Books for class

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I'm starting at Everett cc in Jan.

Looking at books and wondering how difficult it has been for those in the past who did not purchase books or split the cost with a fellow student, aka sharing books.

I have a bs in biology and got through a majority of classes without buying books. Curious of how much the books were used by those whom purchased them.

Trying to keep costs low is all. ;)

I'm not nervous about the difficulties with learning only with the difficulties in the checkbook.

Thanks ahead of time for your responses.

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I have found that there are several questions on each test that are taken straight from the book... go to half.com or even amazon (sign up for student thingy, free shipping). I have an edition back for most of my books and it hasn't been a problem. don't share books, that would be a nightmare in nursing school. Most books we bought were used the entire program so while it seems like a big investment, it did take us through the end

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Specializes in Neuro Intensive Care.

Rent!! A lot cheaper and you will have your book if you need it. I've found that the online resources that come with the book to be more helpful than anything, but I do use my actual book from time to time.

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I use my books A LOT. I don't think you can survive nursing school without having the textbooks.As a previous poster said, RENT THEM! You truly do need them. In the long run, the money spent on textbooks is well worth doing well in your classes. I'd highly recommend purchasing some NCLEX books as well. Good luck to you!

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Specializes in Neuro/EMU, Pediatrics, Med Surg.

Be careful renting otherwise expensive textbooks.....I work at a hospital and on a really slow day I was looking over my pathophysiology book at the nurses station, a patients' mom came by to chat with me- she happened to have a full cup of water in her hand...You know where this is going..

She accidently spilled it directly onto my nursing book, saturating the pages. I kept calm, but was freaking out in my head. All I remember thinking was "THANK GOD it wasnt a rental!!!"

Try amazon or ebay for used books! Good luck!

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I'm all about the previous editions. I got my Fundamentals book for $6, and my Med-Surg for $36 with the CDs and online codes intact, by going one edition back. The major difference seems to be the order the chapters are in, but I took a picture of my classmate's content page to refer to for reading assignments, and it's worked well for me. I would advise checking with your teacher to see if there's any reason you can't buy a slightly older book. I'm sure a class will come along where I can't, but until then, I'm buying older. This advice won't work for everyone, but if you were considering book-sharing anyway, this is probably a little more convenient for the cost.

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My program relies heavily on the books, so I know I am going to have to buy them all. It will end up being around 600 bucks. I have tried Amazon. I am also asking current nursing students how they feel about giving up their books.

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I had to dip into my 401k to support me during my first semester this coming Jan.2014, in addition I have no financial aid I paid over 1800 for classes alone. I'm looking into buying my books however I was told to wait until orenitation. The day before classes start. Ugh.... I'm really trying to cut corners here it's so hard at times.

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I second amazon and ebay for used books. To save money, I would usually try to get at least the main textbook before class started. Once the semester started, I would figure out if I would realistically use some of the other books before I bought them. And I always asked for amazon gift cards for Christmas and birthdays.

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I had to dip into my 401k to support me during my first semester this coming Jan.2014, in addition I have no financial aid I paid over 1800 for classes alone. I'm looking into buying my books however I was told to wait until orenitation. The day before classes start. Ugh.... I'm really trying to cut corners here it's so hard at times.

If i had waited until orientation, I would have already been behind in the readings...be prepared to be playing major catch up

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

I did not use all of my books the first semester. I should have never purchased 3 or 4 of the 10 we bought because I never opened them. But, I buy used on Amazon and then sell back to my school.

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Cool!

Thanks for all your info everyone. Yeah I would be shopping around for sure. Just trying to get as much input.

I have some concerns about the program. They try to prepare you in all the areas of school, but after surviving 5 years I feel like they lack in a few areas of preparation or just supplying info that can help me prepare myself.

The AllNurses community seems like a real valuable resource. Thanks again.

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