What do you keep?

[felinelvr44]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I'm starting to think about my impending move in 7 months (just a little early, I know ) and besides the whole vet school thing, I'm really looking forward to it because it gives me a great opportunity to go through all my stuff and purge the random crap I've accumulated but don't need. I have a bad habit of keeping things because I'm afraid I'll need them in the future. This especially goes for school stuff - notes, exams, textbooks, journal articles, basically everything. I can't be the only one who has a hard time throwing out a years worth of organic chem notes. Or that $250 biology textbook (that is specific for my school so of course I can't resell it).

So, my question for current vet students is - what should I keep? Is there anything from my undergrad pre-req's that I'll actually need or want to reference once I'm in vet school?

 

[Lissarae06]

I'm starting to think about my impending move in 7 months (just a little early, I know ) and besides the whole vet school thing, I'm really looking forward to it because it gives me a great opportunity to go through all my stuff and purge the random crap I've accumulated but don't need. I have a bad habit of keeping things because I'm afraid I'll need them in the future. This especially goes for school stuff - notes, exams, textbooks, journal articles, basically everything. I can't be the only one who has a hard time throwing out a years worth of organic chem notes. Or that $250 biology textbook (that is specific for my school so of course I can't resell it).

So, my question for current vet students is - what should I keep? Is there anything from my undergrad pre-req's that I'll actually need or want to reference once I'm in vet school?

I haven't opened a single textbook from undergrad. I think I might have looked at an old cat dissection guide to see if I could find a better picture but that's it.

 

[SocialStigma]

I didn't keep anything and have yet to regret it!

 

[twelvetigers]

I just sold undergrad Immuno and Micro books for a fair sum on Amazon... so that was useful. Other than that, no. I have my Orgo book (and it's old enough I couldn't sell it) so it will serve as my standard big heavy book. Am I ever gonna read it? Hell to the no.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I kept my physiology and immuno books and used it a ton during first year. But that was because I hated going to class, and did better learning on my own. Beyond first semester/year, the material gets so vet specific that old textbooks become kinda worthless. And plus, the school provides more resources than you can even go through, so extra textbooks are really not that helpful.

 

[felinelvr44]

Thanks for all the replies! I see some very therapeutic purging happening this weekend. 😀

 

[Kpowell14]

Felinelvr- you are not alone!! I've kept pretty much everything from undergrad.. It's all organized in big 3 ring folders lol and I've got a ton of textbooks lol

I'm excited to hear I can toss it all.. Minus the textbooks.... Hopefully I can get some money for those 🙂

 

[Filly Bay]

I'm still working on getting rid of my biology and chem notes from high school let alone undergrad!...I know I'm never going to use them again but I just can't throw them away! I guess I'm a hoarder haha

 

[wolfspeaker]

I've been keeping all notes and tests and whatnot in 3"binders. I plan on having a ceremonial bonfire when I get accepted to Vet school!

 

[EngrSC]

I've been keeping all notes and tests and whatnot in 3"binders. I plan on having a ceremonial bonfire when I get accepted to Vet school!

I am in favor of this plan 👍

 

[Maschka1]

I'm not a vet student yet, but last year when we moved so I could start a Masters program I didnt unpack my text books. I really regretted not having my Ochem book for a metabolisms class and I think my anatomy/physio book would have been helpful too. That said, I think my text books get more use when I need to look something up to set someone straight on Facebook.

 

[deleted497320]

I tend to keep a lot of my notes from undergrad and have gone back to them a few times throughout grad school. There are definitely some topics where my study sheets have provided me with a better overview than my textbooks or classes. You know how you learn- if there are books/notes that have served you particularly well, I'd keep them. If they were unhelpful/have since been eclipsed by other study guides, I'd toss them.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I'm not a vet student yet, but last year when we moved so I could start a Masters program I didnt unpack my text books. I really regretted not having my Ochem book for a metabolisms class and I think my anatomy/physio book would have been helpful too. That said, I think my text books get more use when I need to look something up to set someone straight on Facebook.

I will bet you like $500,000 that opening an ochem book in vet school is totally unnecessary.

 

[OwlandPussycat]

I kept my physiology textbook, and have used it as a reference a few times. Other than that, though, Minnerbelle is right - the material gets really specific, and the school give us more material than we can go through anyways.

 

[felinelvr44]

I've been keeping all notes and tests and whatnot in 3"binders. I plan on having a ceremonial bonfire when I get accepted to Vet school!

If I didn't live on the 8th floor of an apartment building in Brooklyn... I'd be all over this idea.

 

[adams30]

I'm not in vet school yet but I have kept most of my text books from undergrad that were related to the sciences, like my physiology books etc. I have referenced them for other classes (some of my classes didn't have books) so using my old ones helped. Sometimes I reference other books for better explanations of something if I find the 'class textbook' to be not very helpful for me.

I sold books for my classes that I knew I wouldn't use again.

But I am working on getting rid of papers / notes from classes that I don't think I'll use again. I think it is more helpful to keep a few textbooks that are worthwhile to you.

 

[hopefulinva]

I used nothing.

Not even the flash cards I made for the amino acids, because ain't nobody got time for that. (Actually because re-writing them was a better way for me to learn.)

Plus I downsized majorly and picked up an additional human being - and then a dog - so space in our tiny little apartment was wanting and I had boxes of notes/flash cards/binders/books from undergrad.



