usually there are other entailed perks.  With the partnership of Kno, and 20 Million Minds, not only are they offering students a way to save money on textbooks, but they are giving students the opportunity to enhance their learning experience.

“This digitally enhanced eTextbook provides a vision of what is now possible for a new generation of open content and authors,” says Dean Florez, the president of the 20 Million Minds Foundation.

It is not new for college students having a challenge with cash flow, and with this technology, the 20 Million Mind Foundation is expecting a “massive adoption by faculty by spring 2012”.  With the partnership of Kno and 20 Million Minds, eTextbooks can now be elevated and enhanced, making education, as it should be, more accessible through cheap textbooks.

The project has been broken into phases, with Monday’s launch of phase 1 featuring materials for 42 common courses including Introduction to Chemistry and Calculus I. Phase 2 will launch in the Spring of 2013 and will add another 39 courses to the library. A team of instructors, instructional designers and librarians developed and peer reviewed the current 42 available courses, using available open source materials to put together course materials that stay within the $30 limit.

The Student Public Interest Research Group (PIRGs) conducted an informal study which estimates that the Open Course Library could save students as much as $41.6 million on textbooks annually if adopted at all of Washington’s community and technical colleges. However, the 42 faculty course developers and their departments are estimated to save students $1.26 million by using these materials during the current school year, a full $80,000 more than the cost of creating the program. “These savings will not only help Washington’s students afford college, but clearly provide a tremendous return on the original investment,” said Nicole Allen, Textbook Advocate for the Student PIRGs.

This is one of several small steps being taken across the nation to make education more affordable for students with cheap textbooks and for such legislation to get funding in a time of staggering budget cuts is truly inspiring. Washington’s Open Course Library is leading a charge that I sincerely hope gains a lot more steam, and with the planned addition of 39 more courses in  2013, it seems the Library may continue to grow. The question now is whether or not this project can be repeated and gain state funding across other parts of the country.

Some common questions about the Open Course Library:

1. What is it? The Open Course Library is a collection of shareable course materials, including syllabi, course activities, readings, assessments.
2. Who is it created for? OCL materials are created for faculty to use in their instruction.
3. So what? Students in our colleges spend about 25% of their total education costs on textbooks (about $1200 per year for a full-time student). The Open Course Library eliminates expensive textbooks and presents faculty with high quality, adaptable course materials.
4. Is that all? Nope. There’s more. The Open Course Library may also increase completion rates by providing students with high quality, affordable educational materials. A study of student completion rates is in progress.
5. Is it designed to replace faculty or face-to-face instruction? The Open Course Library does not replace faculty or force them to teach online.
6. Who owns the courses? These course materials were created through an optional SBCTC grant, and the SBCTC Open Licensing Policy requires that all materials created through optional grants carry an open license. Unless otherwise noted, the Open Course Library materials are owned by SBCTC and freely shared to the world with a Creative Commons Attribution-only license (CC-BY).
7. How was it created? Faculty course designers were selected through a competitive bid process. They worked with instructional designers, librarians, and other support staff to create the courses. Before creating new content, faculty searched for exiting, high quality open educational resources, or OER. They then filled in the gaps with their own course materials.
8. How do faculty adopt a course? All curriculum developed for the Open Course Library is free, digital, and shareable. We invite faculty everywhere to explore, copy, customize, translate and adopt any and all course materials. We only ask that you give us credit somewhere in your course. Here’s an example: “[Portions of] or [This] course adapted from the Open Course Library of the Washington State Colleges. More information at http://opencourselibrary.org.” We also encourage you to use Creative Commons to openly license your course materials and share it with others.
9. Are there any costs? Some courses currently require the purchase of a low-cost textbook. If an OCL course requires the purchase of a textbook or other resource, the cost may not exceed $30 per student. All other materials are free and there is no cost to adopt the course.
10. How can I contribute to the Open Course Library? Adopt the materials, spread the word, and to share your own course materials online with a Creative Commons license.

Open Course Library is one of many alternatives for cheap textbooks for college students.

In today’s globally interdependent globe, a effectively-rounded education is crucial to prepare today’s young folks for the future. Participants, who devote a summer or semester abroad to improve their interpersonal abilities, have a far better cross-cultural understanding and have the opportunity to develop essential language expertise. An knowledge in one more country bolsters a resume and will assist a past participant stand out from the pack when looking for a job. Moreover, academic credit is awarded for these programs and can save on college costs because AmeriSpan College Study Abroad programs are generally less expensive than a semester at a university in the USA.

