The Student Room Group

Access to H.E

hello
i have just completed the P.S.E course and been told they want me to go onto the access the H E course (yippee), But am now trying to get the books before the rush. The two subjects i am going to do are psychology and biology, aswell as the core subjects.

Can anyone offer me a list of the best books to get , I have been picking up books from various sources already but can you ever have to much.
Reply 1
Original post by hawkeye04
hello
i have just completed the P.S.E course and been told they want me to go onto the access the H E course (yippee), But am now trying to get the books before the rush. The two subjects i am going to do are psychology and biology, aswell as the core subjects.

Can anyone offer me a list of the best books to get , I have been picking up books from various sources already but can you ever have to much.


My advice is to look on websites such as amazon.co.uk hawkeye04.I also brought a few books for some of my courses over the years from other websites like e-bay and e-bid for a few pounds which were much cheaper than buying books from the likes of waterstones for example
A good book i would defiantly recommend for Psychology is Richard Gross The science of mind and behaviour
Its a bit more expensive than the standard textbooks but well worth the money and its really geared at students doing A/As level courses.
I also used this book when i was doing my degree a few years back.
Biology wise,I have found that a general Human Physiology and Anatomy book would stand you in good stead.
Ross and Wilson Anatomy and Physiology of Health and Illness is a good book to buy if you going to be covering things like the various systems like digestive system,endocrine system etc
General Biology book,have a look on amazon as there is a vast range of different biology books on there
I mainly used a Anatomy and Physiology book for when i was doing my biology hope this info helps
Reply 2
For psychology, as Wizardtop suggests the Gross one, and as an inexpensive one Psychology A2, The Complete Companion by Mike Cardwell and Clara Flanagan, First edition (don't bother with the more expensive 2nd edition, the 1st one is much better). I used this book more than any other book, and for the £2.50 it cost me from Play.com it is a must, it doesn't have depth, but it is great as an overview, I found I used that for majority of my essays and then used the Gross book for more depth. Another overview book that was great for me to read and understand things was Advanced Psychology through diagrams by Grahame Hill.

Personally I would advise Play.com over Amazon, for second hand books, mainly because you pay a little more for the book but postage is free, but with Amazon second hand books from other suppliers you have to pay postage on each item so works out dearer if buying several books from different suppliers.
Reply 3
i am picking up cheap copy's of eBay, but been told i am due to get book tokens for water-stones once i get my book list. so any suggestions i can not afford at the mo , i shall pick up then
Reply 4
I've just completed an Access to HE course doing Biology and Psychology. The books that were a godsend for me were: Psychology books: Gross (6th edition) The science of mind and behaviour, Psychology Through Diagrams, Psychology in Focus. Biology books: Biology 1, (Can't remember who wrote it, but it had a sunflower on the cover) and another book by Clegg which was brilliant.
Reply 5
I'm also doing Psychology in September and maybe Biology so I'm grateful for these recommendations. :smile:
Reply 6
My goodness, I'm feeling like I must have been totally unprepared for my access course. I did not buy any books for my access course. Our college had a really well stocked library and every book I needed was in there. I'm glad in hindsight that I didn't buy books because when I did use books it was often only a couple of pages that I needed but I would often have 3 books spread out in front of me to get the information I required.

By all means buy books, especially if they have been recommended for your course but for those who can't afford to buy or don't know which ones to buy don't worry about it. I managed to get lots of distinctions using only the lecture handouts, Google and the library.
Reply 7
Original post by jami74
My goodness, I'm feeling like I must have been totally unprepared for my access course. I did not buy any books for my access course. Our college had a really well stocked library and every book I needed was in there. I'm glad in hindsight that I didn't buy books because when I did use books it was often only a couple of pages that I needed but I would often have 3 books spread out in front of me to get the information I required.

By all means buy books, especially if they have been recommended for your course but for those who can't afford to buy or don't know which ones to buy don't worry about it. I managed to get lots of distinctions using only the lecture handouts, Google and the library.


I only bought psychology books, but the rest of the topics I used online resources, and college library. Spent at most £30 on all books for the course, so in comparison to the cost of the uni books that are needed is a drop in the ocean lol.

We weren't allowed to use lecture notes, and were not allowed to used many internet sites, and even then those had to be reputable sites/educational sites written by scholars or online journals
Reply 8
Jeeez, u can tell i'm bored when i start choosin colour of text n typin in green loooool....anyways...snap to both jami n soule...i bought v few books, and any that i bought i knew i'd be using at uni but, rest of the time i used a decent library.
i'm wondering if i can get away with this strategy at uni - so if anyone has any ansas...i'd love to hear ur advice pls :smile:

like soule, we weren't allowed to use net resources too much (for every net source we had to use 3 books so cos it was easier i just stuck to books, in the main) and if u were using class notes, u weren't doing any reading so that was a definite no no

OP...i'm also gonna recommend gross but would also add that u use as many A2 level books as u can get your hands on cos it helps with the understanding of the material (least it did for me!)
Reply 9
Original post by ashtoreth

i'm wondering if i can get away with this strategy at uni - so if anyone has any ansas...i'd love to hear ur advice pls :smile:



I think as with everything it depends on the course you are doing. There is a huge recommended book list for pharmacy but some of the mature students who have done/are doing have told me that they have just borrowed on long term from the uni library and have only bought books they really wanted and thought they would use again.

Because I'm excited and raring to go I desperately want to buy loads of books (my Amazon wishlist is very long) but I'm trying to hold off and get them from the library when I start in September or buy them secondhand from previous students.

