All of the information and insight within this article is all under the assumption that you either want to (or likely need to) save as much money as possible as a PT student.

PT school within the US is astronomically expensive, costing roughly 100K in tuition fees for the duration of the program. And then, there’s the added expenses of textbooks.

According to estimates by College Board , the average student within the US spends $1200 per year on books and book-related supplies. And with the cost of post-secondary textbooks rising 82% just between 2002 through 2013 (according to a study by the Government Accountability Office) (click the link for the PDF of the study), which is almost three times the inflation rate, it’s no wonder that PT students are wondering if they will really need the “required” textbooks for their courses.

Yes, PT students want to do well in school. But they also want to be able to have money for food and rent.

The quick answer as to whether or not you need to buy textbooks for PT school

Many students make it through PT school just fine without purchasing many (or any) textbooks (myself included), and do so for financial reasons. PT school largely tests you on information that can be acquired through means other than purchasing a specific textbook for a specific course.

So long as you’re wiling to accept that you might not be able to access precise information quite as quickly for each course (i.e. you may at times need to hunt around online a bit more, ask others, etc.), you can largely get by without textbooks.

That being said, not every student can get by without textbooks. Some will wind up finding the need to purchase at least a few. There are however great alternative resources that are either free or rather inexpensive that students can often use in place of textbooks or to supplement which ever textbooks they purchase.

The quick overview of this article

• Many courses you take in PT school won’t have a required textbook. If a course syllabus mentions a required textbook, as your professor if it’s truly necessary.
• Consider renting textbooks if you need to access the specific material within it for the semester but have no need for the book afterwards
• There is zero need to ever buy a PT textbook that is brand new.
• Apps for your tablet and smart phone can serve as a great (and much cheaper & handier) reference for material than a textbook for when you need to learn universal, factual content.
• The internet has a vast trove of resources and information that can replace the need for a textbook for a number of your courses.
• It’s good to know which books the FSBPT/NPTE gets its information from when it comes time to study for the board exam (but you still don’t need to purchase these books).

Further elaboration on these points is below, so keep on reading!

NOTE: I am not saying that textbooks are worthless. Let’s make that point very clear. After graduation, I’ve since begun to purchase and read through the many books that I know will be beneficial to me based on my desired area of clinical expertise. But I started doing so only when I had the money from having a job.

Textbooks are worth it, especially the ones you know you will reference over and over again as a clinician. They’re just not worth it when you don’t have the money to pay for them in conjunction with that fact that you’ll never use them again after your course is over with.

Many students make it through PT school just fine without purchasing many (or any) textbooks. PT school largely tests you on information that can be acquired through means other than purchasing a textbook.

You can likely get through PT school just fine without purchasing many, or even any, textbooks if you’re willing to look for other resources and perhaps spend a bit of extra time doing so.

In a perfect world, if money and apartment/dorm/living space weren’t an issue, most students would snatch up any book that was needed for PT school. Having the immediate resource to find the answer or material specific to your class or instructor’s notes can no doubt streamlines the study process. Therefore, if you have the money, sure, get the textbook.
But we don’t live in a perfect world. And most of us students are getting robbed enough through our exorbitant tuition fees.

Students tend to be pretty resourceful, which can come in incredibly handy when focusing on saving money. If you feel like you have some great resources in place for finding PT-specific material, you can likely manage just fine without textbooks. If you know your learning style, and/or if you’re willing to take some extra time to find information online, you’ll likely be just fine without textbooks most of the time. This is not universal of course, as every student’s needs and/or desires may be different.

Many courses you take in PT school won’t have a required textbook. If a course syllabus mentions a required textbook, as your professor if it’s truly necessary

Plenty of your courses won’t require a dedicated textbook. Professors will always have – at the very least – a recommended textbook within the course syllabus, however many professors will openly state that the text isn’t required, although of course it may indeed be helpful.

Many institutions have a requirement that the course professor put in a required or recommended textbook into their course syllabus. This doesn’t mean you truly need it though, so keep this in mind. Sometimes professors will state that while the textbook listed within the syllabus, you won’t actually need it for the course.

If you professor doesn’t even mention or go over the syllabus, you can always ask the if a textbook is truly required. If it’s not, but they say it can be helpful, then keep in mind that you could likely find the “helpful” information somewhere online or ask questions to fellow classmates.

Most of my professors in PT school were very understanding that us students were trying not to buy textbooks. Not all of them were, but most definitely were. Having professors understand this really helped us all out. Likely, the majority of your professors will try to help you out as well. They can all likely empathize what it’s like to be a poor PT student.

