I Just Saved Myself $707.55!!


So today I received my list of textbooks for first semester, with an whopping estimated expense of $747.45! From experience, I know that I will not be using all the textbooks that I usually buy from the campus bookstore, and so I searched the forums of valuemd to determine which books I thought were absolutely necessary. Turns out just about every upperclassman would agree the most used book is Netter’s Atlas, followed by BRS Anatomy. I read New Clinical Genetics is useful too but most people consider it “optional.” If I bought books from the AUC online bookstore, they would charge regrettable shipping fees, and so I found the best prices on eBay and Amazon marketplace for books.

It’s amazing how many books out there are open source or digitalized, yet are still sold expensively as book form. All the books that could be downloaded for free, I downloaded, and my total turned out to be $39.90, which includes shipping. Although I may not mark or write notes on them, electronic books give me other advantages, such as the ability to search for keywords quickly and its weightlessness. I got more than enough of what I am able to use and saved myself $707.55 at the same time!

BOOK RETAIL PAID SAVED
New Clinical Genetics 49.45 0
Mark’s Medical Biochemistry 67.45 0
VH Dissector Pro 152.1 0
Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy 71.95 39.90
Netter’s Clinical Anatomy 40.5 0
Clinically Oriented Anatomy 76.45 0
Histology with Cell and Molec 65.65 0
Basic Histology: Text and Atlas 58.45 0
Langman’s Medical Embryology 56.65 0
Clinical Anatomy: Applied 62.05 0
Histology Virtual Microscope 46.75
747.45 39.90 707.55

**UPDATE 3/2014**
As of September 2013, AUC now provides students with electronic textbooks via a platform called Vital Source. While one no longer needs to buy any of the books on the AUC textbook list, it’s still a good idea to consider getting BRS Anatomy, as it is not provided. It’s also a good idea to buy a Netter’s since one cannot bring computers or tablets  into the anatomy lab. Please see my post on textbooks for more information.