This isn’t high school anymore. Your teacher isn’t going to hand you a free graffitied copy of The American Nation on the first day of school that you will then have to carry back and forth for the rest of the year. Yep — now you’ve got to buy all of those books. And in the end, it’ll cost you quite a chunk of change. (We know. We’ve been there.) Also, let’s not forget the graphing calculators, pens, spiral notebooks, and computer software. Unfortunately, we can’t knock any zeros off your mounting school supply bill, but we can point you in the right direction to make your money-hemorrhaging a little more convenient. And keep in mind that for the first week or so of school, most of these stores will have extended hours, so you’re covered when you realize that you still need a certain text as you’re sitting down to dinner.
College of Charleston Bookstore
University Books of Charleston
College of Charleston has two convenient locations around campus for all of your Cougar pride and school supply needs. Its official bookstore is located next to the Francis Marion Hotel in the Lightsey Center on Calhoun Street, within walking distance of several dorms. Plus, with two Starbucks on either side of the store, you can stop for a Frappucino to combat the post-shopping panic. There’s also University Books on King Street, which will buy your books back from you at the end of the semester.
For all you military college folks, the Citadel Bookstore is your one-stop shop for all things school related. The bookstore doesn’t just sell books. They’ve got T-shirts and baseball caps, plus drinks and snacks to stock up on for late night crammers. They even have a gift shop filled with all of those tailgating necessities. Plus, if you’re like most of us, you probably forgot something on your mile-long packing list. But don’t panic. Whether it’s a light bulb or an alarm clock, the Citadel Bookstore’s got you covered.
Charleston Southern University Bookstore
Pirate jokes aside, if you’ve dedicated your college years to Charleston Southern, you’re going to need to stop by the bookstore to stock up on your Buccaneer memorabilia. Oh right, and books too, we suppose. This one is located on campus off of University Boulevard.
Art Institute of Charleston Online Bookstore
If you’re going to the Art Institute of Charleston, you may have noticed that there’s no campus bookstore. Weird, right? That’s because the school has a bookstore online where you can go to buy all of your supplies. The only catch is that you have to know your login info — e-mail address and password — to access it. It’s kind of like that super exclusive party where only the chosen few are allowed through the front doors. Better get used to it.
Trident Tech gives you a bunch of choices for where to buy your books. Depending on which campus you attend (from North Charleston to downtown to Moncks Corner), each area has one devoted bookstore for all of its students. Along with a gift shop, each has software and various supplies for sale. Even better, if you’re stuck with a bunch of unwanted books at the end of the semester, just stop by to sell them back to the school.
And, of course, if you’re running out of luck with your local bookstores, like when they don’t have that really obscure research text in stock anymore, check out Amazon.com. There are tons of used books for sale and prices are generally cheaper than what you find down the street.
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