Here are some selected mathematical texts that are hard to find (they are almost all out of print). I thought it would be useful to make these classics more readily available. If you are an author or publisher of one of these works and would like me to remove it from this location, please send me an email and I will be happy to do so.
"The purpose of the Preliminary Examination is to ensure that students have the necessary background to complete a thesis in their chosen area and to test whether the student has the ability to make the transition from course work to thesis work. The student is examined on a list of topics drawn up in consultation with the student's Adviser and approved by the Doctoral Committee. The content of the list of topics is roughly that of two advanced courses, but should include material that the student has learned individually, by reading books or papers." (Excerpted from here)
I am indebted to Brian Conrad and to the senior number theory graduate students who gave me advice and helped me study, especially to Trevor Arnold.
Below is a link to study resources I compiled while preparing for my exam.
Below are many of my typeset solutions to the exercises in chapters 2,3 and 4 of Hartshorne's "Algebraic Geometry." I spent the summer of 2004 working through these problems as a means to study for my Prelim. In preparing these notes, I found the following sources helpful: