Textbooks are expensive.
A textbook will cost about three times what a similarly sized general book would cost. Because publishers charge more for textbooks than for general books. The Bookstore's margin is actually less on textbooks than it is on general books. How much you spend will depend on how many credit hours you are taking, which classes you are taking, if you are buying new or used books, and if your books are being used in more than one class. If you take 101 in the Fall, and 102 in the Winter, you will not need to buy a book for 102 in the Winter, because you will already have it.