Books are crazily expensive nowadays. I was wondering how feasible it is to buy all the required ones including the optional ones? I heard people said they did well just studying from the notes and handouts? Lastly, if it is not necessary to buy all the books, what are the absolute buy books for the first year? Thanks
1st year Student - should I buy all the required books?
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It is not only not really feasible to buy all the books including the optional ones, but you will absolutely not look at half of them if you do. Every year med students spend literally hundreds of dollars per class on books they will never use. In first year, you can probably get by on a good anatomy atlas (doesn't really matter which), and a few board review type books, plus your noteset/lecture notes. Some people find a few of the texts helpful, but unless your prof was an author you can probably get away with periodic access at your school's library and not actually own any of them. Perhaps depends on how good the school's noteset is, but this seems to be what I've heard from a lot of places. The best bet is not to buy anything before you start school, and then pick the brain of upperclassmen as to what is really required.
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I second L2D on this one. It is actually sort of funny. We are all supposed to be reading this path book...and the lecturers are like, "And as you see in your readings in ..." But nobody reads it....it's actually sort of amusing.
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I know at my school (University of South Florida), previous students put together a list and describe which books were necessary, which were optional, and which were completely useless. Second years are paired-up with first years, and sometimes you can "borrow" or receive as a gift some of the books that the second years used during their first year.
I'm one of those people who likes to buy the books that I feel will be useful in the future and because I like to have my own books at the ready when I want to study. I feel it's a good investment for me, but many others do not. I've kept some of my undergrad books (Clinical Neuroanatomy, Pathophysiology, Rhones Color Atlas of Anatomy, Junqueira Histology, Netter's Atlas of Anatomy, etc) because they will be useful in medical school. I plan on buying all of the student-recommended books (and not the useless ones as advised by the students), but will extensively use half.com, Amazon, and other online stores to cut costs. I will only use the student bookstore for the impossible to find books and to just browse.
I'm one of those people who likes to buy the books that I feel will be useful in the future and because I like to have my own books at the ready when I want to study. I feel it's a good investment for me, but many others do not. I've kept some of my undergrad books (Clinical Neuroanatomy, Pathophysiology, Rhones Color Atlas of Anatomy, Junqueira Histology, Netter's Atlas of Anatomy, etc) because they will be useful in medical school. I plan on buying all of the student-recommended books (and not the useless ones as advised by the students), but will extensively use half.com, Amazon, and other online stores to cut costs. I will only use the student bookstore for the impossible to find books and to just browse.
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to mimic what those above said... you definitely don't "have" to have all the "required" books.
Don't ge tthem at first, ask second years which ones are useful and which ones are useless, and go from there.
It depends on personal style too. I have bought probably 70% of required books because I don't learn from lecture and don't go. If you go to all your lectures you definitely won't have time to read most of what they are assigning. It's really something you can only determine when you're in the thick of it.
Don't ge tthem at first, ask second years which ones are useful and which ones are useless, and go from there.
It depends on personal style too. I have bought probably 70% of required books because I don't learn from lecture and don't go. If you go to all your lectures you definitely won't have time to read most of what they are assigning. It's really something you can only determine when you're in the thick of it.
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I have a slightly different take. When you start, don't buy any of the books (with the exception of perhaps an anatomy atlas). Once you start classes, decide in the first couple of weeks of each class whether or not you need more books and then see what your classmates are finding useful. If you ask the second years, you risk asking someone who prefers to use books significantly more or less than you.
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You might also get a second year who might want to dump his useless text books on you.
C
Critical Mass
We have a mentor-mentee program in which a second year befriends a first year. I'm passing a couple of books down, but in general, my advice will be to not buy any books until classes have been in session for a little while.
I've heard about kiddie doc and daddy doc walking into the bookstore a week before classes start to drop a thousand or so on books. That's fine if you've got that kind of bread to waste, but disposable cash like that would be better used at a strip club for a hands-on anatomy lesson.
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N
njbmd
There is no absolute "must buy" text at this point in your career. Definitely DO NOT buy every recommended text. You should only buy the texts that you feel you need. You can't determine this until you start into the semester. Also, don't forget that many of the recommended texts are on reserve in the library. Just using these may suit your needs and save some money too. Some of my classmates actually shared the cost of more expensive books, sold them at the end of first year and split the profit.
As for studying from notes and handouts, it depends on the professor so again, wait until you actually start taking class and have been able to consult with your upperclass adviser.
Don't purchase anything at this point. In my case, my second-year adviser gave me all of her first year books and syllabi when I arrived during orientation week. She also passed along her second year books too. Chill out and see what you actually need.
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8744
They call call them "required" because they are required and you will start the year way, way behind all of your peers who weren't so cheap and bought them all.
"Optional" really means "Getting a Good Grade is Optional" so you might as well think of them as "required" for all practical purposes.
You also need to start reading Robbin's Pathology and the required physiology textbook. Shoot for about 100 pages a day from now until you start and you should be okay. You probably don't have to highlight or take notes at this point but on your second time through over the next two years you will definitely have to.
The fact that you have not started reading and it is almost June bodes poorly for your chances of doing well and I hope you like Family Practice because unless you tighten up, and I mean now, that's all you'll be qualified for...assuming you even make it through which, judging from your apparent lackadasical attitude is a pretty big assumption.
Get on it. It's not too late.
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Panda, be NICE to the newbs, mkay?
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Actually there is one book that everyone will need: Netter's Anatomy. You will use it in gross anatomy and probably into your practice years. If you can get one online at a good price, or maybe get somebody to buy it for you as a gift.
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I think Panda Bear needs a hug! 😉 😀 🙄
I did plenty of studying in my post bacc. I'm taking the summer off and just trying to get things squared away at home and at my new apartment in Tampa!
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It's actually Lackadaisical. You are the freaking best...Panda
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Wordim up, spent much of my book money this way, and worth every penny.
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Unless you really enjoy reading textbooks, you don't need to buy them. If there's really something you need to look up, your school will probably have a copy on reserve at the library. The only book I bought for first year was Netter's atlas -- and I'd say an anatomy atlas is useful and necessary. Otherwise, course notes were sufficient. If the course notes aren't enough, you can always buy the textbooks later. I did buy the textbook for Hematology 2nd year, but that's only because the course notes were basically just questions with references to pages in the book. Anyway, don't take my word for it, because I'm kind of a slacker, but my advice is to see how things go for the first few days of the class before you waste a lot of money on books you might never use.
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I stopped buying books halfway through first year.
N
njbmd
Duplicate to thread in Osteopathic Medical Students Forum and now closing. If you want to reply, go here 1st year Student - should I buy all the required books?
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