Inconsistent reports of free time in med school

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The reports I have been hearing and reading about the amount of free time during pre-clinical years have been astoundingly inconsistent, and I am starting this thread so that actual med students can help clarify why these reports are so inconsistent.

On the one hand, a bunch of students relate that if you manage your time well then there is plenty free time to pursue research and other extra curricular activities. Surely, to some extent this is confirmed by a number of med students who seem to have the time to monitor and take part in discussions regularly on this very forum during the school year.

On the other hand, there seem to be a glut of reports like the following, which make med school out to be something quite different

Originally Posted by OveractiveBrain

Imagine you get up every day at 7am. You then either go to class or study from a book for the next ten hours, maybe taking a break to eat, write an email, or, if you are one of the smarter students, either exercise or interact with another human being.

Ok. Now do it 6 days a week. For two years.

Medical school content is not hard. It is most memorizing details more than it is understand concepts. The knowledge you obtain in the first two years will allow you to then conceptualize disease, and do some pretty serious cognitive reasoning.

There is no correlation to your P-Chem class in terms of committment, time, or subject matter.

Now, I understand that "every student is different" and that everyone has their own study patterns, but is individual student variation the sole difference-maker here? Does the "truth" lie somewhere between these two extremes? Are some schools P/F curricula much harder than others? Are reports like the latter merely hyperbolic?

It's always going to be that way simply because of the variance of the students. Some students pick up information quicker and don't need as much time to prepare while others struggle through hours on the material before finally grasping the material. Also, some students might have been Biochem majors or Neuroscience majors or have taken some of the 1st year courses and so it's review for them while for other students the material is brand new and so it will take them significantly longer to learn the material. So the amount of free time is more based on the student's learning ability, time management skills, and previous knowledge more than anything.

I don't think there's a real big difference in school's curricula because so much of it has become streamlined to prepare students for boards. Although I would like to hear if students from Honors/HP/P/F schools feel much more pressure than simple P/F schools?

Originally Posted by robertch8

It's always going to be that way simply because of the variance of the students. Some students pick up information quicker and don't need as much time to prepare while others struggle through hours on the material before finally grasping the material. Also, some students might have been Biochem majors or Neuroscience majors or have taken some of the 1st year courses and so it's review for them while for other students the material is brand new and so it will take them significantly longer to learn the material. So the amount of free time is more based on the student's learning ability, time management skills, and previous knowledge more than anything.

I don't think there's a real big difference in school's curricula because so much of it has become streamlined to prepare students for boards. Although I would like to hear if students from Honors/HP/P/F schools feel much more pressure than simple P/F schools?

+1. There will be a huge inconsistency similar to what is observed in college students as well. Some students are really good about managing time and are able to work full time and still maintain decent grades, others can't handle working full time thus requiring that they focus only on school.

varies by student, their expectations, and how close an exam is

if you're working 10 hours per day every day for 2 years, there's something wrong with you. if you're working like that for the week or two before exams, that's understandable.

I can tell you I didn't work nearly that hard in the first 2 years. While I'm not at the top of my class, I felt well prepared for Step and the the wards.

Originally Posted by WiredEntropy

The reports I have been hearing and reading about the amount of free time during pre-clinical years have been astoundingly inconsistent, and I am starting this thread so that actual med students can help clarify why these reports are so inconsistent.

On the one hand, a bunch of students relate that if you manage your time well then there is plenty free time to pursue research and other extra curricular activities. Surely, to some extent this is confirmed by a number of med students who seem to have the time to monitor and take part in discussions regularly on this very forum during the school year.

On the other hand, there seem to be a glut of reports like the following, which make med school out to be something quite different



Now, I understand that "every student is different" and that everyone has their own study patterns, but is individual student variation the sole difference-maker here? Does the "truth" lie somewhere between these two extremes? Are some schools P/F curricula much harder than others? Are reports like the latter merely hyperbolic?

I think the true variability is in an individual's goals. Some people are more than ok with just passing, some need to get that 99.9% on every test.

Originally Posted by WiredEntropy

The reports I have been hearing and reading about the amount of free time during pre-clinical years have been astoundingly inconsistent, and I am starting this thread so that actual med students can help clarify why these reports are so inconsistent.

On the one hand, a bunch of students relate that if you manage your time well then there is plenty free time to pursue research and other extra curricular activities. Surely, to some extent this is confirmed by a number of med students who seem to have the time to monitor and take part in discussions regularly on this very forum during the school year.

On the other hand, there seem to be a glut of reports like the following, which make med school out to be something quite different



Now, I understand that "every student is different" and that everyone has their own study patterns, but is individual student variation the sole difference-maker here? Does the "truth" lie somewhere between these two extremes? Are some schools P/F curricula much harder than others? Are reports like the latter merely hyperbolic?

At most schools, during the first two years the only mandatory activities are exams and anatomy lab. So how much time you need to devote to studying depends on

1) The grade you want

and

2) How smart you are.

