For students, the first week of school is more about preparation and introduction, rather than work, and the dense line down the stairs of the bookstore is proof of that.

Meanwhile, professors like to get rolling with their lesson plans. In order to avoid wasting a week of possible work, instructors expect their students to be prepared when showing up for their first class. And they have a right to.

As college students and adults, this is the time to take responsibility for ourselves. If not for yourself, then for your families who are now paying for your education. This isn’t high school and we don’t get to sit around for free.

College is a choice; if you want to be here, prove it. If you don’t want to do so, don’t bother showing up and wasting an instructor’s time. Students who are prepared shouldn’t have to be effected by your lack of preparation.

We need to use the plethora of outlets we now have to get everything we need before school starts. There is no reason the line outside the bookstore has to be endless at the start of every school year.

For one, the bookstore itself offers their inventory online at their own website. From there you can have them shipped within the area for a low cost and save time once you get to school.

If you have the book’s ISBN number or title, you can also order your books from websites like Amazon.com and Half.com. The shipping is usually a bit more expensive, but you can save on the book costs.

Moreover, starting this semester, the bookstore offers book rentals accessible from their own website. The books are shipped to you for free, which saves you both money and the trouble of selling it back at the end of the semester. The bookstore also provides the eBook version for your computer.

Regardless of how you get your books, or any other materials for that matter, students need to be ready to work during the first week of school. Some professors have had trouble following the plans they make for classes because students can’t take quizzes on chapters they haven’t seen yet.

Others are going out of their way to help students by assigning work outside the course literature, until they buy their books.

Students need to meet professors halfway in this situation. Get your books before school starts and be prepared so you don’t waste your professor’s or fellow student’s time. Simply take responsibility for yourself. This is college, after all.