Keeping textbooks for MCAT?

[phonyreal98]

Hey all,

So I was originally planning to keep my textbooks for my basic science classes for reference when it came time to study for the MCAT. However, I've run into some financial difficulty, so I'm seriously considering selling them back now so that I can get some $$$ to help me out. So my question is: are my old textbooks really all that necessary for MCAT prep?

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[mmmcdowe]

Sell them, I never touched them and I don't think many people do. I suppose you could use them for extra problems, but I never ran out of problems from MCAT study material to use.

 

[VTBuc]

The MCAT doesn't test Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, or Physics...it tests the MCAT. Buy an MCAT study guide instead. The concepts in your pre-req course textbooks are too broad to be that useful. If you try and work through them, you'll never finish with your preparation.

Personally, the only thing I used to study was the Exam Krackers MCAT study guide. $90 on ebay.

 

[Gospe1]

Throw that crap away. Buy kaplan. Caffeinate. Memorize for 100-200 hours.

 

[Soba]

The MCAT doesn't test Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, or Physics...it tests the MCAT. Buy an MCAT study guide instead. The concepts in your pre-req course textbooks are too broad to be that useful. If you try and work through them, you'll never finish with your preparation.

Personally, the only thing I used to study was the Exam Krackers MCAT study guide. $90 on ebay.

Agree on both counts. Though I bought it new and paid a bit more.

OP, think long-term and consider it as a minor investment that will pay off huge dividends in the future. I think that your future is worth those extra couple of bucks.

 

[phonyreal98]

Agree on both counts. Though I bought it new and paid a bit more.

OP, think long-term and consider it as a minor investment that will pay off huge dividends in the future. I think that your future is worth those extra couple of bucks.

Oh, for sure. Right now, I just have a short term problem and I'd feel a lot better about it if I had a had some more cash for the time being. I was thinking about keeping my books just for reference if there was some concept I didn't feel was well explained by whatever MCAT review course/book I use and/or I wanted further explanation...I'll be using whatever MCAT study materials I get for the majority of my MCAT prep. Anyway...if I'm really in a pinch and need to see these books...they're in the library at school and I have friends who have them (they're pretty general bio and chem texts) so I do have access to the books even if I don't own them...therefore I'll be selling them tomorrow. Thanks!

 

[seelee]

I kept my books, but rarely (if ever) study from them. I like to think of them as trophies. They do look impressive on a bookshelf. Sell them if you want, you won't need them.

 

[lstone13]

Hey all,

So I was originally planning to keep my textbooks for my basic science classes for reference when it came time to study for the MCAT. However, I've run into some financial difficulty, so I'm seriously considering selling them back now so that I can get some $$$ to help me out. So my question is: are my old textbooks really all that necessary for MCAT prep?

If you plan on using Kaplan or some other course/book to prepare for the MCAT, then go ahead and sell those textbooks. I kept mine as a "reference" and never used them. If you ever need to look up something, you have the internet to use as a reference.

 

[boaz]

I used them to brush up on certain topics, and they definitely helped. I think it depends on the person--I've always been attached to my textbooks (with little/no notes), even into the MCAT phase.

 

[bravofleet4]

Depends on person. I kept mine and it helped me. It's always nice to have multiple explanations for the same topic in case you didn't understand one. Plus, you have more practice questions for your weak areas. Most review books do not give you more than a couple ?'s for every subject. Use the review books in my opinion to understand what's most important to study and the textbooks as a supplement.

 

[FlowRate]

I did the same thing and I never used them.

HOWEVER, I think that textbooks make for an awesome bookshelf. Although I do feel like the $3000+ in textbooks I have could/should have been sold off and used for something better...