attending lectures vs studying at home

[chef]

I think there was a thread here a while ago about this topic.. I've done some research and based on feedback from older students and my personal experience, this is what I found:

1. Going to every lecture, vs studying on your own by reading during that time, is only more advantageous if you preview the material before you attend every lecture. Otherwise you'll retain so little by the end of 4 hrs (8-12pm) that it's not worthwhile, especially when the lectures are so dense and fast-paced.

2. If you are dedicated you will do better grades wise if you read vs listen to lectures, provided that your school has note taking service.

3. Most of the top performing students do not attend lectures but read a ton of stuff, including material not required in class.

4. Only times when attending lectures is worthwhile is when profs tell you exactly what he'll ask in the exam and tells you the answer.

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[oldladypremed]

I'm only a pre-med so I don't really have experience with med school classes yet, but wouldn't this really depend on each indevidual's unique learning style?

For example, when I was in law school (don't hate me) I noticed that a lot of people did fairly well by skipping lectures and reading the material but I was just the opposite. I found that I'm an auditory learner and really absorbed the material when it was presented in class. I also found that I was quite good at picking up subtle clues from the professors about how they were going to construct their tests so being in class and paying attention gave me a huge advantage. I had to do far less reading that way and so in the long run it saved me time.

Just a thought. Maybe peopel should just experiment with what works best for them?

Oldlady

 

[Rads Resident]

I would encourage you to find your own style, but as for me (and most of the other AOA-types in my class), I didn't find lectures to be terribly helpful. We had student note group where everyone rotates for their turn to type of the lecture notes and have them ready for distribution in 24 hours. I read the texts (often the review books) and the class notes. It was much more effecient. Four hours of lectures (plus 2 hours of commute, eating lunch, etc) vs. six hours of reading is a no brainer for me.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

I think it totally depends on the school, the class, the lecturer, and the student. You should always start out going to a class until you figure out that you can stay home without missing some important info that isn't written in your notes. For example, the class I'm in right now has most of the info in the notes we bought, but depending on the lecturer, not all use powerpoint. So, if the guy who uses transparencies is there, you should go or you'll have to get some extra notes from someone else. I'm actually staying home today because we are supposed to have case discussions to prepare for the test that is coming up, BUT I am so behind in studying that I'm pretty sure I won't know whats going on in the cases. So my tactic is to stay home today and study Neuro until my head pops off or the Kentucky game begins, whichever one comes first....

As a side note, I'm one of the lucky people who have a significant other in the same class, so I can stay home and he'll go to class. Then I can get the notes I missed immediately instead of asking for them from someone else.

 

[Brewster]

This is definitely and individual decision. I agree that you should plan on going to class for a little while and then make and educated decision about what works best for you.

In my class, of the students at the top (as measured by AOA status), I would say it is a pretty even split between class-goers and non-class-goers.

I, for one, found class very useful. Then again, I know that I am an auditory learner and would not want to spend all day, every day, in a library or at home studying alone. I am quite pleased with the results.

For other people, they found studying on their own worked better. They are also quite pleased with the results.

So, I think it is unfair to generalize that the people who do best are the ones who don't go to class. This is a decision that only you can make for yourself.

 

[Fletch_F_Fletch]

Yeah, I hate class, so I never go. I'm still a med student. I'll go to most anatomy lectures to see what they emphasize in class, but everything else is fair game to skip. When I see "Physiology" on the class schedule, I translate that as "go play 9 holes at the local muni golf course". It's working out pretty well for me.

 

[Tazmaniac]

If you can, study at home or at least at a place you feel is conducive to studying. Often, the lectures are taught by Ph D's who go into inordinate detail that you don't need as an M.D. or D.O. Classes with significant attention to detail like biochem or physiology with a heavy Ph D presence fall into this category.

My only regret in the pre-clinical years was not skipping more class. There were a handful of lectures I had wished not to have gone.

Of course, if you know that a particular lecturer is legendary, by all means, attend! A good lecture will save you hours of future studying and confusion.