How much free time per day can you have in order to be top 10% in your class?

Started by grindtime1
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
G

grindtime1

Membership Revoked
Removed
15+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
For those of you who are in the top 10% of your class and looking to rock the USMLE and get into a competitive residency, how much free time/day do you have?

If I wanted to do this, should I expect to have no more than 30 min. of free time every day including weekends?

How much do you study per day?
 
Um.. that highly depends on how you study.. imagine going to Kobe Bryant and being like "bro, how much I got to practice to be the top NBA player?" Well .. if you are like me, practicing wont be enough .. if you are him.. prob not all that much (even though I know they all practice a ton but you get my point)

There are some kids who will be #1 and never study.. some that will study a bit, some that will study a lot.. why don't you get there first and then find out =P
 
grindtime1 said:
For those of you who are in the top 10% of your class and looking to rock the USMLE and get into a competitive residency, how much free time/day do you have?

If I wanted to do this, should I expect to have no more than 30 min. of free time every day including weekends?

How much do you study per day?
Click to expand...

So are you a pre-gunner? Good lord.

You are going to get a wide variety of answers on this - some things come naturally to people, while others work their butts off to make up the difference. Some people will study 1 hour each evening, some will study six. Some will hit the books all weekend, some will take entire days off. I don't think you are going to get a really good sense of what your workload will look like until you are in school. You will have a life outside of school and the amount of free time you have will be a function of your intelligence, efficiency, discipline, and desire (along with a ton of other factors like which class(es) you are currently in).

P.S. Your soul will atrophy if you only have 30 minutes of "free time" per day.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
maybe 30 minutes free time for the whole week

don't come into medical school expecting to come out on top because you probably wont and if you try to you will have a ****ty life

lbj>kome
 
I am around top 10-15%, I study about 4 hours a day and 5 hours a day on weekends.
 
beyondbethany said:
So are you a pre-gunner? Good lord.

You are going to get a wide variety of answers on this - some things come naturally to people, while others work their butts off to make up the difference. Some people will study 1 hour each evening, some will study six. Some will hit the books all weekend, some will take entire days off. I don't think you are going to get a really good sense of what your workload will look like until you are in school. You will have a life outside of school and the amount of free time you have will be a function of your intelligence, efficiency, discipline, and desire (along with a ton of other factors like which class(es) you are currently in).

P.S. Your soul will atrophy if you only have 30 minutes of "free time" per day.
Click to expand...
I'm talking about medical school, not undergrad. This is why I had this thread in the Allopathic forum, though it was moved for some reason.

I understand that it's possible to coast through undergrad, but nobody studies for 1 hour a day in medical school without being the worst student in his class. 1 freaking hour a day? That's a joke.

In medical school, many of my "average" friends spend 8+ hours a day studying. This is why I wanted to know how much you need to study to finish in the top 10%.
 
metallica81788 said:
That seems pretty ridiculous, IMO. They must not be studying efficiently or budgeting their time well.
Click to expand...
It's not ridiculous at all. You should read what medical students have to say about MS1 and MS2.

I'm sure the average kids at low ranked medical schools who are probably in the bottom 10% of their class will tell you that it's not that hard, but it doesn't matter what they think.

I have a friend at WashU who got in with a 3.95/39T. He tells me he spends roughly 8 hours every day and still isn't even at the top of his class (he's close, but not the best).

My other buddy was a 3.8/37 who's now at a top 15 medical school and he says he has no life too.

Undergrad is pathetically easy compared to medical school.
 
I don't have a clue where I stand in my class, but my scores are typically 1 standard deviation above class average. I'd say I study significantly less than a lot of my classmates, but probably more than others. I play video games, surf the internet, and watch TV no less than 2 hours per day.
 
People differ in their ability and efficiency in learning. You might get more usable information by asking how much more people study in med school than they did in UG for a similar % rank. I would expect the relative amounts of studying to be more consistent than the overall "average" top 10% med student (although this comparison is obviously complicated by other factors such as UG major, UG school, maturation, etc.). At least in UG, the top students often actually study less than the middle 50% simply b/c they don't need to (i.e., high levels of aptitude). Obviously, I cannot speak from experience as to whether or not this is true in med school as well, but it is likely to be at least true in some cases. I know that in UG, those with the highest aptitude are able to achieve near-perfect scores with only an hour or two of studying/week/class outside of class with maybe a 2-3 hour review the night before a test or quiz, whereas those who are working hard but have lower natural aptitude may take as much as 4-5 times that amount of time to achieve an A- or B+.
 
keep in mind that I am gifted in rote memorization and I am actively using softwares like Anki to boost my memorization abilty. also I am a very focused studier.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
It would really depend on each individual, IMO. Too many variables; I don't think there is a correct answer to this question.
 
