For 1st and 2nd year medics

[Dr2bme]

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Im sure this q must have been asked before..

Do you guys honestly study ahead in the summer break? Whats your opinion about someone who studies in the summer for the upcoming semester...

 

[bydotte]

my 2 cents: IF you have free time, better to review than pre-study. if you haven't started school yet and have nothing to review, read something entertaining. if your guilt keeps you from doing this, then just read some esoteric doctor-related crap. i've seen plenty of suggestions on here for that kind of thing.

 

[RochChalk]

The majority of people on here will say not to pre-study and to use your free-time before med school for doing everything you want to do but will not be able to do in med school (vacation, spend time with friends, etc.)

 

[Dr Roboto]

Imagine you only have two months left to live. What would you want to do with that time? Now go do those things.

 

[RySerr21]

Imagine you only have two months left to live. What would you want to do with that time? Now go do those things.

so you're saying med school = death? Joy.

 

[Dr2bme]

I read somewhere that prestudying is only useful if you feel that the upcoming semester is going to hard to handle.
My situation is a little different though, we follow the traditional curriculum (outside US).. one of the semester is a heavy block for us.. we cover microbiology, Human Nervous system, pathology, head and neck and endocrine system.

Many students crash their GPAs because of this sem, Im a little worried..
what do u ppal say?
I do know GPA is not everything but for me, its not worth research and stuff if you GPA is low..

 

[RySerr21]

If I made a list of the advice ive heard from med students over the last two years (both from this site and off this site)...with out a doubt the number one piece of advice that ive heard would be DO NOT STUDY THE SUMMER BEFORE. I have NEVER heard anyone advice studying the summer before. They all say to enjoy your break and that studying would be a waste of time.

 

[Dr Roboto]

so you're saying med school = death? Joy.

Judging from my own experiences, I feel that is a good way to look at it. Six months before med school started for me, I quit my job and made a list of things I wanted to do. I did them and having done them really helped me get through the tough times in the beginning of the school year when I was still adjusting.

OP, it seems like you feel it's necessary to start studying. I think the best people to ask are the current students of your school. But understand that most of us feel that chances are you won't retain much, if any. It's just different to study without the pressure of med school.

 

[bydotte]

I read somewhere that prestudying is only useful if you feel that the upcoming semester is going to hard to handle.
My situation is a little different though, we follow the traditional curriculum (outside US).. one of the semester is a heavy block for us.. we cover microbiology, Human Nervous system, pathology, head and neck and endocrine system.

Many students crash their GPAs because of this sem, Im a little worried..
what do u ppal say?
I do know GPA is not everything but for me, its not worth research and stuff if you GPA is low..

based on those classes, i'd say you have the best chance of self-teaching micro and endocrine. the rest would be really tough to pre-study, i think.

 

[TMP-SMX]

Do not study before. Your M1/M2 grades don't matter and anything you study over the summer you will forget by the time Step 1 rolls around. If you were really the kind of person that has issues with doing well in classes you don't have to worry about honors anyway and if you study like a normal person during the year you will do fine.

 

[coldweatherblue]

do not study before MS1.

that said, I've been casually reading first-year material since exams got out (summer between MS1-MS2). Partially because I haven't given up on the possibility of remembering most of what I learned first-year and I think one more time through the notes would really solidify those long-term connections, and partially because I'm so used to studying it feels kind of weird to not be forced to learn every day. probably some psych/dependence issues going on with that last reason lol.

 

[Dr2bme]

Now Im totally confused as to what I should really do..

 

[bydotte]

the main thing is to ignore all advice 🙂

 

[RySerr21]

Now Im totally confused as to what I should really do..

How are you confused? Not one person here recommended pre studying.

 

[Dr2bme]

No I am not confused because of what anyone said here, its just that my upper classmen think that this particular semester requires pre studying. They mentioned that do not study for the sake of studying for "that" semester. Just read along those topics and understand the big picture. Itl help when you start that semester. And some of them said, its no use studying for that semester, its intense enough you might burn out towards the end.

Here, majority says not to. I feel like Im a person who needs a second go at things to do them well.. Hence confused.

LOL..

 

[146233]

Seriously don't. Enjoy yourself. Plenty of time to study later.

 

[bodonid]

Imagine you only have two months left to live. What would you want to do with that time? Now go do those things.

Is there an exam at the end of the two months?

I am actually starting to like studying. I am such a geek!