During my college application process, I expected that my nerves would run deep. Between creating a list of schools, filling out endless information on application portals, and finding a roommate, I thought my mind might explode. However, for myself and many of my graduating peers, the overarching concern that overshadowed our doubts was money. How is it that we are supposed to pay up to 80 thousand dollars per year for our studies with our minimum wage occupations? Receiving our financial aid packages only solidified this fear. If there are solutions to minimizing student fees, why don’t we pursue and implement them?

The rise of technology in the last decade has allowed us to notice the obvious benefits and drawbacks; however, in its many split uses, we have learned to appreciate the advantages of technology and find it difficult to imagine a life without it. What we fail to recognize in one of technology’s uses is the power it  holds in higher education. I don’t just mean using it for a Google search to gain quick knowledge, but using it as an academic opportunity for trained professionals and class materials. According to the Education Data Initiative, “25% of students reported they worked extra hours to pay for their books and 11% skipped meals in order to afford books and course materials.” Not to mention that the average textbook is estimated at about $105.37, while the average student pays around $1,226 on books in just one academic year. If we factor in the amount that a student spends at a university for a total of four years, students would be paying around $4,904 on top of their tuition, fees, housing, food plans, and more, just to have the resources to pass their classes.

The e-book industry has seen a rise during the years of COVID-19, increasing by about 12.6 percent, according to Good E-Reader. This means many students may have saved money on fees simply due to their textbooks being digital. The use of these e-books has been known to make sharing group ideas more efficient as well as making copies of excerpts into lesson plans less stressful on staff members. In the future rise of this new learning style, students may not have to factor in the excessive payments on their books and still be able to afford their classes. With extreme technological advancements, there is no doubt that the textbook industry could begin its conversions.

It’s hard to find a textbook less than 200 pages, each a piece of paper. Statista examines that the United States consumes 65.6 million metric tons of paper per year. Textbooks and the issue of their involvement in the paper trail can be easily resolved with the solution of digital downloads. The 200-plus pages of paper that may be saved with every digital textbook downloaded rather than the paper being purchased could prevent deforestation, energy use, and problems of waste.