Feeling depressed about grades

[pathologyDO]

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Hey there SDN

I just got the score from my musculoskeletal midterm and I'm feeling depressed... I ended up getting an 80, and the median for the exam was also an 80. Now I know it doesn't sound bad, but I go to a required attendance school which normally runs from 8:00am-5:00pm. When I Get home, I study from after supper (6ish) till 10:00-11:00pm, then go to sleep by midnight. So basically I go to class 9 hours a day, then study 4+ hrs on the weekdays, and then 12 hours on Saturday, repeat Sunday.

What is so discouraging is that I don't have time to do anything else like clubs, social events, hang out wig friends, etc because of my schedule, and yet I'm scoring right at 50% of the class! and I guarantee those getting near that score cannot study more than I do, I can't see how it would be possible...

Just depressed/discouraged...

 

[Brain Bucket]

Welcome to medicine.

Don't let it bother you too much and keep at it. Over time you'll make it to the top if you stay motivated and use the right resources. Assuming that's what you're looking for.

If you want a social life, be content with P = MD

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4

 

[coffeesnob]

Hey there SDN

What is so discouraging is that I don't have time to do anything else like clubs, social events, hang out wig friends, etc because of my schedule, and yet I'm scoring right at 50% of the class! and I guarantee those getting near that score cannot study more than I do, I can't see how it would be possible...

Just depressed/discouraged...

I feel you... I study so hard and find I only got an average grade (which is like 85%-90%)... I am still getting used to this. But it still hurts. Your schedule sounds like mine... Sorry I don't have anything encouraging to say. I am just letting you know you are not alone! 🙂

 

[madchemist89]

Grade matter not...Step 1 matter much.

 

[Southplains]

I cannot fathom having to be in class 8am-5pm every day on top of studying, that is seriously the definition of misery. I think you should be really happy with being at the top of the bell curve at the very beginning because with that schedule, I would probably not be able to study at all most days on top of class.

Do you feel like you take a lot from class? At my school, attending lecture basically only happens if everyone loves the lecturer, otherwise you just watch it online or not at all and just use the handout.

I imagine over time you'll find your ways to become more efficient inside that type of curriculum and improve. But even if you don't, you shouldn't be down on yourself for doing well! Try to have some perspective, you're not even close to failing. It could be so much worse and you're successfully working toward residency.

 

[notbobtrustme]

this is why schools with mandatory lecture can go straight to hell.

We don't have mandatory lectures and scant labs, so I have so much more free time. I spend ~6 hours a day studying (including watching lectures) and then the rest of the day is mine.

 

[se20001984]

this is why schools with mandatory lecture can go straight to hell.

We don't have mandatory lectures and scant labs, so I have so much more free time. I spend ~6 hours a day studying (including watching lectures) and then the rest of the day is mine.

amen!!

i guess u learn this stuff AFTER getting in, i was lucky to go to 1 that doesnt require...

wooohooo

 

[yehhhboiii]

well everyone else is working that hard
it's not like you're the only motivated and intelligent person there
but yeah lack of required attendance is very important, unlike mission statement or whatever it is that premeds are looking at these days

 

[pathologyDO]

Thanks for the encouragement everybody. What would I do without my SDN community?

I definitely feel like the mandatory attendance is complete hogwash. I learn very little from being in class for so many hours. It amazes me that when I am in lecture not much sticks, but then when I get home and watch the lecture I actually do learn it. The other thing is that our school constantly has us do things like patient simulators, "volunteering" ( mandatory) at under served elementary schools, groups where we have to interview each other in front of 10+ people... So half of the day I'm thinking about having to do those things instead of focusing on lecture... It doesn't actually stop at mandatory attendance to lecture, we often have mandatory guest speakers also.

But I digress... Thanks again everyone! I will just need to adapt and realize that while I do study a lot, I'm still faring well.

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

Thanks for the encouragement everybody. What would I do without my SDN community?

