What's the typical day like at GW? How much of the day is taken up by classes? Is there any free time for lunch, going to the gym, etc? I have heard that students are in class all day, and that seems abnormal.
See for yourself:
http://fact.gwumc.edu/smhs/calendar/
You can look back at the year's schedule by week or month. Yes, GW does have more class time than some other schools.
Some important things to note:
1. You only go to POM on Tuesday or Thursday, not both.
2. This gives you at least one morning or one afternoon "off" per week, depending on how many other classes are scheduled.
3. Anatomy lab doesn't usually require you to be there the whole time, unless you want to use it for extra study time.
4. Biochem usually goes from 8:30am-11am (with a 15 minute break included), not the whole 8-12am as shown. 11am-12pm is review time where you can ask the professor questions.
5. ISCOPES is an optional program.
We do get at least an hour for lunch everyday, although you may have to use that for traveling time to your CAP's office if you have your CAP time in the afternoon (CAP is part of POM, if you didn't know). Most CAPs are willing to let students come on other days that are more convenient if the students ask ahead of time.
There are only certain courses you really need to go to class every day for. This varies somewhat by person, but details and student advice will be given in the Handbook you will receive over the summer. Don't lose this Handbook because it has a lot of valuable info you'll want to refer to throughout the year. Personally, I found the only ones you absolutely needed to attend were Biochem, the lab portion of Anatomy, Neuro lecture (for certain lectures) and POM (because attendance is required). Still, I would recommend going to all of your classes initially to see whether it is helpful to your learning.
I hope that helps. I kinda started rambling there, I think.
