Can I cut it in med school?

[jsmith1]

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Hey guys so I just finished my 1st semester of sophomore year in which I took a pretty brutal schedule including orgo I, genetics, a lab course, and a couple of gen ed classes. I haven't gotten all my grades yet but I am expecting them to be decent (about 3.7 for this semester's gpa).

My concern is that although my grades are competitive the means by which I achieved those grades was to sacrifice pretty much everything else in my life. I studied like 10 hours a day for the entire semester and I don't recall if I ever took a full day off the entire semester. I expect this coming semester to be significantly easier so I plan on starting to go out with friends again but my question is if I have to work this hard in undergrad am I cut out for med school?

 

[kpcrew]

Don't know.

 

[flatearth22]

Who cares. Just focus on getting in right now. Adcoms are pretty good at selecting for people that can "cut it" (what is it like 97-98% of those who matriculate in med school graduate?)

 

[itsallornone]

Hi Jsmith,

I often wonder if I am cut out for med school as well. However, my gpa is no where near as great as yours. I received some pretty good advice today to go to an academic counselor and go over better study strategies. Maybe that could work for you...
Congrats on finishing off the semester well!

 

[ComradeDoktor]

I wouldn't worry about it. You had a loaded schedule and you're still pretty new at this. Working smarter, not harder is definitely a skill you can learn as you go along. Your work ethic and determination are great though!

 

[jesse120]

Yes you can, if you want it badly enough.

 

[luke587]

I just finished my first semester of sophomore year as well and my GPA took a huge hit i have right around a 3.45/3.5 now which isn't terrible but it definitely dropped...i think sophomore year is hard for a lot of people your not alone i felt like i had no time for anything fun this semester and studied a ton with pretty mediocre grades in the end, got my first C+ ever in chemistry. don't feel bad you still have a ton of time 3-4 semesters till you apply

 

[Drogo]

IMHO it's hard to say, it's like getting setup to fight in a boxing ring with an imaginary foe whom you have no idea how skilled of a fighter they are and where the combos and punches are going to be coming from.

You're just going to have to keep training and training and hoping it's just enough to come out on top , real battered and bruised but pushing to get that win eventually.

 

[Top Gun]

You know, I actually got better grades in med school than undergrad. Mainly because I found the material in med school more interesting.

 

[Stumpyman]

10 hours a day? Good God....


But no one can give you a true/correct answer.

 

[gravitywave]

Hey guys so I just finished my 1st semester of sophomore year in which I took a pretty brutal schedule including orgo I, genetics, a lab course, and a couple of gen ed classes. I haven't gotten all my grades yet but I am expecting them to be decent (about 3.7 for this semester's gpa).

My concern is that although my grades are competitive the means by which I achieved those grades was to sacrifice pretty much everything else in my life. I studied like 10 hours a day for the entire semester and I don't recall if I ever took a full day off the entire semester. I expect this coming semester to be significantly easier so I plan on starting to go out with friends again but my question is if I have to work this hard in undergrad am I cut out for med school?

this is not good. the fact that you are even telling this story suggests you know you need more balance. I don't know what the answer is, other than to tell you that it doesn't get easier but that you do get more efficient.

 

[StoicJosher]

Better study techniques.

Good luck!

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

When get accepted, just don't fail. Obviously try as hard as you can but don't fail.

 

[jsmith1]

this is not good. the fact that you are even telling this story suggests you know you need more balance. I don't know what the answer is, other than to tell you that it doesn't get easier but that you do get more efficient.

lol well I am definitely not in denial, it's pretty obvious to me that I do need a better balance in my life. This coming semester I plan to create a better balance but Im really just curious to know if I have the ability to do well in med school if I have to work this hard in undergrad?

How much more work does med school take over undergrad?

 

[plumhill]

You may think that your work ethic is admirable, but you're setting yourself up to burn out pretty quickly. While on the outside, devoting your whole life to studying without doing ANYTHING even remotely may look heroic, that isn't a healthy or sustainable schedule. From what I've heard, the people who are most successful and truly happy in their profession, no matter what it is, are those who can work hard AND have balance in life.

 

[Curl]

I've seen this question both on these fourms and had close friends ask me. Its never a straight forward answer.
- I'm going to take faith that you are smart enough to "cut it". Although I feel being smart is only part of being successful, and quite honestly the lesser but I'm sure someone would argue against me. More importantly you should ask yourself how bad do you want it because it is a lot of work. It (med school) clearly isn't easy, pick your favorite analogy really (the pancake one always tickles my fancy) but words often fail to describe what its really like. Like if you were to describe to a friend who hardly studies what its like to study 10 hours a day as you described (which, by the way you should work on), i'm not sure how much empathy you would truthfully get.