I definitely feel like the mandatory attendance is complete hogwash. I learn very little from being in class for so many hours. It amazes me that when I am in lecture not much sticks, but then when I get home and watch the lecture I actually do learn it. The other thing is that our school constantly has us do things like patient simulators, "volunteering" ( mandatory) at under served elementary schools, groups where we have to interview each other in front of 10+ people... So half of the day I'm thinking about having to do those things instead of focusing on lecture... It doesn't actually stop at mandatory attendance to lecture, we often have mandatory guest speakers also.

But I digress... Thanks again everyone! I will just need to adapt and realize that while I do study a lot, I'm still faring well.

If you continue to put in the work, you will definitely do better with time as you become more efficient. If you have not done so, maybe you can preread the day's lecture notes before attending the class and annotate notes onto the power point slides as opposed to rewatching the lecture at home. I can't imagine that being too efficient.

 

[eefen]

Mandatory lecture would suck.

If I were in your shoes, I would seriously consider discreetly sitting in the back with some headphones and getting stuff done in lecture.

 

[NeuroLAX]

Thanks for the encouragement everybody. What would I do without my SDN community?

I definitely feel like the mandatory attendance is complete hogwash. I learn very little from being in class for so many hours. It amazes me that when I am in lecture not much sticks, but then when I get home and watch the lecture I actually do learn it. The other thing is that our school constantly has us do things like patient simulators, "volunteering" ( mandatory) at under served elementary schools, groups where we have to interview each other in front of 10+ people... So half of the day I'm thinking about having to do those things instead of focusing on lecture... It doesn't actually stop at mandatory attendance to lecture, we often have mandatory guest speakers also.

But I digress... Thanks again everyone! I will just need to adapt and realize that while I do study a lot, I'm still faring well.

Sorry to hear your curriculum doesn't allow you to do things your way, but I think the poster above makes a solid point in suggesting that you pre-read whenever you can. This could cut down on the amount of lectures you need to watch again when you get home, allowing you to focus your attention on clarification and not relearning the entire lecture.

Keep it up man. Stay focused. I don't know how KCUMB handles grading (GPA vs % vs P/F), but there's the saying "7-0 = DO" that is often reiterated following a tough exam. Just be glad you're doing well enough to not have to live by that motto. There are people that do this, but you're not one of them. One more thing: don't beat yourself up trying to get every point possible for OPP at the expense of your systems curriculum. If you feel comfortable with the material, which isn't hard to begin with, then put the lab manual and OPP notes down and pick up your systems notes. Those are more important. Best of luck! You'll do fine.

 

[Jlaw]

Hey there SDN

I just got the score from my musculoskeletal midterm and I'm feeling depressed... I ended up getting an 80, and the median for the exam was also an 80. Now I know it doesn't sound bad, but I go to a required attendance school which normally runs from 8:00am-5:00pm. When I Get home, I study from after supper (6ish) till 10:00-11:00pm, then go to sleep by midnight. So basically I go to class 9 hours a day, then study 4+ hrs on the weekdays, and then 12 hours on Saturday, repeat Sunday.

What is so discouraging is that I don't have time to do anything else like clubs, social events, hang out wig friends, etc because of my schedule, and yet I'm scoring right at 50% of the class! and I guarantee those getting near that score cannot study more than I do, I can't see how it would be possible...

Just depressed/discouraged...

Welcome to med school. You were probably top of your class as an undergrad but so was every single one of your classmates and they are also spending every waking minute studying, so its going to be pretty hard to get above the "average". Just remember that the average is this case isn't bad, I'd be willing to bet that 90% of the class is scoring within a few points of the average so don't sweat it...the exams are designed to be beyond your comfort level, just like boards will be.

Musculoskeletal sucks but it gets easier afterwards, you will have more free time in CP1 and 2. Also, don't sweat the attendance policy, you have an allotment of unexcused absences, use them😉

 

[J ROD]

First, grades dont matter and just do your best to pass and move on.

I try to stay above the 50% mark.

Mandatory attendance is plain stupid.

All you can do is study while in class. We all are smart so get used to it.

Personally, I think I am smarter for not getting A's when they dont matter and the cost that comes with getting them. I enjoy my time off for the most part. I am not stressed.

