Hanging out or Studying

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I feel like all Pre-Meds have been in this predicament before.

I was planning on spending 7-8 hours studying on Saturday to prepare myself for an o chem exam in a week and a half. I get a text, however, asking to hang out and frankly I kinda like the place my friend asked me to hang out at.

Problem is I spent no hours at all studying Wednesday before thanksgiving. I spent maybe 3 hours studying on thanksgiving, 4 hours studying black Friday (also went out with a friend so I already feel guilty for hanging out too much), so I'm in a predicament. I feel like I'm spending too many days out and I'm having too much fun.

I felt kinda bad because I told my dad about my plans and he asked "Don't you have a big exam coming up" and I honestly felt like trash because- yes I do have a big exam coming up and I've spent nearly every day of break hanging out.

What should I do? Hang out and torment my conscience or study for several hours while feeling accomplished but the potential for burnout.
 
Pagan FutureDoc said:
You need to learn better time management skills. Most people I know seem to find studying 8 hours in a day in undergrad to be too much...it's a quick way to wear yourself out.
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I know but I saw that Medical school students study for 8 hours straight and it helped me with my last exam!! I've only been doing it for 2 weeks so far and I'm already really ahead of the game. I also have to compensate because I have a very bad GPA (3.3).

Also the smartest kid in my major goes home and studies for 6 hours each day. I think 8 hours on the weekend is not much compared to that.
 
This decision is really up to you.

Study however much you need to to earn A's. Plan around it.

I would fit in a day every couple weeks with friends at social events, even if we had 80+ hour of studying/work every week.
 
To me it sounds like you already know the answer. Is your priority socializing now or medical school later? Make your choice based on the answer to that question.
 
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! If you actually need to study 8 hours a day for a test two weeks away, then YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG. Here's what you do:

1) Call your friends and say, "Hey, let's hang out this evening at 6 o'clock!"

2) Study for no longer than two hours at a time.

3) Take a break in the middle of your studying to exercise.

4) At 5 o'clock, close your books and get ready to hang out with your friends. That includes turning off the crazy part of your brain that gives you guilt trips about not being a robot.

5) At 6 o'clock, go out with your friends and don't think about anything school-related.

6) After hanging out with your friends, go home and go to bed. Your books will still be there in the morning.

OK, seriously, here's what I'm trying to say: it's a marathon, not a sprint. We're human beings, and the law of diminishing returns applies: your first hour of studying is very valuable, your eighth hour is a waste. Your brain needs time to process information and file it to long-term memory, and it can't do that when you're shoveling more information in as fast as you can. You wouldn't go to the gym and pound weights for eight hours thinking it would get you in great shape, would you? Don't expect your brain to grow that way, either! Normal people - even premeds - need time to connect with others, participate in enjoyable activities, and recuperate from the grind of work and school. As long as you can honestly say that you worked hard during work time, you have no reason to feel guilty about recreation. (Recreation in general, that is. There are plenty of individual activities that you should probably feel guilty about. I've personally been responsible for many of them.)

And here are a few more pointers:

A) It's none of your dad's business, and it's OK for you to politely tell him that. Even if he's funding your education, you're under no obligation to dance to his tune.

B) If the smartest kid in your major is studying for six hours every day s/he is doing it wrong, too. Who cares what s/he does? Do what's right for you.

C) Med students may occasionally study for eight hours straight, but not all the time. Seriously, med school isn't this mystical magical place where people survive on textbooks alone. When I was in med school, I made time several times a week to lift weights with a classmate, and there was a group of us that got together every Tuesday night for pizza. We went to ball games, we visited local landmarks, we laughed, we cried...you get the picture. And yes, we studied hard a lot.

So go ahead and schedule time to be with your friends. Plan out your study time and your social time, and compartmentalize: study hard during study time, and don't even think about school during your social time. And for heaven's sake, don't feel bad about spending appropriate amounts of time with your friends.

