Guides · 6 min
MBBS Stationery Checklist: Everything You Actually Need
A short, honest list — what to buy before first year, what can wait, and what's not worth it.
By Kuber Pujar · MBBS student, founder of Prescribed, creator of MedxKuber
Short answer
The essential MBBS stationery list: one unruled A4 notebook per subject, gel or ball pens plus a two-colour set, highlighters, sticky notes for revision flags, a small pouch for postings, and index cards for viva prep. Everything else can wait until you know your own workflow.
First-year shopping lists online are enormous. Here's the honest version, split into what you'll use daily and what can wait a semester.
Buy before day one
- One unruled A4 notebook per first-year subject — Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry
- Two reliable pens (gel or ball) plus a spare — lectures don't pause for a dead pen
- A two-colour or four-colour pen for headings, definitions and exceptions
- Highlighters in two or three colours — one meaning per colour, always
- Sticky notes for flagging pages you'll re-revise
Buy in second year
- Pathology, Pharmacology and Microbiology notebooks — the templates matter more here, because these subjects are pure structure
- A small pouch or white-coat pocket kit for postings
- Index cards for drug doses and viva one-liners
What's not worth it
- Fancy multi-subject binders — you'll stop re-filing within a month
- One giant notebook for everything — revision becomes impossible
- Pre-printed 'complete notes' as a substitute for your own — they're for revision, not learning
What should I carry to medical college daily?
The day's subject notebook, two pens, a highlighter and your pouch. That's it. Everything else lives on your desk — which is exactly why subject-wise notebooks work: you only ever carry one.