Med school is as hard as you make.

 

[Geebeejay]

Hey there SDN

I just got the score from my musculoskeletal midterm and I'm feeling depressed... I ended up getting an 80, and the median for the exam was also an 80. Now I know it doesn't sound bad, but I go to a required attendance school which normally runs from 8:00am-5:00pm. When I Get home, I study from after supper (6ish) till 10:00-11:00pm, then go to sleep by midnight. So basically I go to class 9 hours a day, then study 4+ hrs on the weekdays, and then 12 hours on Saturday, repeat Sunday.

What is so discouraging is that I don't have time to do anything else like clubs, social events, hang out wig friends, etc because of my schedule, and yet I'm scoring right at 50% of the class! and I guarantee those getting near that score cannot study more than I do, I can't see how it would be possible...

Just depressed/discouraged...

Doing better than 50% of other med students isn't a bad thing

 

[scorm]

If you want to be anything other than a primary care doctor, you should probably step your game up. Mid-ranked at a DO school is probably a death sentence.

 

[KnuxNole]

Doing better than 50% of other med students isn't a bad thing

This.

After all, the "bottom 50%" aren't dumb-dumbs. Everyone in med school studies and works hard.

Being above average should absolutely be rewarded and you should feel amazing about that. If you are on average, congrats, you are average, and on the right track. Of course, if the average grade is failing....well maybe not 😛

 

[The kitchen sink]

If you want to be anything other than a primary care doctor, you should probably step your game up. Mid-ranked at a DO school is probably a death sentence.

As a DO student currently applying this cycle, there is some truth to this. Not a supposed 'death sentence' but you get the point. So it's probably good your feeling kind of down being only at the 50% mark in your class. Aim to be top 10-15% (good work ethic during MS1/2 years will translate into good work ethic when studying for boards, imo). Overall though, as a DO student to another DO student, my best advice would be to obliterate the boards (Take USMLE Step 1 and 2 in addition to the mandatory COMLEX series) to keep as many options open to you as possible. Yes, its tough taking both boards but it is well worth it. Get great LORs, and work hard and apply broadly when the time comes. Otherwise, stay positive and you'll do great.

Take care!

 

[Kaustikos]

Hey,

First - grades don't matter. How do I know? I failed/did horribly on several exams during MS1/MS2 and then did way better on Step 1. My Dean actually told me that in person when I asked about this. My profs/Deans all said that it's not how I do but what I learn for Step 1/Medicine. My friends were baffled when I told them I'd barely gotten the grade cut-off for passing on exams because of how well versed I was on topics. My close friend was the same - he barely passed tests first year and only did average second year. He did great on Step 1. Your grade don't mean ****. Why? There's no way other residency programs can even gauge what a H/HP/P means relative to other schools that are P/F. That and it doesn't mean **** having HP/H when your step 1 is a 170/fail.


Regarding Mandatory Attendance - Get ear plugs. Unless your school threatens to kick you out for not paying attention, I'd just get them and study by yourself while in class. My school tried to do that for our Clinical Medicine exam and several of us were pissed. We went in and just put ear plugs/studied by ourselves. The director said some staff complained so I bluntly told them - You're making us attend these when we don't learn. It's inconvenient. I also have other exams in better classes to study for. I'll be there as a courtesy, but don't expect my full attention.

However - if the professor likes to call out on people, don't be like me at times. I was studying for our afternoon path exam during one class and the professor was asking people questions. He looked/asked me a question and I had my ear plugs on. I just said "I don't know" and looked back down. Not only did he comment on that to my director, but our class rep emailed me about it while cc'ing the director. I replied explaining everything... nothing else happened.

 

[KnuxNole]

Hey,

First - grades don't matter. How do I know? I failed/did horribly on several exams during MS1/MS2 and then did way better on Step 1. My Dean actually told me that in person when I asked about this. My profs/Deans all said that it's not how I do but what I learn for Step 1/Medicine. My friends were baffled when I told them I'd barely gotten the grade cut-off for passing on exams because of how well versed I was on topics. My close friend was the same - he barely passed tests first year and only did average second year. He did great on Step 1. Your grade don't mean ****. Why? There's no way other residency programs can even gauge what a H/HP/P means relative to other schools that are P/F. That and it doesn't mean **** having HP/H when your step 1 is a 170/fail.