In your class you will see brilliant students glide by on 10 hours a week of work, never attending class. You'll also see people living in libraries and barely avoiding failing out. I would say the average student at my very average school works about 60 hours a week including labs and classwork during preclinicals. I personally needed to put in a little more time than the average to get average grades.

Originally Posted by WiredEntropy

The reports I have been hearing and reading about the amount of free time during pre-clinical years have been astoundingly inconsistent, and I am starting this thread so that actual med students can help clarify why these reports are so inconsistent.

On the one hand, a bunch of students relate that if you manage your time well then there is plenty free time to pursue research and other extra curricular activities. Surely, to some extent this is confirmed by a number of med students who seem to have the time to monitor and take part in discussions regularly on this very forum during the school year.

On the other hand, there seem to be a glut of reports like the following, which make med school out to be something quite different



Now, I understand that "every student is different" and that everyone has their own study patterns, but is individual student variation the sole difference-maker here? Does the "truth" lie somewhere between these two extremes? Are some schools P/F curricula much harder than others? Are reports like the latter merely hyperbolic?

he described perfectly the M1's I'm always in the lib with.

If you want to go ortho and lack the intuitive photographic memory, then you do what you got to do.

Originally Posted by armybound

varies by student, their expectations, and how close an exam is

if you're working 10 hours per day every day for 2 years, there's something wrong with you. if you're working like that for the week or two before exams, that's understandable.

I can tell you I didn't work nearly that hard in the first 2 years. While I'm not at the top of my class, I felt well prepared for Step and the the wards.

How often were your tests though? like every 2-3 weeks?

Every med student falls somewhere on a continuum. I literally just finished my 2nd year last week so Ill recap on my study habits and some extreme examples I know of. I am friends with someone who studies 10h a day and more or less did for all of M1/M2. She is someone who has horrible study habits, and cant separate the wheat from the chaff....and thus memorizes everything (and subsequently doesnt do as well as she could). Another guy I am close friends with literally never studied, worked 30h a week as a paramedic, and studied maybe 10 hours total for each exam. Hes in the lower part of the top of my class.

Then there is me. An average day for me over the past 2 years consisted of waking up at 930 to 10...wasting time for an hour or two while sippin my coffee and surfing the net. Then I would study (aka watch lectures online) for an hour or two. That was it for my school related activities generally. I was usually done with school stuff by 2 and could do w/e. The week before an exam I would put in maybe 3 or 4 hours of studying a night. Being completely honest I either hit the means on exams or were +/- 2-3 points...but usually +. Could I have studied more and been a better student? Yeah. Did I care?....nah. I had plenty of fun over the last 2 years. Got the strongest ive ever been in terms of lifting. Went to shoot at least once a week. Slept in a lot. Played with my dogs. Worked on my house. Etc

Again it really exists on a continuum. If you are the type of person who needs to be on campus for every lecture/needs to be in clubs/likes hanging around other med students/isnt an efficient studier/etc....your "school day" will be a lot longer. You will meet these people. They are obsessed with school. They need to read EVERY study guide that gets sent out. They are just doing something school related from dawn until dark each day. All they talk about is school. They live in apts with their classmates. To each his own....but thats not my style. I live between 30-40 minutes from school and have my own life up here. No med students. My neighbors dont even know what I do..and Its awesome. I thought that having a bit more of a "relaxed" M1/M2 experience was worth the trade off in grade. If you read the post match PD surveys each year you see that preclinical grades arent all that important to PDs anyway. Either way you will be fine. I remember this time 2 years ago...realizing its coming at you like a freight train full of uncertainty. You have no idea what to expect. OMG will I fail? Will I have a life? Will my family and friends stick by me? NO you wont fail (we had like 1 maybe 2 fail out of my class). YES you will have a life. YES your friends and family will stick by you. Its like any other 9-5 job in terms of time commitment. Okay, well maybe not mcdonalds...but any other day job where you work 8 hours and then bring some of your work home mentally...and worry about it while not at work. Anyways, good luck and try not to worry so much about the time commitment!

The theory of relativity also applies to medical school. I came out of undergrad working full time and taking full time classes, so I actually had more free time in med school (at least the first 2 years), than in college. Third year maybe not so much, though everyone is usually busy then. People who just went to college, volunteered a bit, shadowed a bit, etc. might think med school is much much more involved. So studying abilities combined with your previous experiences will ultimately determine your perception of free time.

From what I've heard it also varies by med school.

If you want free time, you can make it. There are always consequences, but most people can have a fair amount of free time and still do well enough to not feel screwed.

Originally Posted by willen101383

Every med student falls somewhere on a continuum. I literally just finished my 2nd year last week so Ill recap on my study habits and some extreme examples I know of. I am friends with someone who studies 10h a day and more or less did for all of M1/M2. She is someone who has horrible study habits, and cant separate the wheat from the chaff....and thus memorizes everything (and subsequently doesnt do as well as she could). Another guy I am close friends with literally never studied, worked 30h a week as a paramedic, and studied maybe 10 hours total for each exam. Hes in the lower part of the top of my class.

Then there is me. An average day for me over the past 2 years consisted of waking up at 930 to 10...wasting time for an hour or two while sippin my coffee and surfing the net. Then I would study (aka watch lectures online) for an hour or two. That was it for my school related activities generally. I was usually done with school stuff by 2 and could do w/e. The week before an exam I would put in maybe 3 or 4 hours of studying a night. Being completely honest I either hit the means on exams or were +/- 2-3 points...but usually +. Could I have studied more and been a better student? Yeah. Did I care?....nah. I had plenty of fun over the last 2 years. Got the strongest ive ever been in terms of lifting. Went to shoot at least once a week. Slept in a lot. Played with my dogs. Worked on my house. Etc

Again it really exists on a continuum. If you are the type of person who needs to be on campus for every lecture/needs to be in clubs/likes hanging around other med students/isnt an efficient studier/etc....your "school day" will be a lot longer. You will meet these people. They are obsessed with school. They need to read EVERY study guide that gets sent out. They are just doing something school related from dawn until dark each day. All they talk about is school. They live in apts with their classmates. To each his own....but thats not my style. I live between 30-40 minutes from school and have my own life up here. No med students. My neighbors dont even know what I do..and Its awesome. I thought that having a bit more of a "relaxed" M1/M2 experience was worth the trade off in grade. If you read the post match PD surveys each year you see that preclinical grades arent all that important to PDs anyway. Either way you will be fine. I remember this time 2 years ago...realizing its coming at you like a freight train full of uncertainty. You have no idea what to expect. OMG will I fail? Will I have a life? Will my family and friends stick by me? NO you wont fail (we had like 1 maybe 2 fail out of my class). YES you will have a life. YES your friends and family will stick by you. Its like any other 9-5 job in terms of time commitment. Okay, well maybe not mcdonalds...but any other day job where you work 8 hours and then bring some of your work home mentally...and worry about it while not at work. Anyways, good luck and try not to worry so much about the time commitment!

MS1 here but spot on to what I've seen over the last year and the way I am

Originally Posted by SunsFun

From what I've heard it also varies by med school.

This. All the students I talked to at one school said they had plenty of time to work in whatever ECs they wanted to do while still having time to study and pass (P/F system). When I interviewed at another school, all of the med students on the student panel (spanning all 4 years) seemed depressed and told us that we surely would not have time for activities outside of school (H/HP/P/F system). Since pre-clinical grades really don't matter, it seems insane to kill yourself for 2 years because everyone is gunning for H or HP.

Different intelligence levels, different backgrounds, different study methods, etc. will lead to different results on free time. As well, let's not forget that you can't compare a gunner's free time to someone who just wants to get through it at all.

Like others said there is huge variability. Some people do nothing but study day and night (I don't know how) and there are some that spend a decent amount at bars, hanging out with friends, working out etc... Most people are in between. For myself, during most blocks I can go out 2-3 times a week and still do pretty well. For the last 2-3 days before exams I generally don't leave my room and study about 10-14 hours a day. It certainly isn't 10 hours a day most of the time. I'm also not the best at managing my time.
It also depends on the block. I've always been good with concepts and can memorize a lot in a short amount of time but spatially I'm not the best so I have to a lot more work in anatomy-heavy courses.

Originally Posted by Holy FranZ

How often were your tests though? like every 2-3 weeks?

About every 6 weeks. The benefit of a block style system... one week of tests, 5 weeks of time "off"

There's so much variability for a variety of reasons.

1) Schools are different. Some have lectures 8-5, others have lectures 8-12, and others have no required activities outside of labs. Some have a P/F grading system. Others have A/B/C/D/F (or H/HP/P/F, same difference). Some have exams twice a semester, and others have exams every 3-4 weeks. Some have the environment that it's okay (even encouraged) to do things outside the classroom. Others have the unwritten rule that all students are studying all the time. Even classes within a school will have a different culture.

2) Students are different. If you're like the majority of people in my class, you're okay with 'just' passing the first two years, and so you study enough to make that happen. If you're gunning for Derm or another highly competitive specialty, then you're going to spend more time studying to make the class rank and/or Step 1 score you need. Priorities are different for some people; my married classmates probably want to spend more time with their wives, so they give up study time for it. I enjoy reading, and give up some study time for that.

So yeah, it can range from one person at one school studying 60+ hours a week to someone else studying 20 hours a week and having a part time job on the side (I've seen it happen).

As others have said, it's more individual than anything else. Some people just have to work as hard as they possibly can as long as there's more to memorize (and in med school, there's always more to memorize). I take the more relaxed route (along with some of my friends) and probably study an average of 2 hours a day with the time ramping up the last week or few days before an exam. I don't care about my grades because I just do my best to learn what's in First Aid/whatever board review book for that particular test and say to hell with everything else. Inevitably I don't do as well as I could because I'm not studying exactly what the professor lectured about.

Anyway, P/F vs. graded and ranked vs. unranked might make a difference, but even at schools that are supposed to be more "relaxed" there will be people that constantly work hard (perhaps harder than they need to or should). You need to figure out what level of achievement will make you happy with your performance and just go for that. Ignore everyone else.