Admittedly, the scenarios where I waited to buy the books was not my freshman classes. As a freshman, do as Sciencewoman says and buy the books. Later on you can figure out when teachers are oblivious to what books cost and react accordingly.
And yes, GO TO CLASS. I was able to survive while skipping a lot as a freshman, but getting by is no way to go through college and I spent the rest of college trying to get my GPA out of the tank. And on that note, unless you absolutely positively have to, don't schedule classes early. For me, a good first class was 10:30. For others it might have been 9:30 or even 8:30, but be realistic about when you're really going to be able to get up, have breakfast and be at class on time, and as a freshman, I'd err later.
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"Traveling - It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. ~ Ibn Battuta
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