College students are skipping meals to pay for textbooks

Textbook prices have skyrocketed over the past few years, which has led 71% of students to ask their parents for money, 41% to skip meals and 31% to take fewer classes to afford their reading material, according to a new survey by Morning Consult for Cengage, an online textbook company.

The big picture: The vast majority of current and former college students think their textbooks are overpriced and 85% said buying their books is at least somewhat financially stressful. Of the 1,651 current and former students surveyed, a majority told Morning Consult they didn't buy what was required, purchased outdated copies, or shared with classmates.