-My rambling aside, ask yourself if your picking your chosen path for reasons that make sense to you and how important it is to you. That way no matter how hard it turns out to be, you'll hopefully end up sticking with it.

And really, work on better study habbits and balance in life. Live a little 😛

 

[Law2Doc]

.... While on the outside, devoting your whole life to studying without doing ANYTHING even remotely may look heroic, that isn't a healthy or sustainable schedule. From what I've heard, the people who are most successful and truly happy in their profession, no matter what it is, are those who can work hard AND have balance in life.

it actually is going to be not only sustainable, but necessary for a subsegment of people in med school. Some people get efficient and are able to find balane, others never get that efficient and have to keep treading water to not drown. The quantity of material is far more than most will see in college, and so it will take a lot of hours to learn. Sorry, but 10 hours per day of studying isn't exactly a record, and will likely become your routine. Every person studying for Step 1 in med school surpasses this number of hours, actually. Can you do it? Absolutely -- very few people fail out of med school. Will it involve immersing yourself in books until you get more efficient? Yes.

 

[jsmith1]

it actually is going to be not only sustainable, but necessary for a subsegment of people in med school. Some people get efficient and are able to find balane, others never get that efficient and have to keep treading water to not drown. The quantity of material is far more than most will see in college, and so it will take a lot of hours to learn. Sorry, but 10 hours per day of studying isn't exactly a record, and will likely become your routine. Every person studying for Step 1 in med school surpasses this number of hours, actually. Can you do it? Absolutely -- very few people fail out of med school. Will it involve immersing yourself in books until you get more efficient? Yes.

Thanks for that. I realize I have to become more efficient, but how do it do it? I realize the answer is different for everyone but are there any general tips I can follow?

 

[gravitywave]

lol well I am definitely not in denial, it's pretty obvious to me that I do need a better balance in my life. This coming semester I plan to create a better balance but Im really just curious to know if I have the ability to do well in med school if I have to work this hard in undergrad?

How much more work does med school take over undergrad?

it takes more work than undergrad for virtually everyone. if you get accepted, then some med school somewhere figured you have what it takes to get through and graduate, and they are not often wrong about these things. OTOH, you want to know if you are capable of doing well in med school, which is something else entirely. you may get accepted and find that you have to work 80+ hours a week just to pass. that's not common, but it does happen.

as for study hints, I'm not your guy. I'm not really even sure how I pass med school classes, let alone be able to give advice to someone else 😳 Look around, there's plenty of info in here on this topic.

 

[jsmith1]

it takes more work than undergrad for virtually everyone. if you get accepted, then some med school somewhere figured you have what it takes to get through and graduate, and they are not often wrong about these things. OTOH, you want to know if you are capable of doing well in med school, which is something else entirely. you may get accepted and find that you have to work 80+ hours a week just to pass. that's not common, but it does happen.

as for study hints, I'm not your guy. I'm not really even sure how I pass med school classes, let alone be able to give advice to someone else 😳 Look around, there's plenty of info in here on this topic.

Yea I understand guess I just gotta figure out some better study habits.

 

[ucsfstudents]

Most people who get into medical school can "cut it." You'll be fine. It is hard work, but you seem to have no problems with that. Good luck!

 

[Law2Doc]

Thanks for that. I realize I have to become more efficient, but how do it do it? I realize the answer is different for everyone but are there any general tips I can follow?

You have to find a system that works. Some study best in groups, others alone. Some get a lot of value from lecture, others do better spending the same time reading. Some people use flash cards, mnemonics, write up outlines, draw diagrams. Some can get by highlighting while others don't learn unless they write margin notes. Many do better finding a different text/resource than the one the class is using. Some people need to read multiple resources on a subject to know it well. And so on. You have to play around with things until you figure out what works for you. It's why many people study a ton for the first med school exam and many still do poorly -- it's a process. You aren't going to wake up one day with a system that works. It's a trail and error thing. Thankfully the grades in the first two years of med school don't matter all that much, so long as you master the material by the time you take Step 1.

 

[Quaero]

If you don't remember taking a full day off a semester, you really need a break (a full day a week or something).

Are you really studying the whole 10 hours per day? How come you are not crazy already?😕

 

[scarshapedstar]

If you got the grades, and you did, then yes you can hack it. Much better than studying 10 hours a day and getting a 2.2 while spiraling into depression.