Medmon said:
Um.. that highly depends on how you study.. imagine going to Kobe Bryant and being like "bro, how much I got to practice to be the top NBA player?" Well .. if you are like me, practicing wont be enough .. if you are him.. prob not all that much (even though I know they all practice a ton but you get my point)

There are some kids who will be #1 and never study.. some that will study a bit, some that will study a lot.. why don't you get there first and then find out =P
Click to expand...


The amount of effort and intensity guys like Kobe/Jordan/Tiger/Peyton is second to none.
 
I laminate all my notes that way I can study in the shower. I take 4 minutes showers.
 
Medmon said:
Um.. that highly depends on how you study.. imagine going to Kobe Bryant and being like "bro, how much I got to practice to be the top NBA player?" Well .. if you are like me, practicing wont be enough .. if you are him.. prob not all that much (even though I know they all practice a ton but you get my point)

There are some kids who will be #1 and never study.. some that will study a bit, some that will study a lot.. why don't you get there first and then find out =P
Click to expand...

[YOUTUBE]woOu_4l3lio[/YOUTUBE]
 
MilkmanAl said:
I know that the people topping my class all study 6+ hours per day in addition to class. Some of them hit double digits pretty frequently. I'd count on at least the former.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I've personally never met someone who put in less than about 4 hours a day and wasn't having serious academic trouble, and the 4 hours a day peeps are friggin brilliant photographic memory types (can tell you what page the factoid was on type of memory). For my first two years I started off at about 4 hours a day the first week after an exam, gradually increased it until a week or two before an exam when it was bumped up to 12-15 per day. I studied in 45 minute blocks with 15 minute breaks (except for meals which were 15 minutes to prep and 30 to relax and eat). I usually had enough time even on the worst days to do something for myself like work out or take a hot bath or take a break and eat a meal with my husband etc, an most days I could do all that. I never had to pull an all nighter. Its really not that bad considering that by default you are signing up for the clinical years were 12-15 hour days in the hospital aren't a rarity by any means (and you're studying when you get home), but it certainly ain't like undergrad.
 
I wonder how efficient these alleged daily 7 hour study periods are though... is it something like glancing over/reading through the material while having the tv/AIM on, or something like crunch time during finals/ writing a paper the morning of the day that it's due?
 
grindtime1 said:
It's not ridiculous at all. You should read what medical students have to say about MS1 and MS2.

I'm sure the average kids at low ranked medical schools who are probably in the bottom 10% of their class will tell you that it's not that hard, but it doesn't matter what they think.

I have a friend at WashU who got in with a 3.95/39T. He tells me he spends roughly 8 hours every day and still isn't even at the top of his class (he's close, but not the best).

My other buddy was a 3.8/37 who's now at a top 15 medical school and he says he has no life too.

Undergrad is pathetically easy compared to medical school.
Click to expand...

This is how you view your future peers? Really?
 
tartrate said:
I wonder how efficient these alleged daily 7 hour study periods are though... is it something like glancing over/reading through the material while having the tv/AIM on, or something like crunch time during finals/ writing a paper the morning of the day that it's due?
Click to expand...

Totally varies by person, not just in how focused they are but just in how inherently efficient they are. I have friends who can just read and absorb. I have to be active while learning, writing stuff out or talking to myself so that makes me inherently less efficient. I know people who make flashcards which seems to take even more time. Some people study in groups which I find to be inefficient because there's more distraction. I personally study at home with timed breaks and timed study sessions. When I say 6 hours I mean 6 hours of solid nonstop going as fast as I can studying. Other people might mean 4 hours with random distractions mixed in.

In short there is NO WAY you can figure out how hard/long YOU will have to work to do well or even just pass in medschool until you are there. Just go in willing to work however hard that turns out to be and you'll be fine. Even if it turns out you're one of the few who can do well during the preclinical years with minimal effort you're in for hours for a few years after that minimum once you are in the clinical setting.
 
grindtime1 said:
I understand that it's possible to coast through undergrad, but nobody studies for 1 hour a day in medical school without being the worst student in his class. 1 freaking hour a day? That's a joke.
Click to expand...
I've got a classmate who went to almost every lecture and took notes in lecture, but he only studied those notes the morning of the exam. He's above average too. I'd fail miserably, but he didn't.

In medical school, many of my "average" friends spend 8+ hours a day studying. This is why I wanted to know how much you need to study to finish in the top 10%.
Click to expand...
I know a guy (now a rad-onc resident at a good program) who was junior AOA (top 5% of the class), crushed his boards, etc, and he studied at home for most of M1-M2, for 9-10 hours a day.
 
grindtime1 said:
For those of you who are in the top 10% of your class and looking to rock the USMLE and get into a competitive residency, how much free time/day do you have?