Regarding Mandatory Attendance - Get ear plugs. Unless your school threatens to kick you out for not paying attention, I'd just get them and study by yourself while in class. My school tried to do that for our Clinical Medicine exam and several of us were pissed. We went in and just put ear plugs/studied by ourselves. The director said some staff complained so I bluntly told them - You're making us attend these when we don't learn. It's inconvenient. I also have other exams in better classes to study for. I'll be there as a courtesy, but don't expect my full attention.

However - if the professor likes to call out on people, don't be like me at times. I was studying for our afternoon path exam during one class and the professor was asking people questions. He looked/asked me a question and I had my ear plugs on. I just said "I don't know" and looked back down. Not only did he comment on that to my director, but our class rep emailed me about it while cc'ing the director. I replied explaining everything... nothing else happened.

That class rep sounds like a douche.

 

[Frazier]

+X to what the others said about your results...

Being "average" among today's cohort of US medical students is quite an accomplishment. No sarcasm.

It is too easy to forget that fact...especially when we put in all those hours to end up "AVERAGE?!"

Just do your thing and be happy that you can keep up with some of the most driven/intelligent folk of your generation.

Note: By "some" I mean that there are countless driven/intelligent people outside of medicine.

 

[Wordead]

Either you're not studying well, or your whole class is insane and it's not worth killing yourself and your social life. I'm willing to bet its the former.

 

[Mass Effect]

If you want to be anything other than a primary care doctor, you should probably step your game up. Mid-ranked at a DO school is probably a death sentence.

Please don't spread rumors/lies. Thank you.

 

[alpinism]

Hey,

First - grades don't matter. How do I know? I failed/did horribly on several exams during MS1/MS2 and then did way better on Step 1. My Dean actually told me that in person when I asked about this. My profs/Deans all said that it's not how I do but what I learn for Step 1/Medicine. My friends were baffled when I told them I'd barely gotten the grade cut-off for passing on exams because of how well versed I was on topics. My close friend was the same - he barely passed tests first year and only did average second year. He did great on Step 1. Your grade don't mean ****. Why? There's no way other residency programs can even gauge what a H/HP/P means relative to other schools that are P/F. That and it doesn't mean **** having HP/H when your step 1 is a 170/fail.


Regarding Mandatory Attendance - Get ear plugs. Unless your school threatens to kick you out for not paying attention, I'd just get them and study by yourself while in class. My school tried to do that for our Clinical Medicine exam and several of us were pissed. We went in and just put ear plugs/studied by ourselves. The director said some staff complained so I bluntly told them - You're making us attend these when we don't learn. It's inconvenient. I also have other exams in better classes to study for. I'll be there as a courtesy, but don't expect my full attention.

However - if the professor likes to call out on people, don't be like me at times. I was studying for our afternoon path exam during one class and the professor was asking people questions. He looked/asked me a question and I had my ear plugs on. I just said "I don't know" and looked back down. Not only did he comment on that to my director, but our class rep emailed me about it while cc'ing the director. I replied explaining everything... nothing else happened.

This. Just bc you have to be at school all day doesn't mean you can't study on your own terms and at your own pace. Sit in the back of class in the corner and get some noise-canceling headphones or earplugs. Obviously for small groups it depends on the instructors and your classmates as to what you can get away with, but for lecture this shouldn't be a problem.

 

[alpinism]

If you want to be anything other than a primary care doctor, you should probably step your game up. Mid-ranked at a DO school is probably a death sentence.

Even for DO students, most PDs don't care about pre-clinical grades. OP can still get a great residency if he crushes step 1 and gets good clinical grades/LORs.

 

[scorm]

Please don't spread rumors/lies. Thank you.

