It’s no secret that textbooks are expensive. It’s one of the things you can count on every semester: you’ll need to set aside a good chunk of money to pay for your books, and there’s no way around it. But chances are, you could be spending more on them.
A recent study done by Priceonomics collected and analyzed data from the University of Virginia, and made a list of the most expensive majors, based on the average amount that students of each major spent on new textbooks every semester. Economics majors top the list at an estimated average of $317 (seems rather cruel that economics students have to spend the most money), while African-American studies students spend the least, averaging only $80 per semester.
While these numbers are specific to UVA, the list is a good indicator of trends. The top end of the list seems to primarily be the math and science majors, while the art, history, language or literature classes seem to fall toward the bottom of the list. Interestingly, the most expensive major costs almost four times as much as the least.
So, if you’re feeling the weight of your textbooks on your bank account, just remember that you could be an economics major. Unless you are an economics major, in which case you may not have chosen the most economical major.