Microscope for M1

[pcl]

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Well, similar to the "textbook" thread, I received a letter from the school that said, you will need a microscope your first few weeks of class due to curriculum changes. So my question is how many of you *truly* needed your own microscope. Upperclassmen I spoke to said to skip it, they didn't use it so much. However, the letter specifically says you will need one regardless of what upperclassmen tell you because we have changed the curriculum. Anyone have good ideas on where to find one? Should I wait until school starts to look? I don't want to get stuck buying a brand new one.

Thanks,
Laura

 

[AJM]

My classmates and I used our microscopes for histology and pathology, but our school also gives us microscopes to use for those classes. If I had to buy one myself, I probably could have gotten away with sharing my microscope with another person and splitting the costs.

You might want to wait until you get to your school to find out if you really do need one, and where to get one. There are probably upperclassmen there who bought them their first year and who would love to sell theirs. You also might consider sharing a microscope with one of your classmates.

 

[Snoopy]

Laura,

You really will need a microscope at Case. Aside from the fact that I think it helps the learning process if you have access to one that is exclusively yours, you will also use it for practical exams during 2nd year (and maybe 1st year). The best thing to do is wait until you get to school. There is a microscope sale during orientation and there will be tons of flyers up about microscopes for sale. You can also rent one for $500 for two years ($300 rental fee, $200 refundable deposit). I think buying is the way to go. I bought my microscope for $600 first year and just sold it on ebay for $800+. While I had to shell out a lot of money up front it ended up working to my advantage. Hope that helps!