I know you're a DO student and all, so I'm pretty sure you know you're going to have to go above and beyond to be considered amongst the ranks of similarly scored MD students. So yeah, I don't think middle of the line at a DO school is doing you any favors. And it's not a personal thing, it's just that you're in a worse position than an MD in the middle of his class.

Even for DO students, most PDs don't care about pre-clinical grades. OP can still get a great residency if he crushes step 1 and gets good clinical grades/LORs.

No offense to the OP, and this goes out to anyone in his same predicament, but If you are studying 12-13hrs a day as OP is and you are still middle of the road (at a DO school), doesn't that say something about your capability to do well on Step 1?

 

[prometheus09]

Mandatory lecture would suck.

If I were in your shoes, I would seriously consider discreetly sitting in the back with some headphones and getting stuff done in lecture.

I agree with this.

Also, it's very common for the class to do well in that subject. Once the more intense classes begin (Cardio, Pulm) you will definitely see more 70% averages. Don't beat yourself up. I am around average in my class, but I did WELL above average on both COMLEXs, so just keep studying and you will do well! Good luck!

 

[as1212559]

Thanks for the encouragement everybody. What would I do without my SDN community?

I definitely feel like the mandatory attendance is complete hogwash. I learn very little from being in class for so many hours. It amazes me that when I am in lecture not much sticks, but then when I get home and watch the lecture I actually do learn it. The other thing is that our school constantly has us do things like patient simulators, "volunteering" ( mandatory) at under served elementary schools, groups where we have to interview each other in front of 10+ people... So half of the day I'm thinking about having to do those things instead of focusing on lecture... It doesn't actually stop at mandatory attendance to lecture, we often have mandatory guest speakers also.

But I digress... Thanks again everyone! I will just need to adapt and realize that while I do study a lot, I'm still faring well.

Is KCUMB really that strict on it? I got the impression when I interviewed from the students that you could definitely get out of a number of classes.

Seriously though, just invest in some earplugs. We don't go 8-5 over here over here except on OMM lab days so I don't know that struggle as much but we have some fluff classes that everyone ignores. Attendance is mandatory because it's fluff and they know it so everyone shows up, signs in, and tunes it all out. I tune out real lectures sometimes, depending on the prof. I still sit there in class though as a courtesy to the professors who are trying their best, plus I'm more likely to study in class than in the library or at home.

If you want to be anything other than a primary care doctor, you should probably step your game up. Mid-ranked at a DO school is probably a death sentence.

 

[pathologyDO]

They pass around attendance sheets randomly everyday to make sure we don't skip, and they mentioned that it is considered "academic dishonesty" by the university to sign and then leave afterwards.

In addition, they told us they are not fond of people wearing earphones during lecture as it's disrespectful, but whether they would even notice I'm not so sure of.

I may as well give it a shot and hope they don't care because to get As I need to make use of those hours in lecture.

 

[Brain Bucket]

They pass around attendance sheets randomly everyday to make sure we don't skip, and they mentioned that it is considered "academic dishonesty" by the university to sign and then leave afterwards.

I'm not condoning this, but we have a very similar policy. Most people have others sign them in and most professors turn a blind eye because they know how ******ed it is.

 

[thefritz]

med school rewards a special kind of 'intelligence.' some people will just be better at it. I walked over thousands of other students in undergrad in a totally different but extremely difficult curriculum. I was consistently 30-40 percentile in med school. I have memory problems and am a slow reader. So no matter how good I am at understanding extremely abstract and difficult mathematical and geometrical concepts, I'll never do well on timed, multiple choice tests designed for pattern recognition.

You will most likely stay where you are. Most of your grades will be 50 percentile range and your board scores will be around there too. Don't be discouraged. 50 percentile is still good enough and you can still be a fantastic doctor.

 

[notbobtrustme]

med school rewards a special kind of 'intelligence.' some people will just be better at it. I walked over thousands of other students in undergrad in a totally different but extremely difficult curriculum. I was consistently 30-40 percentile in med school. I have memory problems and am a slow reader. So no matter how good I am at understanding extremely abstract and difficult mathematical and geometrical concepts, I'll never do well on timed, multiple choice tests designed for pattern recognition.

