Uni books for course

Adly812

Himall,I’ve been given recommended reading books needed for my course starting in September. Looking up the books I’m shocked to see some +£100.
Stupid question so please forgive me. But if I’ve been recommended for example 7 th edition of a book and I find a 6 or 5 th edition of that book for a quarter of the price do you think I could get away with purchasing the lesser edition ? I know it’s a silly question but could anyone give some advice about how drastically editions differ?

omgaechylus

It really depends on the book. For some books, you could basically use any version and be fine. For others you will need the one specified for your course as other versions might be out of date or not contain something you need.
Campus bookshops sometimes do second hand books slightly cheaper but if it's a core text there might be a rush on copies. Amazon and ebay might also have second hand ones.

One thing that might be helpful is finding facebook groups or try TheStudentRoom forum to ask others who have done the same modules last year - they'll be able to tell you if its important to have a specific edition and might be looking to sell their copy from last year (or know someone who is...)

[Deleted User]

Depends on what you're studying? Some fields are fast moving with changes and updates to Law and/or scientific research etc frequently.

Adly812

Atlas of Anatomy by Gilroy 3rd edition.
Underwoods Pathology: a Clinical Approach, 7th Edition
Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology, 11th Edition by Martini, Nath & Bartholomew

Thank you all. I am studying Osteopathy. I have found all the books mentioned above in 6th edition for the second one and 9th edition for the third book. I will try ask the group if they can recommend if the edition is important. I saw one student selling an older edition on Facebook , so hopefully it is not mandatory to have the most dated edition. They are so expensive, even the second hand ones

CakeCrusader

It's worth checking the Uni library before you buy any books. The students in the year above may be selling their copies off too, so I wouldn't buy any just yet.



Anatomy doesn't change by the way but the new editions may have added extras or a different layout. I'd wait and take a look in the library to see what's in the new editions. If it's the same as the old ones, you could get away with not forking out for the new ones.

t_savez

New editions are usually made to make more money or with interactive features online, you should be fine with editions older by 3 or less.


Been at Uni 5 years in a range of disciplines.

jyeom12

Smb3088 wrote: »

Atlas of Anatomy by Gilroy 3rd edition.
Underwoods Pathology: a Clinical Approach, 7th Edition
Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology, 11th Edition by Martini, Nath & Bartholomew

To be entirely honestly, anatomy really hasn't changed much in the near-present. I'm a current undergrad, and still use some fairly retro anatomy/physiology textbooks - differences are generally in terms of layout/editorial, and less to do with the actual content.

That being said, your uni library will most likely have scores of copies of each of these textbooks, so I'd recommend holding fire on actually purchasing any of them, see what's in the library, and then work out if there's any you'd like/need to buy.

The other thing that's worth noting is that most uni courses will have a course facebook group or something, and inevitably in Sept/Oct time, some of the final years/recent graduands will be trying to flog their old textbooks, usually at a bargain price!

Hope this helps!

DigForVictory

It won't actually hurt to email your course tutor and ask, in case your subject (& their teaching) does include "and now turn to page 44".
Some tutors will be a but impatient, but most will understand money is finite & you need reassurance - while they in turn are reassured you intend to get the right books!

If that all seems too hair-raising, definitely contact the library & ask. They usually both know the course, & the essential books & can clue you in ahead of time as to how the loan system works - some books you can borrow for only a few hours, others for your whole course - within reason!

Best of luck!

Trixsie1989

Your uni library should have access to all of the books that you will need. just completed first year at derby uni and havent needed to buy any books apart from those I was really interested in and wanted a copy of. if books you want arent available you could try asking the library staff if they could look to obtaining them for you? many unis do this as it would not only benefit yourself but also other students