Source: Been there, done that, learned some lessons the hard way.
 
plan your social life around your studying not your studying around your social life. Only you know what you need to do well. Obviously you need breaks and down time so just plan accordingly 🙂
 
HomeSkool said:
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! If you actually need to study 8 hours a day for a test two weeks away, then YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG. Here's what you do:

1) Call your friends and say, "Hey, let's hang out this evening at 6 o'clock!"

2) Study for no longer than two hours at a time.

3) Take a break in the middle of your studying to exercise.

4) At 5 o'clock, close your books and get ready to hang out with your friends. That includes turning off the crazy part of your brain that gives you guilt trips about not being a robot.

5) At 6 o'clock, go out with your friends and don't think about anything school-related.

6) After hanging out with your friends, go home and go to bed. Your books will still be there in the morning.

OK, seriously, here's what I'm trying to say: it's a marathon, not a sprint. We're human beings, and the law of diminishing returns applies: your first hour of studying is very valuable, your eighth hour is a waste. Your brain needs time to process information and file it to long-term memory, and it can't do that when you're shoveling more information in as fast as you can. You wouldn't go to the gym and pound weights for eight hours thinking it would get you in great shape, would you? Don't expect your brain to grow that way, either! Normal people - even premeds - need time to connect with others, participate in enjoyable activities, and recuperate from the grind of work and school. As long as you can honestly say that you worked hard during work time, you have no reason to feel guilty about recreation. (Recreation in general, that is. There are plenty of individual activities that you should probably feel guilty about. I've personally been responsible for many of them.)

And here are a few more pointers:

A) It's none of your dad's business, and it's OK for you to politely tell him that. Even if he's funding your education, you're under no obligation to dance to his tune.

B) If the smartest kid in your major is studying for six hours every day s/he is doing it wrong, too. Who cares what s/he does? Do what's right for you.

C) Med students may occasionally study for eight hours straight, but not all the time. Seriously, med school isn't this mystical magical place where people survive on textbooks alone. When I was in med school, I made time several times a week to lift weights with a classmate, and there was a group of us that got together every Tuesday night for pizza. We went to ball games, we visited local landmarks, we laughed, we cried...you get the picture. And yes, we studied hard a lot.

So go ahead and schedule time to be with your friends. Plan out your study time and your social time, and compartmentalize: study hard during study time, and don't even think about school during your social time. And for heaven's sake, don't feel bad about spending appropriate amounts of time with your friends.

Source: Been there, done that, learned some lessons the hard way.
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This is really helpful thanks! I'll save this if you don't mind and use it when I'm at odds of what to do!
 
Sunbodi said:
This is really helpful thanks! I'll save this if you don't mind and use it when I'm at odds of what to do!
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Feel free. You have to study hard, of course, and your social life will often take a backseat to your medical training. You're going to miss out on a lot of things you'd like to do, and you're going to have to tell your friends, "Sorry, I can't go out tonight" more than once. But you still have to have balance in your life or you'll burn out and go crazy. Build social time into your schedule, and leave schoolwork completely behind during that time. And don't concern yourself with the gunners' supposed study schedules. They're more human than they'd like you to believe.

For what it's worth, I was diagnosed with ADHD more than thirty years ago and I still managed to get through undergrad, med school, residency, and a master's degree. It's not as impossible as many folks want you to thi- squirrel!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile
 
Sunbodi said:
I feel like all Pre-Meds have been in this predicament before.

I was planning on spending 7-8 hours studying on Saturday to prepare myself for an o chem exam in a week and a half. I get a text, however, asking to hang out and frankly I kinda like the place my friend asked me to hang out at.

Problem is I spent no hours at all studying Wednesday before thanksgiving. I spent maybe 3 hours studying on thanksgiving, 4 hours studying black Friday (also went out with a friend so I already feel guilty for hanging out too much), so I'm in a predicament. I feel like I'm spending too many days out and I'm having too much fun.

I felt kinda bad because I told my dad about my plans and he asked "Don't you have a big exam coming up" and I honestly felt like trash because- yes I do have a big exam coming up and I've spent nearly every day of break hanging out.

