About to start MS1- freaking out!

[MedScat]

School is coming up, I've been off from school for a while, I haven't taken anatomy and I'm freaking out. Should I prestudy? What do I even do? Should I just say "enjoy my last two weeks of summer and figure it out" But what if I don't figure it out and fail out?! I went to a small undergrad school now I'm going to a med school with a class size of 200+. How do we make sure we don't fail? I know my undergrad strategy of "getting ahead while everyone else is slacking" probably won't work in medical school so, how do I succeed? I've never been a great test-taker so I need other aspect of my life to make up for me mediocre test taking skills. Will this affect me? I'm SURE I'm being crazy but will some current pre-clinical med students give me a little advice? Thanks!

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[Gurby]

Chill bruh. It's easy. Just eat your pancakes every day.

11 years later, this video still accurate:

 

[MedScat]

I WISH it was eating 5 pancakes a day cause, I would be WAY AHEAD lol. It gave me a good laugh. Thanks

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

School is coming up, I've been off from school for a while, I haven't taken anatomy and I'm freaking out. Should I prestudy? What do I even do? Should I just say "enjoy my last two weeks of summer and figure it out" But what if I don't figure it out and fail out?! I went to a small undergrad school now I'm going to a med school with a class size of 200+. How do we make sure we don't fail? I know my undergrad strategy of "getting ahead while everyone else is slacking" probably won't work in medical school so, how do I succeed? I've never been a great test-taker so I need other aspect of my life to make up for me mediocre test taking skills. Will this affect me? I'm SURE I'm being crazy but will some current pre-clinical med students give me a little advice? Thanks!

In all seriousness, just relax. Take these two weeks to simply go on vacation, and misbehave If you want to do something a bit more productive, then learn how to use Anki and read up on which supplemental resources works best at your school. Depending on your curriculum, some resources may or may not work for you. And if you’re like me (in respects with poor test taking skills and mediocre science foundation), you might want to consider supplemental video resources like Boards and Beyond. To give an example, I plan to use my class lecture notes (Anki) as my number 1 resource, with BnB, Sketchy, FA, Pathoma, and BRS Questions as supplementals. Is that overkill? Perhaps. But until I get my first exam score back, I won’t even consider toning it down.

 

[FatherVetPremed]

Dr. Najeeb lifetime subscription is only $10 right now also. Not sure if it'll be a good resource but it's a heavy discount. But I agree just relax, I have 2 weeks left before it starts too but I'm not stressing about it, just take it one day/week at a time.

 

[Gibbward]

Relax fam! You got accepted, and that already means you have the capabilities to succeed in medical school. Reach out to your school's academic support services if you feel like you're falling behind. They might be able to give you the study strategies or a tutor or something like that. At the same time, don't overwhelm yourself with all the outside resources available. Focus on whatever is taught to you in lecture. The only outside sources I used for M1 was Pathoma and Sketchy Micro. I didn't use Anki either coz flashcards just isn't how I learn material. And if you struggle at the start, it's okay! It can be a difficult learning curve, especially in terms of trying to figure out what is most high yield. Just focus on yourself, don't compare yourself to the rest of your peers, and enjoy! There is a surprising amount of free time. There's more than enough hours in the day for both serious studying and having fun!

 

[MusicManiac19]

Dr. Najeeb lifetime subscription is only $10 right now also. Not sure if it'll be a good resource but it's a heavy discount. But I agree just relax, I have 2 weeks left before it starts too but I'm not stressing about it, just take it one day/week at a time.

I have never used his videos before but I saw this post, went to the site and got it. $10 is so cheap for a lifetime subscription versus $99. Even if I don't use the videos or they are not helpful to me, I am glad I now have the option. Thanks for posting.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

I have never used his videos before but I saw this post, went to the site and got it. $10 is so cheap for a lifetime subscription versus $99. Even if I don't use the videos or they are not helpful to me, I am glad I now have the option. Thanks for posting.

Ok...I’m thinking that I got ripped off. Can someone tell me why I paid $249 for the two years subscription?

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

I have never used his videos before but I saw this post, went to the site and got it. $10 is so cheap for a lifetime subscription versus $99. Even if I don't use the videos or they are not helpful to me, I am glad I now have the option. Thanks for posting.

I doubt I use many of them, but even if I use one or two of his lectures then it’s definitely worth it IMO. Thinking I’ll end up downloading them to listen to on some my commutes for some potential passive learning.

 

[MusicManiac19]

I doubt I use many of them, but even if I use one or two of his lectures then it’s definitely worth it IMO. Thinking I’ll end up downloading them to listen to on some my commutes for some potential passive learning.

Good idea. Unfortunately, I will not have much of a commute between where I live and school so I'll try to insert them where I can. I agree, even if only one or two videos help, it'll be worth the $10, which, let's be honest, I would've spent on lunch anyway haha

 

[MusicManiac19]

Ok...I’m thinking that I got ripped off. Can someone tell me why I paid $249 for the two years subscription?

Maybe all the other resources will try to compete with his price and you can take advantage of those.

 

[trobinsonmd]

Relax... there are going to be a lot of people in your class in a similar situation to you. The first week, sometimes you encounter those students who were physiology majors and seem to know everything, but after a few weeks, everyone kind of catches up and all is good... I was a public health major and did not know jack about anatomy either and I was more than fine -- I would not pre-study right now, enjoy your last few weeks of freedom and start school fresh.

 

[IMG69]

The key thing is to treat it like a job, for example from 9-5 (incl. lunch break) study, do classes etc then afterwards go to the gym or play any sports with your mates or whatever floats your boat. Key thing here though is you'll also find yourself working 'overtime' a lot so make sure you account for that say 2-4 nights a week. I did this during my undergrad, e.g Friday night i'm going out, so i'll go to my classes and study up until say 5pm so I can relax for an hour then eat then start drinking with my mates.

Balance is all you need, plan around the events don't plan around your study.