Any reason to hold onto prerequisite textbooks?

[NeuroDevil]

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I'm dealing with the annual moving out disaster right now and I seem to have a ton of books backed up from earlier classes-- calculus, gen chem, intro bio, orgo, etc. Do you think textbooks from these subjects would be necessary to have around when studying for the MCAT or is it all right if I just sell them all now?

Thanks for any help!

 

[armybound]

how well do you think you learned the concepts in those classes?

the calculus book can definitely go.

 

[red10]

chances are, your review book will have what you need to know. and if you just really can't figure something out and can't ask anyone to explain to to you, that's what google at the library are for. ditch the books

 

[flip26]

Additional question: Any value in these books for med school. I assume not...but would like to hear it anyway.

 

[NeuroDevil]

how well do you think you learned the concepts in those classes?

the calculus book can definitely go.

I learned the concepts fine for the class-- whether or not I remember them is another matter 🙂
Orgo is the one I think may be most valuable for studying the MCAT, so maybe I'll hold onto it and ditch the others. Thanks for the responses.

 

[rHinO1]

I saved all of my pre-req books plus a few others. Never touched them again and regret keeping them. They are a pain in the butt to store.

Your review books will be more than enough for the mcat.

 

[armybound]

Additional question: Any value in these books for med school. I assume not...but would like to hear it anyway.

Not in the basic sciences. I mean if you struggle with something like the Krebs cycle and have a good resource in an undergrad book, by all means, keep it.

If there are other books that are more relevant to the courses you'll be taking in med school, they can also be useful. I've looked in both my immunology and histology books from undergrad, though only minimally. Books tend to have a lot of extra unnecessary words. Syllabi are a more effective use of your time, unless you really don't understand the basic concepts.

 

[SirGecko]

Sell everything you can get money for, give away what you can't sell and throw away what you can't give away. You will *never* look at your prereq books again.

The only books I kept from undergrad were a few engineering books that I either couldn't sell back or thought were interesting and the sell back price was low. (tissue engineering, ion channels and Medical Instrumentation Design)

 

[JmanDO]

There's absolutely no need for them, it's just personal preference. I see them as tomes and I will keep them for as long as I can.

As Hector from "The History Boys" once said, "All knowledge, even useless knowledge, is valuable."

 

[silverhorse84]

I've never used any of my undergrad books in med school.

One of my friends used old biochemistry notes during his biochem class in med school - but not the book. I didn't use any of my old notes (for reference his and my notes were the same as his were a copy of mine, so it was a personal preference thing). So, I say that if you took good notes, you can keep those and throw out the books (notes are lighter and easier to store anyway).

 

[wanderer]

I used my textbooks (especially my Biology text) extensively for MCAT study, however this is somewhat unusual for MCAT takers. If you can get decent money for them you should sell them. You probably won't consult your texts too often for MCAT study, but if you really must, you can get old editions for less than 10 USD.

 

[niblet]

It might not make the most sense economically, but I'm thinking of keeping them them for a few reasons.

1. MCAT prep -- I don't think I'll really need them, but it might help to have them on hand to go through certain concepts in depth in order to get a better understanding than what would be obtained from an abbreviated paragraph in a prep book.
2. Any other possible future need for reference, whether it be in more advanced classes or medical school.
3. Textbook buyback is a rip-off.
4. Souvenirs -- It'd be nice to have a library someday with a bunch of my old textbooks. Imagine the nostalgia you'd get by looking back at your chemistry book from freshman year 20 years down the line.

 

[45408]

Additional question: Any value in these books for med school. I assume not...but would like to hear it anyway.

No, sell them as fast as you can. once the new edition is out, they're worthless.

 

[evarun21]

I agree that most of the basic sciences books can go. Keep the more advanced books though. Good luck selling them. I would avoid the campus bookstore buyback. Sell them online to textbook buyback sites like http://www.mybookcart.com.

 

[theacks1]

Evey science class I took changed the text the year after I took the class, so I still have all mine. They make great mass for stuffing into a ruck sack for weighted excersises, farmers carries, and the like.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Only good for collecting dust. Google supplements any need and if you ever need that stuff for MCAT your better off reading it from a different perspective like TBR,TPR or EK. Only keep them if you collect books, otherwise sell them or donate them to a needy student.

 

[orion333]

I referred back to every single book except for Orgo to study for the MCAT. I say, keep them just for that, then sell 'em.

 

[AH3]

I've sold most of my books back (intro bio, chem, organic) and don't regret it at all. Review books cover all you need for the MCAT. I did keep some upper level biology textbooks that may be useful in the future (Biochem, Costanzo Physiology, Kuby Immunology). With all of the info on the internet now, it's much easier to look up a basic concept on wikipedia or google to get a general idea of it than to dig through a freshman year textbook anyway.

 

[Lccjblu]

The calc book can definitely go. The others you will have to decide whether or not you think doing extra problems (that are unrelated to the MCAT format-wise) would be worthwhile.

 

[venacontracta]

Depends on your major as well. I've referred to my general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry textbooks while taking more advanced chemistry classes.