“Most agree that studying abroad is a smart selection for the development and career prospects of college students, but like all education it can be a big investment. Our objective with these study abroad scholarships is to make it easier for more men and women to participate in these rewarding programs”, commented John Slocum, AmeriSpan’s Co-founder.

The new scholarship grants are portion of AmeriSpan’s “Study Abroad: Push it Forward” initiative which includes a distinctive study abroad fundraising program, new “student-friendly” tuition rates and a contest focused on sharing study abroad stories and advice. The fundraising program is particularly innovative as the program is created to turbocharge a participant’s own efforts by promoting their story to much more than 30,000 past AmeriSpan participants and study abroad enthusiasts.

AmeriSpan’s Vice President adds, “Though many of our participants utilize financial aid, student loans, fundraising and scholarships, it often just isn’t sufficient. These grants coupled with our tuition rates which are considerably less costly than other organizations will enable far more to knowledge programs such as our popular semester in Barcelona, Spain.”

Founded in 1993, AmeriSpan Study Abroad gives far more than 100 study abroad, language-learning and volunteer programs worldwide for participants of all ages and language level. The Philadelphia-based organization has lengthy been an innovator in the study abroad field, constructing its reputation by offering high good quality, low price language immersion programs. In May possibly 2011, the company was named a Finalist for the “Innovators in Social Media” award sponsored by GoAbroad.com. In September 2010, the organization was awarded its 2nd consecutive ‘Star Award’ as the Greatest Agency in North America. The industry’s prestigious Star Award is voted by organizations worldwide and awarded annually.

Scitable is a free learning community mainly focused on life sciences, created by Nature that has recently launched “Principles of Biology”, a college level electronic textbook focused on biology.  Drawing upon their experience with Scitable, Nature has made this new college textbook full of interactive features like online grade book for instructors, quizzes and assessments, and more.  What is perhaps most notable about this biology college textbook release is that upgrades of new content is free for life – hello answer to cheap textbooks for college.

Principles of Biology from Nature

So how much is Nature asking for this biology textbook – is it really a cheap book?  Nature is only charging $50 for this electronic textbook with free upgrades for life.  However, couldn’t someone find all this information online for free?  Perhaps, but Nature has taken this into account:

There is some DRM, but the most important part of the anti-piracy strategy we’ve chosen for this program is ensuring that the real product, in its home context, is so effective that there is a significant disincentive to break the rules. For example, we integrate assessments into every page of the textbook, and those assessments feed directly into the online gradebook that instructors will use to keep tabs on their students’ progress. Without purchasing full access to the digital product, students won’t be able to feed into the gradebook, which should dramatically undermine their ability to get a passing grade. Similarly, we make it very easy for instructors to customize the interactive textbook while they are adopting it, which means that any pirated version floating around won’t help students to be aligned with their own class. Perhaps some people will take the time to find ways to get around the rules. But at the same time the relative ease of use of this product will be, I believe, very appealing to a generation that’s grown up online, and will be a strong selling point of the program.

$50 for a used textbook for college is cheap, let alone considering one where the content will always be updated free of charge.  Vikram Savkar of Nature feels that their college textbooks are born “digital” and designed to capitalize upon that new and exciting platform instead of just putting the same content from a regular college textbook into ereader format.  Savkar also states that the constant updating is also essential to ensuring continued value of their biology textbook by keeping it updated and easily searchable:

It’s quite time consuming to dig through your old boxes, dust off a book from ten years ago, and flip through a few hundred pages to find the tidbit you were looking for (only to discover that it’s now out of date). What if searching your old textbooks were as easy as typing a term into Google? And if you had the confidence that someone behind the scenes was keeping them up to date and rigorously high quality? I think you’d find that you would refer to many of your textbooks over time. You’d hear a news story about genomics, for example, but no longer remember exactly what it is, do a quick search on your Nature platform, and within a half an hour be back up to speed.

So not only are they offering a cheap textbooks solution, but one that will stay current and useful.  Savkar summarizes, “I believe we’re moving into an age when textbooks can be lifelong tools, rather than short-lived supplies for one college class.”

