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UMelb Prescribed Textbooks

tyson

Member
Are people here gonna buy all the prescribed textbooks or just wait and see which ones are used the most often and library the rest?

Being as I am, I'll prob just buy them all.

What say you
 

bel

Member
I visited the bookshop across the street from the med building after enrolment, and nearly all the books were $100+ (even the pathetically flimsy looking ones, although at this point i hadn't checked the booklist so i wouldn't know if they were the prescribed ones)

I plan getting all the books which ex-1st year meddies recommend and library the rest, there's no point lugging them about if you're not using them.

Does anyone know anything about where you can get your books second-hand to save a bunch of money? Is there an official "second-hand book sale/store" or do you have to ask people individually?
 

trishan

Regular Member
Try textbookexchange.com.au for second hand books. Lot's of unimelb people use the site.

And yes, the legal resource centre does have a VERY nice library.
 

tyson

Member
Originally posted by bel@Feb 2 2007, 02:34 AM

I plan getting all the books which ex-1st year meddies recommend and library the rest, there's no point lugging them about if you're not using them.


So I guess the next step is for an ex-Ist year medicine student to enlighten us...
 

AussieChica

Emeritus Staff
Emeritus Staff
u guys could check the anatomy textbook threads that r already up :) the search button is at the top right hand of your screen, or u can just go 2 the home page, then search under individual forums :)
 

rybo

Regular Member
Originally posted by tyson@Feb 2 2007, 10:31 AM
So I guess the next step is for an ex-Ist year medicine student to enlighten us...
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Haha I've already asked CCH, his advice is to buy all the prescribed. Just have a look what the uni has done - they've compiled a list of books that will be useful for 3 years. Whats more, they haven't just given us a list, they've TOLD us which ones we MUST have and which one are useful. Feel free to make your own judgment, but I'm just gonna do what they've said lol.

CCH also said dont buy any textbooks that are more than 1 edition behind (just buy the latest, you'll probably thank him later).

Buying second hand is ok - i can see why you'd want to, the cost is massive, but everything useful your gonna learn over the next 3 years is in these books, I wouldn't wanna be stingy. Also, the difference between editions in some books can be several years worth of development/research. In a field like immunology or genetics, this can be important.

Just my opinion though.

On a side note, I tried to reserve/pay for the prescribed texts over the phone.
DONT TRY THIS
the bookshop is useless over the phone, send them email, that way they'll get back to you within a month, rather than 6 :p
had to get that off my chest.

EDIT: Bel: I wouldn't know, but I don't think many people actually carry their textbooks to lectures/tutes. Most people just use them at home
 

tyson

Member
Originally posted by rybo@Feb 2 2007, 12:09 PM
Haha I've already asked CCH, his advice is to buy all the prescribed. Just have a look what the uni has done - they've compiled a list of books that will be useful for 3 years. Whats more, they haven't just given us a list, they've TOLD us which ones we MUST have and which one are useful. Feel free to make your own judgment, but I'm just gonna do what they've said lol.

CCH also said dont buy any textbooks that are more than 1 edition behind (just buy the latest, you'll probably thank him later).

Buying second hand is ok - i can see why you'd want to, the cost is massive, but everything useful your gonna learn over the next 3 years is in these books, I wouldn't wanna be stingy. Also, the difference between editions in some books can be several years worth of development/research. In a field like immunology or genetics, this can be important.

Just my opinion though.

On a side note, I tried to reserve/pay for the prescribed texts over the phone.
DONT TRY THIS
the bookshop is useless over the phone, send them email, that way they'll get back to you within a month, rather than 6  :p
had to get that off my chest.

EDIT: Bel: I wouldn't know, but I don't think many people actually carry their textbooks to lectures/tutes. Most people just use them at home
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Good work. I'll think about getting them quite soon.
 

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iddybiddy

Regular Member
So when do we get a list of prescribed books? During O week?
 

Body

Member
Originally posted by Pianpupodoel@Feb 2 2007, 08:18 PM
http://www.medicine.unimelb.edu.au/current/booklists.html

I see ten prescribed books - at around $150 each (new).

wah.
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The prescribed texts seem to add up to about a grand and there aren't any prescribed texts for about half the subjects - does this mean that we will have to get one of the recommended texts for those subjects? Thats another grand I guess.

######. I'm broke before uni even starts.
 

iddybiddy

Regular Member
Are you serious guys? $1000 for prescribed textbooks?! And this is just for first year?! WHAT THE **** >_<
 

mintychoc

Member
Are you serious guys? $1000 for prescribed textbooks?! And this is just for first year?! WHAT THE **** >_<

Heya, I'm starting first year MBBS at UMelb next year, and I'm wondering which textbooks would you seniors recommend for my first year? Everything on the booklist? Which are the more important/useful ones? Am asking this earlier beforehand because it costs a bomb over there, and am hoping I could buy them overseas and bring them over instead.

The website only has the 2007 booklist, but I assume that it's (almost) the same every year? Any recommendations from seniors? :) Thanks, am the ultimate noob here. :)
 
Il be first year MBBS as well, I would REALLY appreciate some advice about which textbooks are essential,
e.g. are the main source of reference at dissections or lectures, without which you would really struggle.

Are you able to borrow textbooks from the library to take home, or to photocopy them? (this is prob in violation of copyright eh)
If not, then how do you study at home???

I too, like mintychoc, am the ultimate noob, and would appreciate advice :)
 

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scarah

Regular Member
Ok I've been at Melbourne Uni for years and one thing I have learnt is NEVER buy text books before uni starts. Because you rock up and they say "oh yeah that book was in there from last year this year were using DrDoggles book" or whatever.

Plus they put down everything they think you should read even if it's just a few pages - my advice is definitely wait and see and also check out what is available online through access medicine (ie. visit the library ^_^) you may find out you can access the books you use less online when you need them.

You may also find that you can pick books up second hand, check the notice board outside the biomed library, or academic and general on elgin st as well as ebay.

I had around $1000 of prescribed texts for nursing last year, I spent more like $300 and borrowed some books from friends, got some from the library when I needed them and some I simply have never needed to open.

p.s you can borrow from the library, the high use books will be available for overnight loan and the really high use will be on 2 hour loan. You can already check out how many copies of your books are in the library by going to the library catalogue www.lib.unimelb.edu.au and looking them up. Remember that these books will be hard to get hold of in exam time. You can photocopy 1 chapter or up to 10% of the book if it has no chapters without violating copyright. This is an option if only a small portion of the book is relevant but I think online Access Medicine will be more useful.

p.p.s I just looked at that booklist and it looks to me like it's for semesters 1-5 which is the first two and half years.. so you probably won't need all of them at once.
 
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Thanks for the info, scarah! ^_^

AccessMedicine seems really useful, for those bits and pieces of info from random textbooks. Also, its good to know I can photocopy SOME pages from textbooks..although, with that 10% rule, you'd think that you could go there 10 days in a row to copy the entire book? :p
 

scarah

Regular Member
Thanks for the info, scarah! ^_^

AccessMedicine seems really useful, for those bits and pieces of info from random textbooks. Also, its good to know I can photocopy SOME pages from textbooks..although, with that 10% rule, you'd think that you could go there 10 days in a row to copy the entire book? :p

This would be a violation of copyright laws but more to the point it is unlikely to be cheaper than buying the book.
 

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