<p>For incoming freshmen, does anybody know the ISBN's of the textbooks (bio, chem, physics, and calculus) for this school year? If you know it, please tell me. I want to order second-hand ones online as soon as possible. Thx!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>silly overachieving frosh :D
try the course webpages</p>
<p>The books probably aren't up yet (because the course websites probably aren't up yet) and you can't find out officially until late August, when you can go to the Coop and look up the ISBNs.</p>
<p>There will still be plenty of time for you to order used books online.</p>
<p>Well, the websites from last year will have the books, they are probably the same; but mollie is right, just wait until you get to school (P/NR, P/NR, P/NR)</p>
<p>Prices will sky rocket and availibility will plummet by the time the course sites are updated. I share xxxzxxx's sentiment completely. Is there a pattern professors usually follow (like updating every three years)?</p>
<p>If you buy now, you takes your chances. If there's any spike in the prices, it won't be as high as buying a book you find you don't need. Wait and buy them on campus (like from an upperclassman: isn't there a mailing list or some other method of connecting with people looking to sell their used textbooks?).</p>
<p>The problem is that books do change with some degree of frequency, both because of edition changes and because of book changes in general. A given class doesn't always use the same book from semester to semester, or from professor to professor.</p>
<p>One of the book sites is [url=<a href="http://bookx.mit.edu%5Dhere%5B/url">http://bookx.mit.edu]here[/url</a>] (certificates required); there are like two others, but I don't know what they are.</p>
<p>But seriously, you will be fine if you wait until you get to campus. This is what everybody does, and everybody ends up being fine and ordering used books online. If you're really super-worried, just don't even get books this term and mooch off somebody else. You certainly don't need them for the first ~week of classes.</p>
<p>It's possible (though not guaranteed) that course websites will begin to be updated soon. Generally you can find course sites at web.mit.edu/[course number]/www or by browsing [url=<a href="http://stellar.mit.edu%5DStellar%5B/url">http://stellar.mit.edu]Stellar[/url</a>].</p>
<p>I'd say just don't worry about it until you get to school. I mean, I'm now a sophmore and have gotten every one of my books from fellow students.</p>
<p>I guess it probably depends on the place you're living but I was able to simply go around knocking on doors of the upperclassmen around my dorm and eventually had all the books I needed both semesters. I spent a total of about $40 on books last year and got to use the rest of the money my parents had put on my account for books on food, which was a pretty sweet trade off.</p>
<p>Also talking to upperclassmen in your major makes connections that could help you later. I got a few bibles for classes that I'll eventually take for my major after asking someone on my floor for a book.</p>