What should I do? Hang out and torment my conscience or study for several hours while feeling accomplished but the potential for burnout.
Click to expand...

Studying that long for an ochem exam is overkill. The key to doing well is to do a lot of practice problems and understand how various reactions/mechanisms work. You don’t need to study for several hours per day. Just 2 hours max per day is more than sufficient.
 
H20_Jay said:
I was thinking the same thing.
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HomeSkool said:
I literally thought the same thing!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile
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No, the guy is seriously a wiz. The lecture hall goes silent when he speaks and everyone has the utmost respect with him.

He's an example of how hard work can take you places. He isn't in our honors program (requires an ACT of 34/36) yet his knowledge on basically all the material in each of our classes is ridiculous.

Have a question on o chem? He will not only explain it to you in words you can understand but draw real world applications. Have questions about a mechanism in cell biology? He names specific proteins *and* organisms they exist in.

I'm not entirely sure what the term gunner is but due to its negative connotations I really can't agree with its use on him. Not only is he a wiz, he's probably the nicest guy in the major. On several occasions we are asked to grade other people's work and he refuses to give people bad grades even if their work is trash because he recognizes that everyone puts hard work into everything.

Sorry I wrote this wall of text about this one kid anyways. Its because his kindness is overwhelming. He's the sweetest, most knowledgeable, and most hard working kid in my major and I'm seriously surprised a kid like him even exists. In a cutthroat Pre-Med environment he is genuinely nice and reminds those around him not to purposely lower grades of peers so that they can get ahead. Even in conversation he reminds us not to demean other people's work. Even though he's my age I'm not afraid to say that he's my role model. He's the reason why I can study for hours on end and be happy because I've learned more. I hope to one day enter a classroom like he does and instantly have respect from everyone. His behavior tamed my arrogance and pride and made me a nicer person (I realized I had nothing to be arrogant about when there were people 10x smarter than me who are still kind), his breadth of knowledge motivated me to study every day instead of every 3 days and his hard work despite not being conventionally a genius (high ACT- he likely had a score around low 30s) showed me that hard work can get you anywhere.
 
Sunbodi said:
No, the guy is seriously a wiz. The lecture hall goes silent when he speaks and everyone has the utmost respect with him.

He's an example of how hard work can take you places. He isn't in our honors program (requires an ACT of 34/36) yet his knowledge on basically all the material in each of our classes is ridiculous.

Have a question on o chem? He will not only explain it to you in words you can understand but draw real world applications. Have questions about a mechanism in cell biology? He names specific proteins *and* organisms they exist in.

I'm not entirely sure what the term gunner is but due to its negative connotations I really can't agree with its use on him. Not only is he a wiz, he's probably the nicest guy in the major. On several occasions we are asked to grade other people's work and he refuses to give people bad grades even if their work is trash because he recognizes that everyone puts hard work into everything.

Sorry I wrote this wall of text about this one kid anyways. Its because his kindness is overwhelming. He's the sweetest, most knowledgeable, and most hard working kid in my major and I'm seriously surprised a kid like him even exists. In a cutthroat Pre-Med environment he is genuinely nice and reminds those around him not to purposely lower grades of peers so that they can get ahead. Even in conversation he reminds us not to demean other people's work. Even though he's my age I'm not afraid to say that he's my role model. He's the reason why I can study for hours on end and be happy because I've learned more. I hope to one day enter a classroom like he does and instantly have respect from everyone. His behavior tamed my arrogance and pride and made me a nicer person (I realized I had nothing to be arrogant about when there were people 10x smarter than me who are still kind), his breadth of knowledge motivated me to study every day instead of every 3 days and his hard work despite not being conventionally a genius (high ACT- he likely had a score around low 30s) showed me that hard work can get you anywhere.
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That's all well and good, but I still don't care about his study habits and neither should you. Unless you've got a crush on him, in which case you should try to coordinate your schedules.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile
 
HomeSkool said:
That's all well and good, but I still don't care about his study habits and neither should you. Unless you've got a crush on him, in which case you should try to coordinate your schedules.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile
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Thanks for the solid advice Home. You're right. I really should focus only on myself and not care how others are doing. 🙂
 
Sunbodi said:
No, the guy is seriously a wiz. The lecture hall goes silent when he speaks and everyone has the utmost respect with him.

