free time

[phenom832]

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in college and med school how much free time do you guys have to just relax and do whatever you want. I know you have to study alot. So if you can just give me a estimate i guess. I want to know if I'll have any time to enjoy the college life

 

[Vicviper]

You'll have plenty of time to enjoy undergrad, plenty. Professional school, well, that depends on what you do. And yeah, you don't have too much free time, but you're hopefully doing what you love to do, and so that really makes up for it.

 

[tennisball80]

You will get a lot of free time during undergrad. Many premed students choose to use their time to do ECs though.

 

[thepoopologist]

Not a lot. It sucks because you're not taking BS gen-ed classes, you're taking classes that matter to your profession, and that adds to the stress.

 

[sgtbrushes]

If you are lucky enough or smart enough to not have to work during your 4 years of undergrad, you will have tons of leisure time, even on top of all the pre-med ECs.

 

[Moose A Moose]

As long as you're on top of your coursework, you have time to go out on the weekends, and sometimes once or so during the regular week. Don't fall behind, especially in those intro bio classes. Hr or so a day is good per science subject.

 

[Daedra22]

It depends on how much studying you have to do. It's about studying efficiently. I only study about 4-6 hours/week... I know people who study 2-3 hours a day. It's all about you and how you study best.

 

[tennisball80]

I think studying 2-3 hours per day will be totally fine.

 

[GoodmanBrown]

I think studying 2-3 hours per day will be totally fine.

Maybe I went to an easy undergrad, but some semesters I studied 2-3 hours a week.

Last semester of college:
Social psych: P/F
The Making of America (history): P/F
Soccer
(Don't even remember my last 2 classes.)

God, best semester ever. Do yourself a favor; go to a liberal arts college and give yourself one of these. The pre-med majors are overrated anyhow.

 

[avatarftw]

a

 

[oran berry]

For undergraduate studies it really depends on your school. I always have a ton of work to do, yet I still have absurd amounts of free time, and right now I'm a mathematics and neuroscience double major. I also work part-time. Apparently this isn't the case with other schools. Choose wisely 🙂

 

[JJMrK]

As an undergrad, you will have tons of free time. I probably spend ~1 hour/day doing homework, and don't do much at all on the weekends. When I was taking the pre-reqs and striving for excellent grades, I probably studied/did homework 2-3 hours/day, and again very little on the weekends.

 

[bryantvo]

If you were a person that took all AP classes in high school (4-6 AP classes per semester) then I really nver had time to go play becuz I wanted good grades. In college I get alot more time to myself becuz I'm on my schedule I've created for myself in college. do 1/5 playing and 4/5 studying. dont jack around cuz its not worth it.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

alot. I volunteer ~5hrs a week. Study 2-3 hrs everyday. Still play basketball 3 days a week for about 2 hrs and go out at LEAST 2 nights a week and get ****faced

 

[sumstorm]

In undergrad, I managed to make a 3.4 at a really tough undergrad lib arts college (not sure what easy one the above poster went to, but mine was killer with zero 4.0's in the entire time I was there, true curves, and 100% professional school acceptance and 98% of students continueing on to a PhD or professional degree) but I still managed to work 40-60 hours a week to pay for school. I did not have a lot of free time because of my work. I was admitted to med school my Sr. year, deferred, and changed life paths.

In vet school (which I believe has some relative comparison to medical school) I have relatively little time. I might get half an hour to an hour an evening. More time on weekends. I did select a pretty heavy focus area (zoo med) so I lose 3-4 hours a week just in extra class time. Also, in vet med, alot of practical skills are learned in wetlabs that are optional, and I do spend a fair amount of time in those, which may not be necessary in med school. On weekends, I spend 1/3 to 1/2 a day off at least every other weekend. Some of that depends on testing schedules and such.

 

[RySerr21]

Although there is a considerable increase in the work load, you can have equal to or more free time than you did in undergrad if you allow yourself. Thats the beauty of Pass/Fail. Its not like undergrad where you need to get that A in as many classes as possible. In a med school that is P/F (or even if H/P/F - for most people that H doesn't mean ****), you need to get a 65% or a 70% at most. What is stressful about that? You put in the time and you will pass. Guaranteed. If you stay on top of your **** and study efficiently you will absolutely have free time on a weekly basis. Now if you want to be top of your class b/c you are going for a super competitive specialty, then you could easily kiss all of your free time goodbye and pretty much just study all day every day. Thats what some people do and for those people, its necessary for where they want to go. For others, study hard to the point where you feel comfortable with the material and know that you will pass and then go relax and enjoy yourself.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

In undergrad, I managed to make a 3.4 at a really tough undergrad lib arts college (not sure what easy one the above poster went to, but mine was killer with zero 4.0's in the entire time I was there, true curves, and 100% professional school acceptance and 98% of students continueing on to a PhD or professional degree) but I still managed to work 40-60 hours a week to pay for school. I did not have a lot of free time because of my work. I was admitted to med school my Sr. year, deferred, and changed life paths.

In vet school (which I believe has some relative comparison to medical school) I have relatively little time. I might get half an hour to an hour an evening. More time on weekends. I did select a pretty heavy focus area (zoo med) so I lose 3-4 hours a week just in extra class time. Also, in vet med, alot of practical skills are learned in wetlabs that are optional, and I do spend a fair amount of time in those, which may not be necessary in med school. On weekends, I spend 1/3 to 1/2 a day off at least every other weekend. Some of that depends on testing schedules and such.

probably go to a harder school than you did

 

[sumstorm]

probably go to a harder school than you did

Maybe. Maybe not. I already had an acceptance to med school, an competitive fellowship, a successful business, and an acceptance to vet school, but I am sure my school was pretty piss poor. 🙄 Then again, I don't have the luxury of pass/fail either.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Maybe. Maybe not. I already had an acceptance to med school, an competitive fellowship, a successful business, and an acceptance to vet school, but I am sure my school was pretty piss poor. 🙄 Then again, I don't have the luxury of pass/fail either.

didn't say your school was piss poor. just making a point because you said my school was easy, which it isn't by any means.....

 

[Veyron]

from my experience, i thought that the hardest part about college was the abundance of free time. it's so easy to waste large chunks of time and wonder where it went. if you stay focused and disciplined you'll have no problems doing well in your classes and making it parties on weekends (or thursday nights if you feel so inclined).

my advice: get involved with intramural athletics: flag football, soccer, softball, basketball, dodgeball, etc. just pick one and blow off some steam regularly.

 

[BlitzSleep]

The difficulty of college is dependent on many factors. For one the type of college matters. CC's are easier than state schools, state schools are easier than private (generally), etc. Also your major plays a big role in difficulty. A business major has it A LOT easier than an engineering major.
Here is a typical day for me at a state university as a biochem major:

MWF
7am wake up get ready
8am be at the hospital to volunteer
12pm class
3pm go to gym
5pm study/work on research - during study time I tend to take breaks whenever I need
After studying I'll play video games
11pm Sleep

TT
7am get ready
8am Class
12pm Gym
2pm study/work on research
11pm go to bed

Some times my schedule is interrupted due to my EC's or I'll go hang out with a friend every now and then. I take Sundays off to do nothing. Please note that this was my schedule last year and I was taking difficult classes like Biochem, Genetics, Histology, etc.

I had a lot more free time as a freshman.