Campus store

Course materials without overpaying

Enter your class schedule in the store's site and it lists every required and recommended item per section with the price for new, used, rental, and digital side by side. Rental is usually the cheapest for a book you will not keep; digital (often an access code for online homework) may be mandatory for some courses and cannot be bought used. Compare against other sellers — the store price-matches many of them — but check the ISBN and edition carefully, and confirm whether the course needs the bundled homework code, which is the detail that trips people up. Order online for pickup or delivery to a residence hall, or shop the shelves, which are organized by course.

Do not buy anything until the first class meeting if you can help it — instructors routinely drop a "required" text or say which chapters actually matter.

Automatic-billing option

Porter offers an opt-in program that delivers every required course material (digital where possible, print where not) by the first day of class and bills a flat per-credit charge to your student account, payable with financial aid. It is convenient and guarantees you have everything on day one, but it is not always the cheapest route for a student who would otherwise rent and borrow aggressively. You can opt out each term by the posted deadline; compare the flat charge against your actual booklist before deciding.

Program kits, tech and supplies

Several majors require a specific kit — a drafting or art set, tools, a lab coat and safety glasses, a graphing or financial calculator, a nursing or culinary uniform, a specced laptop. The store stocks the exact required version so you are not guessing, and bundles some with the program. It also carries the everyday supplies, Porter apparel and gifts, snacks, and technology at education pricing, and it is where you rent commencement regalia (reserved online, picked up the week before) and buy class rings and diploma frames.

Returns and end-of-term buyback

Textbook returns run through about the first week to ten days of the term with the receipt and the book in original condition (shrink-wrap intact, access code unused); rentals are due back by the posted date each term or they convert to a purchase charge, and you get an email reminder. During finals week the store buys back books it will use again at up to half the new price, and other titles at a wholesale rate through a national buyer — bring an ID. General merchandise has a standard return window; opened electronics and software follow the manufacturer's policy.

Spirit wear and gifts

Hoodies, tees, and outerwear in navy and gold, drinkware, dorm decor, and graduation gifts sit up front near the entrance, separate from the textbook counters in back. New arrivals rotate around Millrace Week, admitted-student season, and commencement.