Don't buy the books from the bookstore=waste of money. And really, don't buy the books at all until you need references books for intermediate rotations. Powerpoints are the name of the game here.
I live at Buccaneer Trace...I like the staff here but the commute is bad in the mornings because people can't drive in Savannah! It gets annoying after a few quarters because you have random huge blocks of time during the day, especially 3rd and 4th quarters, but not enough time to drive all the way back to the islands and relax. I agree with you about the islands but just go to Colonial Grand(don't do student housing!), the Merritt or Mercer Point...more updated apartments too.
I don't remember doing a workbook in our first quarter but they change everything here a lot so who knows.