It looks like textbooks have gone the way of music and movies, as more college students seem to download them illegally to avoid paying the hefty prices. And really, who could blame them?

In the last decade, textbook prices have skyrocketed by 82 percent, and students are having to spend up to hundreds of dollars per semester on books alone. So naturally, if websites (like Ebookee, TextbookRevolution, Free-ebooks and Freebookspot) are going to offer free textbook downloads, students are going to use them.

Vocativ.com performed a little experiment to see if it was really possible to download textbooks illegally without paying a dime. They picked five typical freshman core courses at the University of Wisconsin and Michigan State University using class syllabi. Within minutes, they were able to find four textbooks.

One recent college graduate, who admitted he downloaded textbooks for years, said it's a real money saver. He told the website, "I probably saved a couple thousand over the years."

Another grad said, “It’s just ridiculous to have to pay $200-something for a book and then return it for almost nothing.”

[h/t The Washington Post]