If I wanted to do this, should I expect to have no more than 30 min. of free time every day including weekends?

How much do you study per day?
Click to expand...

25 hrs a day
 
psipsina said:
Agreed. I've personally never met someone who put in less than about 4 hours a day and wasn't having serious academic trouble, and the 4 hours a day peeps are friggin brilliant photographic memory types (can tell you what page the factoid was on type of memory). For my first two years I started off at about 4 hours a day the first week after an exam, gradually increased it until a week or two before an exam when it was bumped up to 12-15 per day. I studied in 45 minute blocks with 15 minute breaks (except for meals which were 15 minutes to prep and 30 to relax and eat). I usually had enough time even on the worst days to do something for myself like work out or take a hot bath or take a break and eat a meal with my husband etc, an most days I could do all that. I never had to pull an all nighter. Its really not that bad considering that by default you are signing up for the clinical years were 12-15 hour days in the hospital aren't a rarity by any means (and you're studying when you get home), but it certainly ain't like undergrad.
Click to expand...
are you saying 4 hours per day in addition to class, or just total?
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I'm an MS2 in the top 10% of my class.

In my opinion, the key to doing what you need to do to be in the top 10, 5, 2% and keeping your sanity is efficiency and maximizing your time.

For example, I get to school 1.5 to 2 hours before class starts and study. I go to the lectures which I feel are beneficial. If I'm not in lecture, I'm in the library studying. I study during lunch instead of dicking around with my friends, which gets me another 1.5 (we have a REALLY long lunch break). If there isn't any afternoon class, I'll usually study for another couple hours or so. I head to the gym at 4:30 ish. Home, have dinner. If we have an exam coming up I might read through notes, but usually I don't do much work once I'm home at the end of the day.

So, on the low end, if I have afternoon classes I get 3-4 hours in at school and read at home if I need to, or if there isn't afternoon class I can get a good 6.5 in and still go to the gym at 4:30 and not do any work in the evening. I go to bed early. Sleep is important for memory consolidation.

I usually go out one weekend night, but don't get so obliterated that I lose the next day.

Just be efficient
 
armybound said:
are you saying 4 hours per day in addition to class, or just total?
Click to expand...

I did no class (except gross anatomy because it was right before grosslab anyways). I found that I didn't have longterm retention from class. They moved to fast or too slow, I didn't have time to fully grasp onto a concept, they'd use a word I didn't understand and in the time it took me to wiki it I'd be lost, some of the lecturers were atrociously disorganized . . . I studied at home for the most part. So when I say 4 hours during that first week after exams I mean 4 hours total, week two would be 6, week three 8 and so on until full bore 12-15 hour days.
 
grindtime1 said:
For those of you who are in the top 10% of your class and looking to rock the USMLE and get into a competitive residency, how much free time/day do you have?

If I wanted to do this, should I expect to have no more than 30 min. of free time every day including weekends?

How much do you study per day?
Click to expand...

You could study all day all the time and chances are you probably still wont be at the top of your class. Its nothing against you (or anyone), but people are brilliant. People are just going to be smarter than you. End of story. Our first biochem test the average was over 90%. I had one of the lowest scores and i was in the low 80s. Averages and low scores werent always this high, but the point is that these people are f'in smart. It obviously depends on your study habits and how efficient you are and intelligent and bla bla bla but to make a safe bet, if you are going to try and be top 10% of your class you are going to be studying an overwhelming majority of your time. I study a lot, but I also enjoy doing other **** too much to care about what my rank is. As long as i pass i consider it a success.

grindtime1 said:
It's not ridiculous at all. You should read what medical students have to say about MS1 and MS2.

I'm sure the average kids at low ranked medical schools who are probably in the bottom 10% of their class will tell you that it's not that hard, but it doesn't matter what they think.

I have a friend at WashU who got in with a 3.95/39T. He tells me he spends roughly 8 hours every day and still isn't even at the top of his class (he's close, but not the best).

My other buddy was a 3.8/37 who's now at a top 15 medical school and he says he has no life too.

Undergrad is pathetically easy compared to medical school.
Click to expand...

wtf? are you kiddin me dude? You have no idea what you are talking about.
 
I think there's a bimodal distribution
people who study a lot are either working hard for AOA or working hard to not fail.
 
I'm sure the average kids at low ranked medical schools who are probably in the bottom 10% of their class will tell you that it's not that hard, but it doesn't matter what they think.
Click to expand...
As others have pointed out, this statement belies an exceptionally poor understanding of how med school works.

I think there's a bimodal distribution
people who study a lot are either working hard for AOA or working hard to not fail.
Click to expand...
If by "a lot," you mean "more than most people," I think I'd mostly agree.
 
grindtime1 said:
For those of you who are in the top 10% of your class and looking to rock the USMLE and get into a competitive residency, how much free time/day do you have?