He's an example of how hard work can take you places. He isn't in our honors program (requires an ACT of 34/36) yet his knowledge on basically all the material in each of our classes is ridiculous.

Have a question on o chem? He will not only explain it to you in words you can understand but draw real world applications. Have questions about a mechanism in cell biology? He names specific proteins *and* organisms they exist in.

I'm not entirely sure what the term gunner is but due to its negative connotations I really can't agree with its use on him. Not only is he a wiz, he's probably the nicest guy in the major. On several occasions we are asked to grade other people's work and he refuses to give people bad grades even if their work is trash because he recognizes that everyone puts hard work into everything.

Sorry I wrote this wall of text about this one kid anyways. Its because his kindness is overwhelming. He's the sweetest, most knowledgeable, and most hard working kid in my major and I'm seriously surprised a kid like him even exists. In a cutthroat Pre-Med environment he is genuinely nice and reminds those around him not to purposely lower grades of peers so that they can get ahead. Even in conversation he reminds us not to demean other people's work. Even though he's my age I'm not afraid to say that he's my role model. He's the reason why I can study for hours on end and be happy because I've learned more. I hope to one day enter a classroom like he does and instantly have respect from everyone. His behavior tamed my arrogance and pride and made me a nicer person (I realized I had nothing to be arrogant about when there were people 10x smarter than me who are still kind), his breadth of knowledge motivated me to study every day instead of every 3 days and his hard work despite not being conventionally a genius (high ACT- he likely had a score around low 30s) showed me that hard work can get you anywhere.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a nerd to me...and remember where some nerds end up:

Edit: ...and who some nerds end up with...

miranda-kerr-shared-her-wedding-photos-and-wow-th-2-27541-1500286771-16_dblbig.jpg
 
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You may have to hit 8 hours a day in medical school for an upcoming exam, but to do it for an undergraduate organic chem course means you aren't optimizing your studying time
 
DelayedGratification said:
You may have to hit 8 hours a day in medical school for an upcoming exam, but to do it for an undergraduate organic chem course means you aren't optimizing your studying time
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Well I'll know by the end of the semester if I'm studying too much or not 🙂. I'm in my 3rd semester of University and my first semester tanked my morale and my second semester was average. Until I have the results of the end of the semester I cannot readjust my study techniques. So far studying this much has really helped me out these last two weeks. I set the curve for my exam in one of my classes, and I understood in depth all the material for this last exam I took days ago.

Yes, studying this much might be overkill but it also might be just enough to get me good grades. Again, I won't know until the end of the semester and I won't change it 3 weeks before finals when students are literally spending 72-100 hours of studying for each final.
 
DelayedGratification said:
You may have to hit 8 hours a day in medical school for an upcoming exam, but to do it for an undergraduate organic chem course means you aren't optimizing your studying time
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Even in med school, eight hours in one day is almost always overkill. Pace yourself, young padawan. Hopkins was not built in a day.

Sunbodi said:
I'm in my 3rd semester of University and my first semester tanked my morale and my second semester was average.
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First semester, I got a 3.65. Second semester, 3.22. Freshman cumulative GPA: 3.42. I ultimately graduated with a 3.81, which - together with my MCAT, ECs, and sparkling personality - was enough to get me into a top 25 med school. Take the stress level down a notch, you have plenty of time.

Sunbodi said:
students are literally spending 72-100 hours of studying for each final.
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No, they're occupying space in the library for 72-100 hours. I promise you that a very large proportion of that time is unproductive.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile
 
HomeSkool said:
Feel free. You have to study hard, of course, and your social life will often take a backseat to your medical training. You're going to miss out on a lot of things you'd like to do, and you're going to have to tell your friends, "Sorry, I can't go out tonight" more than once. But you still have to have balance in your life or you'll burn out and go crazy. Build social time into your schedule, and leave schoolwork completely behind during that time. And don't concern yourself with the gunners' supposed study schedules. They're more human than they'd like you to believe.