“Principles of Biology” is meant to be read on a Kindle or Nook, nor on a tablet like the iPad, Kno, or even Android platform, but rather a browser based experience to be able to reach the largest audience:

In the first place, because it’s browser-based it will natively be accessible on essentially any internet-enabled device; no one will ever have to wait for us to roll out an app for whatever new device they have just purchased.  In the second place, a browser-based book is more accessible to screen readers and other devices for disabled students. Third, for the basic purchase price we will give students lifetime access to the material . . . and our editorial team will keep the content current as the state of science evolves, so that even after 5 years the former student, when returning to their college textbook, will find that it’s completely up to date. Lifetime access is difficult to picture for many kinds of app-based books, because of how rapidly the underlying technologies and devices will evolve; whereas a browser-based solution has a good likelihood, in our opinion, of being accessible decades from now. Fourth, because all of the content and data for the book is stored in the cloud, access is not locked to a particular machine, or even to any set of machines. Students can use the interactive textbook from any machine they happen to be at, so long as they remember their user name and password, with no new set-up.

Nature offers a variety of social and peer to peer features on the Scitable platform, but removed those in their cheap textbooks in favor of instructor defined online assessments and grade books.  They hope to integrate with existing content management systems already in place at other colleges nationwide including Blackboard and Desire2Learn.  Nature.com wisely choose to utilize HTML 5 as their base to ensure compatibility of their interactive features across all features including iOS for the iPad.

Nature has a very interesting electronic solution for cheap textbooks for college with several unique twists that could be the start of great things in the world of cheap textbooks – finally.

Everyone knows that textbook prices are out of control even with new options in recent years like textbook rentals and buying used textbooks online.  The average college student spends around $900 per year on textbooks with publishers trying to raise prices with “enhanced” unnecessary features like pass-codes, CDs, and other content not required.  Textbook publishers deploying such tactics have caused the prices of textbooks to raise four times faster than inflation.  However, what can college students do to reduce the costs of textbooks?

A group of students, faculty and various organizations launched an awareness program called “The Textbook Rebellion“.  This movement included two mascots and events planned at 40 campuses in 14 states to raise awareness of high textbook costs and help explore options.  The movement hoped to get at least 10,000 signatures on its textbook rebellion petition.

The idea is to no longer have $200 textbooks and promote ways that students can save money on textbooks by finding cheap textbook options like open source textbooks, buying college textbooks online, and finding the best textbook rental web sites.  A recent study by the Student PIRGs found that nearly 70% of college students are not purchasing at least one book for class because the cost is too high, despite the fact the nearly 80% of students felt they would do worse in the course without the required textbook.

The Textbook Rebellion visited the following schools promoting ways of finding cheap textbooks:

Wed 8/31 – University of Maryland

Thu 9/1 – Rutgers Camden NJ

Fri 9/2 – Rutgers Newark NJ, Rutgers New Brunswick NJ

Tue 9/6 – UConn Storrs, UConn Hartford, Trinity College

Wed 9/7 – UMASS Amherst, Worcester State College

Thu 9/8 – UMASS Boston, Boston College

Fri 9/9 – UMASS Lowell, Salem State College

Mon 9/12 – UMASS Dartmouth

Wed 9/14 – Indiana University

Thu 9/15 – University of Wisconsin Madison

Fri 9/16 – Truman College, Wilbur Wright College (City Colleges of Chicago)

Mon 9/19 – Colorado University Denver, Colorado University Boulder, Colorado University, Colorado Springs

Tue 9/20 – University of New Mexico

Wed 9/21 – University of Arizona, Arizona State University

Thurs 9/22 – University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California

Fri 9/23 – University of California Irvine, University of California Riverside

Mon 9/26 – University of California San Diego

Tue 9/27 – University of California Santa Barbara

Wed 9/28 – University of California Santa Cruz

Thu 9/29 – University of California Berkeley

Fri 9/30 – De Anza College, City College of San Francisco

Mon 10/3 – University of California Davis

Tue 10/4 – Southern Oregon University

Wed 10/5 – University of Oregon, Lane Community College

Thu 10/6 – University of Washington

Fri 10/7 – Evergreen State College

Numerous colleges are already offering textbook rentals at campus bookstores many of them run by BookRenter or Rent-a-Text.

How to find the best online college textbook rental web sites to get cheap textbooks:

Here at RentScouter, we are constantly searching out the best online college textbook rental web sites for those of you seeking cheap textbooks and might not have a local book rental program.  Additionally, you should always get a textbook rental price comparison online to compare to local prices for renting or buying textbooks online.

We compare prices for new, used, ebook, and college book rentals to help you find the cheapest textbooks possible.  Hundreds of online textbook web sites are searched, including Amazon, Abebooks, eBay, and many other textbook retailers.  A textbook rental can definitely save you money up-front, but remember if you buy a textbook online or at a bookstore you are able to sell back your book for cash.