Oh wait, no - I did recover the old binders and used those. But that's it.

 

[orca2011]

Both my textbooks for biochem and Neuro in college are recommended texts for those classes at Penn. I used my niches book a little and were just starting Neuro so I don't know if I need it yet.

I also kept everything from undergrad and will probably get rid of most of it soon. Also my stuff from my nutrition class will hopefully allow me to get out of it next quarter.

 

[hai1983]

.

 

[cowgirla]

I've also started cleaning out old stuff, and I cannot tell you how mortified I was to find how many notebooks I have from high school, in addition to undergrad. I'll keep my books because I have major issues getting rid of books of any kind, but there's probably a tree's worth of notes ready to go.

Once, when I asked my father for help on a HS math question, he went down into the basement and dug out HIS old high school notes to see if he could figure out the question. DONT BE THAT PERSON!

 

[Kpowell14]

Once, when I asked my father for help on a HS math question, he went down into the basement and dug out HIS old high school notes to see if he could figure out the question. DONT BE THAT PERSON!

 

[orca2011]

I've also started cleaning out old stuff, and I cannot tell you how mortified I was to find how many notebooks I have from high school, in addition to undergrad. I'll keep my books because I have major issues getting rid of books of any kind, but there's probably a tree's worth of notes ready to go.

I got rid of all of my high school stuff once my sister graduated. She took a lot of the same courses I did, so she used my stuff all the time. I can probably get rid of my college stuff because she's a communications major and will never tame any science classes except like baby bio.

 

[EngrSC]

I have not been able to part with any of my engineering texts and I haven't touched them since I graduated in 2010. They are bohemuth books and my husband absolutely hates moving them but I just can't bring myself to get rid of them 🙄 My high school stuff is long gone and the majority of my notes/homework/exams from college I passed down to classes below me.

 

[hai1983]

.

 

[that redhead]

Get rid of it all. The very few times you may want to reference are not worth the bulk/packing. That's what the internet is for 😀

Aside from notes/school stuff: a co-worker told me about her system. If you find yourself not using/wearing something, put it in a different area aside from the stuff you use normally. If you haven't touched it in six months, toss/donate it. When I got in I had to seriously consolidate my life since I'd be going 1200 miles every four months- I probably could still get rid of more, but my few pieces of furniture are at my parents' house, my clothes are with me and all of my wedding crap is going to my parents too. Good luck- I find it really nice to off-load all of the extra stuff 🙂

 

[CanHardlyWait]

I actually have to opposite problem-I'm addicted to getting rid of stuff that I haven't used in 6 months. Like, every time I buy new clothes, I get rid of old clothes. So, I kept nothing from undergrad except a few Latin/Roman civ books. I love to sell books immediately after the semester ends and recycle my notes. This has never been an issue, and wasn't in vet school-except in histo. I took it in undergrad and hand drew everything. I wished I had those drawing for histo this past semester.
It's killing me to keep all of my notes from 1st semester of vet school but I know I'll need them in the future. I had my husband build me an awesome bookcase to house my hoard (that's what it feels like to me 😳) to make feel better about keeping them.

 

[Kansas Girl]

Once, when I asked my father for help on a HS math question, he went down into the basement and dug out HIS old high school notes to see if he could figure out the question. DONT BE THAT PERSON!

In a funny way, I think this is kind of adorable.

 

[DVMDream]

I tossed everything... actually, I tossed everything as soon as those classes ended...

I kept a few textbooks, but ended up just donating them... didn't have the time to try to sell them and figured it was a waste to throw them out.

I came here with nothing... no notes, no previous text book and I have been just fine. They give you more resources than you could potentially read.

 

[orcagirl]

The only thing I've kept really is the syllabi. Now that I'm in vet school it's probably not as important, but before you get in, it might be helpful if you are trying to substitute a class or if the schools don't want a class to count for something it should.

 

[485501]

Bearing in mind that I am not yet a vet student:

I kept all of my undergrad notes and I do go back over them often. I also re-taught myself calculus from my high school calc notes. But then, my notes are full of marginalia (quotes, book recommendations, opinions, etc.) and little after-the-fact explanations and mnemonics I've come up with, so they're less like stereotypical class notes and more like self-written tutorials plus diaries. If I had notes like the notes they taught me to take in high school, I'd have ditched them.

I kept only textbooks from undergrad that I thought had good formats and good explanations, and I referred to them all the time in my upper level undergrad courses. I also used them to study for the bio GRE, though I know most people here don't have to take that, and I use the chapter summaries as a guide for what I should remember from the undergrad course the book was for. But then, I read textbooks and encyclopedias for fun sometimes....

 

[twelvetigers]

You guys took notes in high school? Huh.

 

[nyanko]

lol I don't remember a thing about high school except skipping a lot of it and drinking behind the bleachers at football games

edit: tbf it was a long time ago cause i old

 

[felinelvr44]

I just trashed about 30 pounds of old notes, study guides, and a few ratty textbooks that were too old to sell. It feels so good! 😀 Some of my notes went back to 2008. Eesh. I kept my bio and orgo textbooks but there is still time to decide if I want to bring them to Ithaca with me. When I start packing in July we'll see if I'm still feeling sentimental about orgo...

 

[hai1983]

.