For what it's worth, I was diagnosed with ADHD more than thirty years ago and I still managed to get through undergrad, med school, residency, and a master's degree. It's not as impossible as many folks want you to thi- squirrel!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile
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Do you have any suggestions about creating a study plan and going through with it? I think that’s a problem a lot of undergraduate students (myself included) seem to struggle with. (I have ADHD as well and even with medication I require complete silence to study, and it takes me hours to read one textbook chapter.)
 
psychgirl95 said:
Do you have any suggestions about creating a study plan and going through with it? I think that’s a problem a lot of undergraduate students (myself included) seem to struggle with. (I have ADHD as well and even with medication I require complete silence to study, and it takes me hours to read one textbook chapter.)
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Things I found helpful:

1) Studying at a secluded desk in a low-traffic part of the library. This kept me away from most of the things that might easily distract me.

2) Setting a study schedule ("I'll study from 1 to 3...") with a reward at the end ("...and then spend half an hour watching TV") and writing it down.

3) Not doing anything crazy like pulling all-nighters. (Know how many all-nighters I've done in my life? ONE. And I felt like stool the next day, so I started managing my time better and never did that again.)

4) Being friends with a lot of like-minded people who motivated me (and who I motivated) to up my game. Almost every one of my friends from undergrad now has MD, DMD, or PhD after their name, and a big part of that is how we encouraged one another to study hard and then get together to relax.

5) Being visible to my professors and on friendly terms with them. They knew who I was, they knew I was motivated and bright, and they were generally willing to cut me slack if I needed it because they knew I wasn't a lamesauce goof-off (I was an awesome goof-off). For example, I once went to my OChem professor and said, "Dr. Berges, I'm supposed to take the exam on Wednesday but I have two other exams that same day in pretty heavy classes. May I please take the exam on Friday?" And he said, "Those classes must be pretty heavy if you're asking for an extension. Happy studying. See you on Friday." I can't express how important those relationships were in helping me manage things when life piled on.

6) Meditation.

7) Talking to my dad for perspective. He once asked me, "Do you really think God would carry you this far just to drop you on your butt at the finish line?" I've gone back to that many times over the years.

8) Willpower.

9) Accepting the fact that ADHD would thwart my best efforts to stay focused and learning to say, "Que sera, sera," and regroup.

So there really wasn't any magic formula. I just did my best at preemptive groundwork (i.e., limiting distractions) and damage control (i.e., getting back on track when I would inevitably get distracted). Figure out how to most effectively do that and keep plugging away.
 
Sunbodi said:
I feel like all Pre-Meds have been in this predicament before.

I was planning on spending 7-8 hours studying on Saturday to prepare myself for an o chem exam in a week and a half. I get a text, however, asking to hang out and frankly I kinda like the place my friend asked me to hang out at.

Problem is I spent no hours at all studying Wednesday before thanksgiving. I spent maybe 3 hours studying on thanksgiving, 4 hours studying black Friday (also went out with a friend so I already feel guilty for hanging out too much), so I'm in a predicament. I feel like I'm spending too many days out and I'm having too much fun.

I felt kinda bad because I told my dad about my plans and he asked "Don't you have a big exam coming up" and I honestly felt like trash because- yes I do have a big exam coming up and I've spent nearly every day of break hanging out.

What should I do? Hang out and torment my conscience or study for several hours while feeling accomplished but the potential for burnout.
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Youll be okay. Hang out. I'm in my second yr of med school and I havent cracked open any notes since last sunday. Psh i took this week off, i need it. And then tonight, i'm back to the grind. Work hard, play hard.