Consider renting textbooks if you need to access the specific material within it for the semester but have no need for the book afterwards

Sometimes there may be a textbook that you need in order to get through the course. If this is the case, and you know for a fact that you won’t ever use the book again after the course is done, consider renting the textbook instead of purchasing it. This is a substantially cheaper option, and you can even split the cost with a friend/classmate and both use it for the semester.

This is exactly what I did one semester when I had one textbook that was required (legitimately needed access to it) during my research methodology course. Of course, I was never going to use it again, so I rented it from my school, and saved many a dollar doing so.

There is zero need to ever buy a PT textbook that is brand new

The beauty of PT school is that the material doesn’t update exactly at a blistering rate. Programs in the technology sector could make a case for always having the most up-to-date textbook since that stuff advances and changes at seemingly astronomical rates. Topics within PT school don’t. Textbooks that are 2, 3 or more editions old will suffice just fine.

The anatomy and physiology of the human body hasn’t exactly changed much over the past couple thousand years or so. The resulting information pertaining to how it works, or basic medical equipment used for physical rehabilitation doesn’t change all that quickly. Crutches are still crutches, an ultrasound machine is still an ultrasound machine, and tendonitis is still tendonitis.

The bottom line: For all of the introductory-level material you learn throughout all of your PT courses, you don’t need the “most up-to-date” version of a textbook. Get an older one, if need be.

Apps for your tablet and smart phone can serve as a great (and much cheaper & handier) reference for material than a textbook for when you need to learn universal, factual content.

When it comes to courses that simply require you to know content, (such as gross anatomy or neuroanatomy), there won’t likely be a “required” textbook. This is because these types of courses just require you to know factual information, not necessarily information deemed to be “correct procedure” or “correct decision” based on an organization’s stance or belief.

With these types of courses, using apps or free online resources are the way to go. For just a small fraction of the price of a gross anatomy textbook, you can get apps such as 3D4’ Medical’s Essential anatomy 5 or Complete Anatomy. And free, trustworthy and reputable resources are out there as well, such as the free online Neuroanatomy textbook by the University of Houston’s Medical Department or or even free 3D modeling software such as biodigital.com.

There are PT apps out there for nearly every course. Other medical apps are also extremely handy for much of your other courses.

The internet has a vast trove of resources and information that can replace the need for a textbook for a number of your courses

Stemming off of the previous point above with helpful apps, the internet is a pretty wonderful place for finding and learning all of your required course content. Sure, you need to make sure it’s trustworthy or inline with what organizations such as the APTA or FSBPT, depending on the material, but websites such as Physiotutors.com,  physiopedia.com,  orthobullets.com  and khanacademy.org are all valuable, reliable and free resources that you can access online. There are a multitude of others as well, you just have to take some time to find them.

It’s good to know which books the FSBPT/NPTE gets its information from when it comes time to study for the board exam (but you still don’t need to purchase these books)

While you might not necessarily purchase any or many books throughout your coursework, when it comes time to study for your board exam, it’s good to at least have a list of the textbooks the FSBPT (Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy) subscribe to in terms of determining correct protocols, procedures and other test-related academia for exam answers.

This is because there are sometimes more accepted ways than others in the world of PT when it comes to correct actions to take. This can be rather frustrating for students when it comes to studying for the board exam. So if board exam questions are an issue, knowing which textbooks to look in for regarding where the FSBPT chooses to adopt its answers/line of thinking from, may become useful.

Even then, however, it isn’t necessarily worth it to buy the actual textbook.

Closing remarks

Most students within PT school who choose not to purchase textbooks due so strictly for financial reasons. Other times it can be due to convenience factors or even space-saving factors.

Many of your professors will likely understand your financial situation as a student and will try not to require a mandatory textbook. But if they do, there are likely plenty of places you can go online and resources you can access as a means to learn the material through some other medium or method.

If need be, renting a textbook for the semester or purchasing a used version are the way to go. There should never be a true need to have to purchase a brand-new textbook, unless your professor is really trying to make life hard on you.

In the end, know that you can likely get by just fine without the need for buying many or any textbooks if you’re willing to get a bit creative, dig around a bit more or study with your peers throughout the process. For the vast majority of students not wanting to purchase textbooks, it all usually comes down to financial reasons. After all, when you’re a PT student, saving every dollar that you can will really help out in the long run.

Be smart with your money. You got this.