In a time when costs are going up across the board, college students are managing to keep costs low when it comes to course materials.
According to the 2025 Student Watch report from the National Association of College Stores (NACS), the average student spent just $341 on required materials during the 2024–25 academic year. This figure hasn’t changed much from last year and is overall dramatically lower than the $700+ average seen in the late 2000s. With costs now hovering around $39 per course, students are proving to be savvy consumers, leveraging resources like rentals, digital platforms, and access programs to keep costs down.
DIGITAL ACCESS IS THE MOST PREFERRED
One of the biggest successes has proven to be day-one access programs. These school-supported systems give students immediate entry to digital course materials. About 57% of users reported being satisfied with their day-one access experience, citing convenience and guaranteed first-day prep as major advantages.
A solid 37% of students prefer digital materials over print, which trailed slightly at 33%. Their reasons are compelling: portability, cross-device access, ease of navigation, and the ability to search, annotate, or even print on demand. Digital fans were more likely to be students of color and first-generation college students, suggesting that digital accessibility might be key to equity in the classroom.
Affordability of materials might still be a concern, because one in four students said they skipped at least one required material, and those students were more likely to be thinking about dropping out. While those who skipped materials only spent about $30 less than their peers, the academic consequences of going without can be far more costly in the long run.
All in all, students are leaning into digital tools, exploring flexible access models, and using smarter strategies to stretch their budgets.
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