AOL Money & Finance writer and editor Zac Bissonnette is a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and an expert on getting a great education without going broke. Got a college question? Leave a comment and he'll get back to you!

Last month I wrote about my strategy of buying old, theoretically outdated, editions of textbooks for my classes, betting that they would be good enough to get me on the Dean's List at the cost of 1 penny per book.

But most students will head to the college bookstore to shell out hundreds of dollars for books that may only be used tangentially in their classes. However I've been told that some professors, fancying themselves socially responsible, have made the books for their classes available at off-campus independent bookstores rather than the college store, forcing students to travel to get their supplies and, in all probability, pay more than they would have to because independent shops lack the scale and purchasing power of the largest university in the state.

I'm not unsympathetic to the professor's case -- I try to shop locally too -- but here's the thing: if they want to support local businesses, they should do so with their own money, not finance their agendas with the wallets of students who are facing ever-increasing tuition and fees. It's very easy to be generous with other people's money: maybe those tenured professors should just buy the books for the students themselves, and donate some money to the struggling independents. I'd have a lot more respect for that.

If you or your kid is new to college this year you've probably heard horror stories about book costs from your friends who have already crossed the archway to higher education but fear not! WalletPop is providing you with some great ways to save money on textbooks. The first part of our series covered 5 ways to avoid purchasing a textbook, while still doing all of your homework and reading. This post will help you find the cheapest version of the textbook out there.

As you'll soon find out there are many other places besides the campus bookstore to get your textbooks and companies are finally beginning to offer textbooks in new, exciting and of course CHEAPER ways. The following list will help you locate cheap copies of those books that you need to buy because borrowing just won't cut it.

AOL Money & Finance writer and editor Zac Bissonnette is a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and an expert on getting a great education without going broke. Got a college question? Leave a comment and he'll get back to you!

It's that time of year again! Back to school shopping and, for many college students, that includes the annual ritual of selling organs to finance textbooks.

I already have my course schedule, so I went online to look for my books. One of them -- Before the Law, a requirement for my Introduction to Legal Studies class -- comes in two editions, both available used on Amazon. The 8th Edition will cost me a minimum of $41.54 used but, if I'm willing to settle for 2001's 7th Edition, it'll cost me 1 cent. That's a savings of 99.9759268%!

Here's the question: will I be able to do well in the class with the 2001 edition instead of the 2005 one? I'm betting that I can and, while the financial savings is nice, I'm partly doing it to prove a point. Every few years, textbook publishers come out with new editions and colleges willingly oblige in making the new book the required book -- rendering all those used copies obsolete, forcing kids to fork over cash to the publishers for new books. Seems a little self-serving, doesn't it? I mean, how much really changes in the basics of legal studies that a new edition is needed every few years? I can understand the need for regular updating in some fields -- a class on stem cells for instance -- but what could possibly have changed that required an update of Wheelock's Latin in 2005? Color me a cynic, but I question the need for innovation in the instruction of a language that hasn't been spoken -- or written -- in a thousand plus years.

So here's my goal: get an A in the legal studies class with a previous edition of the textbook, break the cartel, and liberate students from their slavery to publishers. Wish me luck!

Iacta alea est. ("The die is cast", and you'll find that line from Caesar in Latin textbooks going back to the Renaissance).

Nowadays, some students are easily spending $500 or more on textbooks each semester, prompting some professors to provide their new books online for students anywhere to use for free.

Since this is unfortunately not yet the norm in many institutions around the nation, in a few weeks most parents and students will need to crack open the wallet to get ready for a new semester.

Most returning students will already be familiar with the best ways to get the books they need on the cheap, but for incoming freshmen and their parents, this guide will provide a great toolkit for getting the best deal on textbooks.

Over the past 20 years, textbook prices have risen about twice as fast as inflation and, when added to the soaring cost of college, that places a heavy burden on many students.

The USA Today recently reported on Oceanography professor Bob Stewart of Texas A&M who, in a display of altruism and character, refused to work with a publisher on his book Introduction to Physical Oceanography. It's distributed online for free, and it's also being used in China by students who are looking to learn oceanography and English. Dr. Stewart called the book his "gift. . . to the students of the world."

Public-private partnerships are a favorite of politicians -- what's better than people working together for the public good?

But a recent Wall Street Journal piece (subscription required) exposed a disturbing trend: public colleges and textbook publishers teaming up to ripoff students. Here's how the scam -- and there's noting else to call it -- works: The University of Alabama requires freshman composition students to buy a writing textbook called "A Writer's Reference," by Diana Hacker.

But: not just any edition will do, they have to buy the special edition for the school for $59.35, when the regular edition could be had for half that price used. Worse still, the campus bookstore won't buy back or sell the special edition. The only difference is a special cover and a writing guide that's available free on the college's website.

What can college students do? Ignore the directions and purchase a regular used copy. What could possibly be so special about the college edition? In all probability, everything you need will be in the original book or in the professor's presentations and, if for some reason you actually do need something from the special edition, they'll have a copy of it at the library.

I used to be an English teacher at what Penthouse forum would call "a major mid-Atlantic university." One of the things about teaching English is that it's impossible to escape the high cost of books. Unlike PE teachers, art professors, or the guys who teach underwater basket weaving, English instructors have to assign texts, which means that our students end up having to lay out a lot of dough.

I fought against this by carefully choosing my books. Whenever I assigned a text, I would look at all the available editions and consider the benefits versus the costs of each one. I often used xeroxed copies of stories or placed reserve copies in the library to reduce my students' textbook burden, and prided myself on the relatively cheap cost of supplies for my classes.

One year, attempting to standardize its introductory classes, my department developed an in-house textbook. Initially, using the book was a voluntary choice, but over the years, the department textbook became required for every freshman English class. For a while, this wasn't too much of a problem; the textbook was pretty decent, and I can honestly say that it helped my students. In my final year, however, the department came out with a completely worthless edition of the damned thing. It cost $90, and I was required to assign it in my classes. In my last semester, I decided against using it, which earned me some stink-eye from a few colleagues, but little else. On the other hand, I had already announced my decision to leave teaching.

With textbook prices rising about twice as fast as inflation for year, and a lot of students and their parents are having trouble keeping up. Some have even suggested legislative solutions, and organizations like this one have popped up to protest rising prices.

Financially savvy students have an alternative in Chegg.com which allows you to rent your textbooks for the semester.

Clinically Oriented Anatomy will set you back $71.16 on Amazon.com -- but you can have it for a whole semester for $29.93 plus $6.99 for shipping on Chegg. Return shipping is included in the rental price.

I know: For some classes you may want to keep your textbook. But probably not for general education requirements. If you're an art history major, do you really want to spend twice as much money to have your very own copy of an anatomy book?

College is expensive -- there's no getting around that. But there are a lot of ways that creative students can save some money, and we'll try to bring ways to do that to your attention here on WalletPop.

Photo spcummings.