You can also decide that after you go out, you'll put in the time and accomplish what you need. Dont sweat it too much
 
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How do you stop feeling guilty about going out? Even when I finish all my work & hang out, the voice in the back of my head is nagging me that I should be doing more/studying. It sucks cuz I then feel guilty that I’m not studying Dx
 
Piglet2020 said:
How do you stop feeling guilty about going out? Even when I finish all my work & hang out, the voice in the back of my head is nagging me that I should be doing more/studying. It sucks cuz I then feel guilty that I’m not studying Dx
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Piglet2020 said:
How do you stop feeling guilty about going out? Even when I finish all my work & hang out, the voice in the back of my head is nagging me that I should be doing more/studying. It sucks cuz I then feel guilty that I’m not studying Dx
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I think it takes time. I used to deal with that a lot especially my first year. But then I started thinking “yea I should be studying but ah well, I need this time to relax.” When you’re in medical school, you’ll realize there is SO much to study that if you study the way you “should” you will NOT have time for yourself and friends. So start taking risks, ie going out to eat and having fun when you “should” study. Over time I realized those fun times never affected my grade. Then again, if I do go out I will grind like no other when I get back home. But it’s worth it!
 
bahdahboom said:
Youll be okay. Hang out. I'm in my second yr of med school and I havent cracked open any notes since last sunday. Psh i took this week off, i need it. And then tonight, i'm back to the grind. Work hard, play hard.

You can also decide that after you go out, you'll put in the time and accomplish what you need. Dont sweat it too much
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It seems hard to take a whole week off in Medical school but kudos to you. We all need that break when we get burnt out.

I still haven't gotten to the point where I've studied so much that I can no longer study. I get bored when I have a full day and nothing to study. I already hate thanksgiving break even though today is the last day because I spent two half days doing nothing but lying on my bed and browsing through my phone.

Also update for whoever's wondering: I did end up going out on Saturday after a 5 hour study session. I ended up going to bed at 3 AM and I woke up to the worst mind ache I've had in a while.
 
Sunbodi said:
Life's short but studying/schooling/ and becoming a doctor are most important to me. Everyone has their own priorities.
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I can't tell you how to live your life. All I can tell you is that, in my personal experience, if you spend life studying away instead of doing things you genuinely enjoy, you will not be happy. As with anything in life, you must strike a balance to attain your dreams while doing things you enjoy. Tip it to either extreme and you're creating a recipe for failure.
 
Albanian24 said:
I can't tell you how to live your life. All I can tell you is that, in my personal experience, if you spend life studying away instead of doing things you genuinely enjoy, you will not be happy. As with anything in life, you must strike a balance to attain your dreams while doing things you enjoy. Tip it to either extreme and you're creating a recipe for failure.
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Studying and learning is what genuinely makes me happy. Due to the way I was raised I can live without friends. My family mantra growing up was "blood is thicker than water, don't rely on friends", and "education is the key to success".
 
Sunbodi said:
Studying and learning is what genuinely makes me happy. Due to the way I was raised I can live without friends. My family mantra growing up was "blood is thicker than water, don't rely on friends", and "education is the key to success".
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And I suppose that's where we differ. Follow your heart. That's the best suggestion I can offer.
 
Update:

Sacrificing a social life for 2 weeks worked. I went from being in the B range in O Chem to being in the A range with one exam. I want to cry.

Let this be hope for all the underdogs that with hard work you can go anywhere. You don't need to be smart, just dedicate time and effort into everything that will take you closer to medical school.
 
Sunbodi said:
Sacrificing a social life for 2 weeks worked.
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Good job!

Sacrificing social life now and again is necessary, but it's a poor strategy when employed continuously. Make sure you keep up your relationships and do what's necessary to keep your stress in check. That's what keeps you from burning out when you do have to spend a few weeks knuckling down completely.
 
HomeSkool said:
Good job!

Sacrificing social life now and again is necessary, but it's a poor strategy when employed continuously. Make sure you keep up your relationships and do what's necessary to keep your stress in check. That's what keeps you from burning out when you do have to spend a few weeks knuckling down completely.
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This... I did fine but studying for my MCAT would've gone so much more smoothly if I had kept up with my buddies.
 
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