What should I keep from undergrad?

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TheJabberwock

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No I am not studying over the summer, but I do need to unload of some academic materials before moving everything back my parents' house then to the next apartment. I will definitely keep the textbooks from classes I loved, like repro phys and herpetology, but is there anything else I should keep as reference/review material for vet school? I am a note and textbook hoarder, and it needs to stop now !
 
The notes will be, by and large, not very useful at all. Books will vary, but most of those won't be helpful either. I haven't used any undergrad books, though my immuno book was technically fine for what we learned in vet school too. But chemistries, genetics, maths... not really helpful.

Are any of the books new enough to be sold? I would find them on Amazon and see what amazon would buy them back from you for. I sold three books that way not too long ago and got over $200 as an amazon gift card, which I used to buy the big surgery book and a couple other things. Might as well get books you know you will need and use.
 
Can't say for myself just quite yet, but I know this has been asked before and the general consensus seemed to be: nothing, all the materials and notes you'll need will be available to you in vet school. I guess save whatever you want personally, but as far as actual use for school, probably don't count on needing any of it.
 
The only thing I kept was this awesome repro book from my repro physiology class. That's the only book I ever used, anyway.
 
Rainheart said:
The only thing I kept was this awesome repro book from my repro physiology class. That's the only book I ever used, anyway.
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Yup, only thing I'm keeping too. Is it pathways to parturition?
 
a couple of people had really good animal nutrition classes and were glad to have those notes (particularly because our first two VPs/sections of nutrition are very poorly taught). i kept nothing, i brought nothing, i have not missed anything, and i have not regretted it.

i facilitate a 1st semester review group and every semester here is what i tell my colleagues: yes it is great to use resources to look things up when you don't understand. BUT at the end of the day, whatever the professor happens to believe is correct will be the only thing accepted on the exam, so if you really have a question and don't understand something (even if it's just something silly and simple) you are best off asking your professor so that they can explain it to you the way they expect it to be regurgitated back to them. - this always gets a few people each term because they'll go by some other book that will say something different and get it wrong on an exam. and you can argue till you're blue in the face from hypoxia, but what the professor believes to be true will win.
 
I honestly have used nothing from undergrad. If I had liked my physiology book from undergrad, I would have kept it and it could have been useful, but I hated the book so I didn't keep it. Other than that, I don't think any of my undergrad materials would have been particularly helpful.
 
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I'm keeping a few textbooks. My Anatomy & Physiology text, because it's now so out of date that it's completely worthless, and I though it might be useful if I need a more simplistic explanation of a concept that I don't understand. I'm also keeping my Veterinary Pathology textbook, since it was actually meant to be a book for veterinary students so it might come in handy. And I kept a couple of my dairy management textbooks, just because I like them.

I sold everything of value (I highly recommend Amazon Buyback and Amazon Marketplace for this!!) and then donated the rest. There's a lot less clutter on my desk now.

I passed on all my organic chemistry notes to some pre-vet friends, but the rest will be making their way to a bonfire this summer. 😀
 
Burn all notes.

Keep biology and chemistry textbooks you can't sell.

Don't buy every textbook they tell you to buy in vet school (I could have gotten by without buying ANY textbooks until clinical years). - Some books may be helpful, but that is what the library is for. IMHO, I could have saved thousands not buying any books from years 1-2. But your school may differ.
 
I kept my histology textbook. It beat the hell out of the first semester histology notes we had. There was a recommended vet histology textbook, but I seem to recall it was in black and white, making it only slightly better than staring at a blank piece of paper. My undergrad histo book was human, but a lot of the tissues are the same and it had some really nice diagrams and photos. (Junqueira's Basic Histology if anyone's wondering).
 
Coquette22 said:
I kept my histology textbook. It beat the hell out of the first semester histology notes we had. There was a recommended vet histology textbook, but I seem to recall it was in black and white, making it only slightly better than staring at a blank piece of paper. My undergrad histo book was human, but a lot of the tissues are the same and it had some really nice diagrams and photos. (Junqueira's Basic Histology if anyone's wondering).
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Good to know, thanks. I have the same book so I'll make sure I keep it. The 12th edition came with a CD too, lets you install a program with a bunch of slides; seems like a handy text.
 
Frozenshades said:
Good to know, thanks. I have the same book so I'll make sure I keep it. The 12th edition came with a CD too, lets you install a program with a bunch of slides; seems like a handy text.
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I had a great computer program from an undergrad physiology class with lots of histology slides that could be labelled and unlabelled and had descriptions/more information if desired and could be sorted by tissue type and was basically awesome. Was very sad when I found out it didn't work anymore on my new mac. 🙁
 
your sanity...

I would toss all notes; if you have good textbooks for basic sciences (immuno, dev bio, nutrition, etc) you can hang onto them for first year and if you don't use them first year then sell them.
 
The only useful thing I kept from my prereqs was Boron and Boulpaep's Medical Physiology. Such a useful book anytime I brain cramp on how stuff works. Everything else went in the recycle bin or got sold back.
 
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DVMDream said:
I kept absolutely nothing from undergrad... no notes, I got rid of all my books (donated them); haven't had any problems without them yet.
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I kept a lot of stuff from my pre-req classes, and haven't used any of it. If I was more organized when I was moving I would have gotten rid of more, but I was not.
 
StartingoverVet said:
I kept a lot of stuff from my pre-req classes, and haven't used any of it. If I was more organized when I was moving I would have gotten rid of more, but I was not.
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Moving over an ocean and being told that you have to get rid of everything or take it with you makes you quite organized and also quickly reduces clutter... :laugh:

Otherwise, I would probably still have stuff from undergrad, but it would just be sitting around collecting dust because I have not yet had a need for anything from undergrad.
 
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