10 months and 60k later...

[airplanes]

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With good grades to boot, I feel like I've learned very very little. Looked through some old notes before I tossed them...and nothing was familiar. I've never forgotten so much in so little time!

 

[DrYoda]

Yeah, I probably remember ~1% of biochem.

 

[avatarftw]

a

 

[fahimaz7]

60,000?!!! What is your yearly tuition.

Our school has, including tuition, housing, health insurance/care....about 39,000 for the first year.

Most medical schools have tuition over 30k/year. Most private are over 40k/year

 

[njbmd]

With good grades to boot, I feel like I've learned very very little. Looked through some old notes before I tossed them...and nothing was familiar. I've never forgotten so much in so little time!

Most people don't remember their notes verbatim however, if you learned the material in the first place (not crammed), then a good review is all you need to recall what is important. If you were a perpetual crammer, then the "learning" never left your short-term memory. You might need to do some solid "learning" as opposed to review when things like board exams come around.

 

[airplanes]

60,000?!!! What is your yearly tuition.

Our school has, including tuition, housing, health insurance/care....about 39,000 for the first year.

tuition alone is around 38k, student fees, housing, living expenses etc comes out to around 60k a year.

Most people don't remember their notes verbatim however, if you learned the material in the first place (not crammed), then a good review is all you need to recall what is important. If you were a perpetual crammer, then the "learning" never left your short-term memory. You might need to do some solid "learning" as opposed to review when things like board exams come around.

I sure hope so! It took me a solid month or so to learn that my undergrad tendencies to cram/procrastination wouldn't fly.

I have noticed reviewing for cumulative finals hasn't been better than I thought. (we have a block schedule so our finals cover 2+ months of material)

I just feel like off the top of my head, I honestly remember so little compared to everything I was charged with learning this year!

 

[Concordia]

While I was frustrated trying to study for Step 1, my SO joked that I have probably forgotten more in the past 2 years than many people would bother to learn in 10.
Them's the breaks

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

With good grades to boot, I feel like I've learned very very little. Looked through some old notes before I tossed them...and nothing was familiar. I've never forgotten so much in so little time!

Ha! I was just discussing this a couple of days ago.

When I think about my subjects, I just go blank. Fortunately it comes back when I look at the review notes, but I couldn't for the life of you tell you the Krebs Cycle, when I once knew it cold for my exams.

 

[MossPoh]

My school has anatomy during the summer and I have had a few of the first years ask me anatomy questions and I have to really think hard. I went down to the lab and it came back once I heard it a few times but yea......

It is also hard to recall the stuff because most of it was learned without a real solid context. Oddly enough, I think I could still draw out about 80% of the biochem pathways right now....at least the critical steps.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

My school has anatomy during the summer and I have had a few of the first years ask me anatomy questions and I have to really think hard. I went down to the lab and it came back once I heard it a few times but yea......

It is also hard to recall the stuff because most of it was learned without a real solid context. Oddly enough, I think I could still draw out about 80% of the biochem pathways right now....at least the critical steps.

Maybe it's just the course! Anatomy and phys stuck with me fairly well, but I use it quite a bit in my job.

Biochem was just a beast for me! Rate-limiting steps are drilled into my head, but forget the rest of the pathway. I will definitely have to relearn a lot of that. Oh well!

 

[avatarftw]

a

 

[Slack3r]

Our medical school's tuition is 32,000 a year.

+ $16-$20k for living expenses.

 

[avatarftw]

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[Slack3r]

Mine are 7,000 yearly living expenses in an average priced area. No car, use a bike and bus. Bike fast, don't need car. The bus is for winter.

Cool? MSAR estimates living expenses for most schools between $16-$20k. Just because you happen to pay less doesn't mean most people don't pay much more.

 

[MossPoh]

Maybe it's just the course! Anatomy and phys stuck with me fairly well, but I use it quite a bit in my job.

Biochem was just a beast for me! Rate-limiting steps are drilled into my head, but forget the rest of the pathway. I will definitely have to relearn a lot of that. Oh well!

Physiology is still there just fine and I can remember the major stuff with anatomy, but if you wanted me to go into the lab and label every site on a cadaver I'd be hosted. It has also been a year since I've covered the stuff, so anyone who does retain all of that without constant reviewing is pretty incredible.

 

[avatarftw]

a

 

[airplanes]

No, I'm just curious how you would spend 10,000 more per year.

Gas won't be that much assuming you are just commuting from your apartment to school, car insurance will vary based on age and the car being insured...I'm honestly interested in how the extra money is spent.

Try rent in a big city. 700-900 a month + utilities. Books if you need them, money for food, gas and daily living: I don't blow money left and right but I don't live like a hermit. I go out every once in awhile for a nice meal, movie, some new clothes, etc.

Physiology is still there just fine and I can remember the major stuff with anatomy, but if you wanted me to go into the lab and label every site on a cadaver I'd be hosted. It has also been a year since I've covered the stuff, so anyone who does retain all of that without constant reviewing is pretty incredible.

Yeah I would agree that I can retain the more conceptual content or physiology/pathology rather than the rote memorization of anatomy and biochem.

 

[WellWornLad]

No, I'm just curious how you would spend 10,000 more per year.

Where I live, $12,000/year will buy you 360 sq. ft. of rat-free living space.

If you're an animal lover like me, you can get away with about $6000/year.

 

[trevithick]

In NYC you would have to get somewhat creative to find something for 12000/year that is live-able for a med student.

 

[deleted77919]

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[Gabby]

No, I'm just curious how you would spend 10,000 more per year.

Gas won't be that much assuming you are just commuting from your apartment to school, car insurance will vary based on age and the car being insured...I'm honestly interested in how the extra money is spent.

You can't be serious. You think $17,000 a year to live off is too much? Rent alone in most cities will cost you $7000/year. How about the electric bill? How about the phone bill? How about food/groceries? How about clothing? How about shoes? How about car insurance? How about incidentals?

 

[avatarftw]

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[avatarftw]

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[deleted77919]

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[Gabby]

Here in the midwest, the average rent+electricity+water+heat+everything seems to be about 650. Mine is 430 roughly per month.

Food is 120 a month; I haven't bought new clothes in a long time and shopping at TJ MAX/Marshalls is pretty cheap.

Shoes are actually a big expenditure with me; its about 60 dollars every two months because of (relatively) heavy mileage running. How much does car insurance cost? I don't and won't need it the first two years of med school.

Spending $10,000+ a year on living expenses is pretty standard. You lucked out. Most people will spend more than what you're suggesting.

If you're paying $430 a month for rent and utilities and another $120 a month on food and you're only taking out $7,000 for the year for living expenses, doesn't that leave you around $400? Not leaving yourself much padding there should an emergency arise.

 

[avatarftw]

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[airplanes]

No, most of my classmates are spending significantly more, I'd say 40% more. (not much in absolute terms but yes in rate terms)

It took a few hours or so but I found a place that was conducive for somebody without a car, relatively close to the grocery store and within biking distance of the school.

I have some money saved up in case of emergency.

So really you know how and why....which makes it odd that you were wondering how a medical student could spend 10 grand on expenses 😕

Tangentially related to the OP, how much of the material actually comes back for step 1 and what's the level of detail? There seems to be no way I can retain all that information to the depth they expected for our exams...multiplied by 30.