Renting books from Chegg.com to bring to exam

[civil-nj]

Has anyone tried renting textbooks from sites like chegg.com to bring to the PE exam? I'm considering it for a few references I don't expect to use after the exam (BIG savings!). What was your experience like and would you recommend it to others?

 

[ktulu]

I have never been on that website before, so I went on it and tried to find Ram Gupta's Hydrology/Hydraulics book. It was not available for rent. That may be the case more than once.

Have you thought about going to a library and looking for references? Possibly a university library?

 

[civil-nj]

I also tried to rent Ram Gupta's book yesterday. My order went through, but they later sent an email saying the book was unavailable.

I did, however, successfully rent Metcalf & Eddy, 4th edition. The book would be of no use to me after the exam, so I'd much rather test Chegg's service than drop $175 on a new doorstop.

Unfortunately, my local library didn't have what I needed, and the nearest university library is quite a hike. Chegg it is!

 

[ktulu]

^^^ can I ask how much renting runs?

 

[civil-nj]

It really depends on the book(s) you're renting. I paid about $75 total (including shipping & return postage) to rent Metcalf & Eddy for a "quarter" (85 days). The book retails for about $175.

I would have spent about $34 renting Ram Gupta's book if they hadn't canceled the order. The book retails for about $100.

It would be nice if they offered shorter renting periods. I'm only going to use the book for a month, but I'm paying for three because that's their shortest option. But it's still a big savings, so I'm happy with the service so far.