You will most likely stay where you are. Most of your grades will be 50 percentile range and your board scores will be around there too. Don't be discouraged. 50 percentile is still good enough and you can still be a fantastic doctor.

yep, med school curriculum rewards those who can straight up memorize versus those who want a deeper understanding. I'm sure that this situation is reversed once you hit the wards, but the first two years is key-word recognition, pattern-recognition with a minor sprinkling of deep understanding.

 

[Mass Effect]

yep, med school curriculum rewards those who can straight up memorize versus those who want a deeper understanding. I'm sure that this situation is reversed once you hit the wards, but the first two years is key-word recognition, pattern-recognition with a minor sprinkling of deep understanding.

This is variable, depending on your school. Most of our exams were definitely not key-word recognition.

 

[Akali]

If I had mandatory lectures and I felt like they weren't worth listening to I would just sit in the back, pop in some ear plugs, and just do free study.

 

[yehhhboiii]

If I had mandatory lectures and I felt like they weren't worth listening to I would just sit in the back, pop in some ear plugs, and just do free study.

generally things that are mandatory aren't worth going to
why else would they force people to be there

 

[Kaustikos]

If I had mandatory lectures and I felt like they weren't worth listening to I would just sit in the back, pop in some ear plugs, and just do free study.

That's what you're supposed to do if you're smart. The smartest kid in our class never went and is sitting in 3rd year with a 3000 step 1....

generally things that are mandatory aren't worth going to
why else would they force people to be there

Yup.

Wanna know why they made our lectures mandatory? The class before us hardly went. We had a satellite campus with 16 students, so they had 4-5 go and take notes for anyone else that didn't go and would alternate. The "professors" said it was rude and wondered if it was worth their time to teach if no one went.

So...they tried making it mandatory for us. Wanna know why no one went? Because it wasn't worth their/our time. We tried to just say "Hey, why don't we just have NO professors and everyone's happy!"

The real slap to the face was that we had 100% attendance for pharm/path.

 

[johnmendes]

Med school is as hard as you make.

👍 It's sad it took being halfway done with it to really understand/believe this

 

[premedk]

I wouldn't worry about it. I struggled through 1st year for several reasons(mandatory early morning lectures/lab being one). Just keep at it and eventually you'll figure out how to cope with your curriculum. It took me till March to just to start getting 'average' on tests. Not what you want to hear, but it takes time to get used to med. school.

Not sure how your curriculum is set up, but for us, this year(M2) is waaay better. Less material, more study days, no labs, and very few mandatory sessions. Life is good. I'm finally getting A's(still just barely above average...our class is also ridiculously smart).

 

[Evil_Abed]

Be careful with the whole "preclinical grades don't matter" mantra. Class rank can be an important determinant in interview selection and ranking -- I'm not saying it's the most important thing, but according to the NRMP PD survey, looking a few different specialties, it looks like a significant number of PDs consider class ranking/quartile in selecting applicants for interviews. If your school factors preclinical grades into class rank, you may not be doing yourself any favors by not caring about preclinical grades. Plus, it's entirely possible to do excellent in classes and on Step 1 -- they're not mutually exclusive regardless of how people on SDN make it to be. Study smart!

yep, med school curriculum rewards those who can straight up memorize versus those who want a deeper understanding. I'm sure that this situation is reversed once you hit the wards, but the first two years is key-word recognition, pattern-recognition with a minor sprinkling of deep understanding.

Really dependent on the school. Plus, you're putting yourself at a pretty significant advantage when you hit the wards if all you did was memorize and regurgitate.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

yep, med school curriculum rewards those who can straight up memorize versus those who want a deeper understanding. I'm sure that this situation is reversed once you hit the wards, but the first two years is key-word recognition, pattern-recognition with a minor sprinkling of deep understanding.

The situation is not reversed. Knowing what the ACCORD trial is or what LDL cutoffs to start a statin at don't require any deeper understanding. Get used to it because that's gonna be your life from now on.