A 2013 study done by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that college textbook prices rose 82 percent from 2002–12.

It can take a student only a few seconds to find a free, albeit illegal, online version of a textbook. By simpling searching a textbook’s name followed by “PDF” or “torrent,” any student can often easily find a free downloadable version of a textbook that would have cost him or her hundreds of dollars.