A college education is expensive and tuition isn’t the only rising cost students need to worry about. According to The American Enterprise Institute, book prices are increasing at a faster rate than tuition itself.

Since 1978, the cost of college books have increased by 812 percent, which is much higher than medical services (575 percent) and even new home prices (325 percent).

With back-to-school season underway, students are easing tuition anxiety by adding a controversial extracurricular activity: dating for dollars.

WhatsYourPrice.com found that 93 percent of the 5,942 students who joined in August attributed their membership to funding books for the upcoming semester.

Of our 650,000 total members, nearly 20 percent (127,438) are college students, with females outnumbering the men 3 to 1.

Brandon Wade believes that society should focus on regulating the textbook industry.

“Resourcefulness is a real-life skill students are supposed to learn in college. We should applaud them, instead of patronizing them,” says Brandon Wade, the CEO and Founder of WhatsYourPrice.com. “The textbook industry clearly takes advantage of college students. Changing one paragraph, calling it a new edition, and making it mandatory to purchase indicates where these educators’ motivations lie.”

Students getting money for school and going on dates? I say, why not kill two birds with one stone?

What are your thoughts? Do you use WhatsYourPrice.com to help pay for your books and/or college fees?