If I wanted to do this, should I expect to have no more than 30 min. of free time every day including weekends?

How much do you study per day?
Click to expand...
you could study 1 hour and day and be top of the class.
you could study every waking second and never crack average.
why don't you worry about things you can control
 
grindtime1 said:
I understand that it's possible to coast through undergrad, but nobody studies for 1 hour a day in medical school without being the worst student in his class. 1 freaking hour a day? That's a joke.
Click to expand...

I'm going to second the fact that this varies from person to person. I'm doing well in medical school (we don't know our class ranks yet, but my grades are almost always 2 SD above the mean, so I'm not concerned) and on most days I don't study class material outside of lecture at all. I go to class, work like mad while I'm there, and then go over everything again intensely 2-3 days before the exam.

Granted, everyone else I know who has done this in medical school has failed at least one exam, so it probably isn't a good idea for most. On the other hand, I know some people who have practically lived at the library and also failed several exams (or a class). You really can't know until you're there.
 
fastboyslim said:
I think this depends on your undergrad major. I know physics majors who went to med school and said it was a piece of cake compared to undergrad.
Click to expand...
Not really. Of the 5 physics majors I know, only 2 of them have even respectable stats (GPA and MCAT). The 2 who are guaranteed to get in are 3.6/35+ kids but the other 3 have below 30 MCATs and will struggle to get into a US school.
 
TheProwler said:
I've got a classmate who went to almost every lecture and took notes in lecture, but he only studied those notes the morning of the exam. He's above average too. I'd fail miserably, but he didn't.


I know a guy (now a rad-onc resident at a good program) who was junior AOA (top 5% of the class), crushed his boards, etc, and he studied at home for most of M1-M2, for 9-10 hours a day.
Click to expand...
Sorry, but that's just not believable. You don't study a few hours before an exam for the first time and expect to have any sort of success. It doesn't matter how smart your friend was.
 
TheProwler said:
I've got a classmate who went to almost every lecture and took notes in lecture, but he only studied those notes the morning of the exam. He's above average too. I'd fail miserably, but he didn't.

I know a guy (now a rad-onc resident at a good program) who was junior AOA (top 5% of the class), crushed his boards, etc, and he studied at home for most of M1-M2, for 9-10 hours a day.
Click to expand...

grindtime1 said:
Sorry, but that's just not believable. You don't study a few hours before an exam for the first time and expect to have any sort of success. It doesn't matter how smart your friend was.
Click to expand...

I'm sure the former bolded quote made quite a difference for him.

Plus, I think Prowler is quite above lying on pre-allo for s&g. Like others have said, some people are just really smart and have extremely amazing memories. It does seem unusual, but I wouldn't deny it.
 
grindtime1 said:
Sorry, but that's just not believable. You don't study a few hours before an exam for the first time and expect to have any sort of success. It doesn't matter how smart your friend was.
Click to expand...
i wouldn't underestimate the power of prereading and then paying intense attention in class.
 
and having amazing memory.

At any rate, the most free time you could possibly have is 24 hours / day 🙂
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
grindtime1 said:
Sorry, but that's just not believable. You don't study a few hours before an exam for the first time and expect to have any sort of success. It doesn't matter how smart your friend was.
Click to expand...

Dude, you don't come onto a forum asking for advice from people who have actually gone through the process and then try to discredit what they say because it doesn't mesh with your ridiculously faulty understanding of the system.
 
grindtime1 said:
Sorry, but that's just not believable. You don't study a few hours before an exam for the first time and expect to have any sort of success. It doesn't matter how smart your friend was.
Click to expand...
I wasn't asking you.
 
It depends on each individual..Some people are just natural test takers. They don't have to study hard but still have good grades..
 
grindtime1 said:
Sorry, but that's just not believable. You don't study a few hours before an exam for the first time and expect to have any sort of success. It doesn't matter how smart your friend was.
Click to expand...


i love people who post questions and then refuse to listen to the answers and act like they already know the answer... wtf was the point of making this thread if you've heard this and that and you KNOW that couldn't be true, etc?
 
i think he just wants to hear "yes, you will only have 30 minutes of free time a day"...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
  • Question Question
How much to focus on research in personal statement?
Replies
7
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
olofmeister
How much to have saved before med school?
Replies
4
Views
3K
olofmeister
olofmeister
hana21
  • Question Question
Failed a class for a dumb reason—how can I explain?
Replies
3
Views
608
IlDestriero
IlDestriero
A
Gap Year Free Time
Replies
5
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
A
How many interviews does Columbia Vagelos have?
Replies
1
Views
484
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12