In a similar manner, if you rent or buy textbooks online make sure to get a textbook buy back price comparison so you do not sell your books to cheaply.  Use our book sell back price comparison to learn which online web site will pay you the most for your college textbooks once you are done with finals, or if you have dropped a class after mid-terms.  Remember that generally, the earlier you sell back your book the price you will get before the market becomes flooded with copies of your textbook reducing the cash prices buyback companies will pay for your college books.

 Search online to find the best college textbook rental web sites compared to buying textbooks online for cheap textbooks.

According to court filings the company said the following about its inability to find funding:

various macroeconomic indicators, including a tightening of capital markets, as possible concerns with the debtors’ procuring the exit financing at this time

How about just being out of touch with current trends towards finding cheap textbooks by buying textbooks online or with textbook rentals?  NBC officials chastised college students seeking anything other than high priced new textbooks from NBC as “value shoppers” – so they seem to be stating that anyone not wanting to pay their high-priced textbook store prices must a shopper they don’t want?  Pretty sure people will be happy to not hand over their hard earned money to NBC via any of the over 290 college bookstores it operates throughout the country.

Not surprisingly, potential lenders want to see how NBC recently performed during the recent textbook high season.  However, sales of books for August and September in it’s textbook stores will not be fully reported till later in October.  NBC said it can take several more weeks before it can “get behind” the numbers – sounds a little sketchy.

Apparently, the confirmation hearing has been pushed back to October 27th, 2011 to review the current plan which was to remove $150 million of debt from their balance sheet.  The plan involved exchanging current debt for new debt in the form of cash and new stock issuance once the first and second lien holders had been paid in full.  The stock would be divided amongst subordinated noteholders of the operating company and holders of notes by the holding company.

According to our industry contacts NBC was known as the dinosaur of the textbook supply market – very slow to adopt technological change and very hard to work with regarding any new ideas.  It would appear that their set ways is sending them the way of dinosaur as I doubt any potential lender that takes a serious look at the marketplace would want to invest in an antiquated company when MBS, SE Textbooks, or other companies could easily fulfill any void left by NBC.  There is certainly money to made with the college bookstores that NBC owns and operates if they adopt different practices, but with the bankruptcy of Borders the value of brick and mortar bookstores is certainly something question.

Whether or not you are a student returning to school or a parent sending your youngsters to school, there are costs linked with furthering one’s education. Tuition, books, supplies, housing, etc… all add up and can cause a major strain on a family’s finances. A lot of students and parents of students have turned to using credit cards to cover educational costs when conventional student financing does not suffice. Below are some typical methods of paying for your education, a list of consequences one might incur if you default on your student loans, and some guidelines from Prestige Monetary Solutions on how to take control of any credit card debt.

Resources for students

1.    FAFSA, Cost-free Application for Federal Student Aid, to help determine if you qualify for government-funded loans or grants. Parents may possibly also qualify for the Parent Plus loan from the government.

2.    Apply for “private student loans” by way of Sallie Mae or other banks.

3.    Ask your student adviser or your school’s financial adviser for alternate scholarships.

4.    Save, save, save to pay cash for school.

Do not default on your student loans! Repercussions of defaulting include, but are not limited to:

1.    Wage garnishment with out a court order.

2.    Suspension of state professional licenses.

3.    Garnishment of social security/disability income.

4.    Withholding of IRS tax refunds.

If your debt to income ratio is too high, here are some tips to assist you obtain debt relief:

1.    Create a monthly budget by reviewing income and expenses to determine how much you can afford to pay toward your credit card bills. You can use the a debt calculator on various internet sites, or on our website.

2.    Once your budget has been determined, you can decide amongst your options:

•     Pay creditors more than the minimum amounts.
•     Get a consolidation loan to pay off all your student credit cards.
•     Explore credit card counseling programs to see if they can reduce your principle while maintaining an affordable monthly payment.
•     Research debt relief programs – specifically programs that do not charge upfront fees and reduce your principle balance in 36 months or less.
•     Declare bankruptcy a last resort due to length and cost of the method and the effect it will have on your long-term credit rating.

Prestige Financial Solutions strongly recommends that students consult with a debt adviser to help assess their scenario and further explain alternatives. To locate trustworthy businesses who may be able to aid you, check out the Better Business Bureau’s, Angie’s List or other sources for recommendations. Consumers should be well-informed and ask questions, as there are pros and cons to each and every solution.

“Anxiety triggered by credit card debt can be a highly emotional scenario and folks need to have to be sure they’re working with a trustworthy, established organization that has their ideal interests in mind,” said Amy Thompson, a founder of Prestige Monetary Solutions.