I'm also desperate to buy lots of stationary but I know I don't need to and it is just as easy to buy it when I actually need it.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by jami74
I think as with everything it depends on the course you are doing. There is a huge recommended book list for pharmacy but some of the mature students who have done/are doing have told me that they have just borrowed on long term from the uni library and have only bought books they really wanted and thought they would use again.

Because I'm excited and raring to go I desperately want to buy loads of books (my Amazon wishlist is very long) but I'm trying to hold off and get them from the library when I start in September or buy them secondhand from previous students.

I'm also desperate to buy lots of stationary but I know I don't need to and it is just as easy to buy it when I actually need it.


i'll know more when i get my reading list but i really like the idea of long term loans and buying second hand. like u i have a mahooosive list on amazon lol...but, i really don't wanna fork out for anything just now.
if the last few months were anything to go by, and the way i research...i'm better off lending:redface: - than buying...or i'll have no money left to eat after i've bought all the books i'll want - guess i could always munch on wilson (k wilson, social work btw lool)

you made me lol when i read about the stationery fetish. u should see me droooling over academic diaries and pens and the like, late late into the nite on amazon
like u tho, think i'll just wait till common sense reasserts itself

is funny but yannow? am kinda nervous and excited at the same time. is a rather queasy feelin i got goin on over here loool
Reply 11
Original post by ashtoreth

is funny but yannow? am kinda nervous and excited at the same time. is a rather queasy feelin i got goin on over here loool


Me too! It all feels so real now, and time is flying by. One minute I am wishing it was September already, then next the 'what ifs' creep in and I am worrying about it all. I feel like I am starting school all over again (worse than with the Access course), with all the silly worries I have about September!
Original post by Soule
Me too! It all feels so real now, and time is flying by. One minute I am wishing it was September already, then next the 'what ifs' creep in and I am worrying about it all. I feel like I am starting school all over again (worse than with the Access course), with all the silly worries I have about September!


omg yes! this is waaaay worse than the access was. i didn't really think about the access too much tbh but NOW i'm gonna be moving to Scotland - don't know anyone there. not sure how the course will be. am worrying about making friends at my age etcetcetcetc:s-smilie:

time is deffo flying and in a few more weeks i gotta move!:eek: - oh look, there's that queasy feelin again!:redface:

*gulps*
Reply 13
Original post by ashtoreth
omg yes! this is waaaay worse than the access was. i didn't really think about the access too much tbh but NOW i'm gonna be moving to Scotland - don't know anyone there. not sure how the course will be. am worrying about making friends at my age etcetcetcetc:s-smilie:

time is deffo flying and in a few more weeks i gotta move!:eek: - oh look, there's that queasy feelin again!:redface:

*gulps*


lol yep exactly, I worry about no one wanting to talk to me because I am 20 years older, same situation as you, but going to Surrey in halls of residence, I was even worrying about my new flat mates reactions when they see this older woman joining them.

Will I be able to do the degree? Am I being stupid trying? ya da ya da ya da.

Its all the great unknown, but then it swings round to, 'omg I am going to uni, I can't believe it' and am really excited.

In truth, we will both be fine, and settle in well. This reinvention thing is exciting and bloody scary, but how much strength do we have, to be even doing it?
Original post by Soule
lol yep exactly, I worry about no one wanting to talk to me because I am 20 years older, same situation as you, but going to Surrey in halls of residence, I was even worrying about my new flat mates reactions when they see this older woman joining them.

Will I be able to do the degree? Am I being stupid trying? ya da ya da ya da.

Its all the great unknown, but then it swings round to, 'omg I am going to uni, I can't believe it' and am really excited.

In truth, we will both be fine, and settle in well. This reinvention thing is exciting and bloody scary, but how much strength do we have, to be even doing it?


i rather suspect we need to be examining our sanity, as opposed to our strength!

i keep thinking, if i'm being this feeble minded even doing this crazy thing, how the hell am i gonna have the brains to manage a degree!

tell u, you're really BRAVE to be doing halls. after a previous post u made i did consider it but discarded the idea - largely due to cost, tho age was also a consideration.

that said, i would have to agree lool....we will prob be fine...and if u are anything like me, most don't realise my actual age cos i look a lot younger (according to others anyway) and it's always amusing to see the look on their faces when i tell em that noooo, seriously, i am old enuff to be your mum, now run along pls loooooool

and to add...it annoys me that my age may be a factor, both for others, and in my own head.

sigh...that said, i'm veering back to being totally terrified again
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by jami74
I think as with everything it depends on the course you are doing. There is a huge recommended book list for pharmacy but some of the mature students who have done/are doing have told me that they have just borrowed on long term from the uni library and have only bought books they really wanted and thought they would use again.

Because I'm excited and raring to go I desperately want to buy loads of books (my Amazon wishlist is very long) but I'm trying to hold off and get them from the library when I start in September or buy them secondhand from previous students.

I'm also desperate to buy lots of stationary but I know I don't need to and it is just as easy to buy it when I actually need it.



I have obtained my own copies of the two main recommended books for year one of my course. I got my own copies so I can scrawl all over them, I will be using the library for most requirements, but I will buy the odd one over the next three years...again so I can scrawl all over them. Paper back versions, I would never scrawl in a hardback, any more than I would bend the spine back. I have quite a few books on my subject already, but hardbacks acquired over the years and hence they are no scrawling zones too.

I got the first standard book as a xmas present of my eldest son. The second was a birthday present of my eldest son. Now I can scawl and scrawl :biggrin:

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