[kiryandil]

One semester, as a protest, I took differential equations using the library copy (not the same author, and ten years older).

Aced the course.

It's a total scam.

[jz638]

The scam nowadays (and I think well presented in the claim) is this online code garbage. Used to be that you could buy a new overpriced book, or a used slightly less overpriced book. The online code things are often nontransferable, and if the teacher is in on the racket, they can require classwork that can only be accessed via the online code. There’s also no resale value to a book that’s only useful if it comes with a valid online code, so it destroys the dlsecndart market as well as the end of semester beer fund, which is the cruellest joke of them all.

[WASCWatch]

Differential equations have changed in like 100+ years.