How do premeds with 3.8+ GPA's study?

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Brown429

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Just wondering how premeds with 3.8+ GPA's study?
(In terms of biology only...not Orgo, Physics, ect.)

a. Make Notes
b. Read, reread, and reread again
c. notecards and read
d. Other

I have a 3.9, but I make notes for each chapter and they are detailed, of which I do not even use after I make them...just trying to figure out a new method of studying before I get to medical school when I will not have an entire day to outline a chapter.

Also, how quickly do you read through the material...in other words do you take each word at a time to comprehend...thus taking 2 hours to get through about 10 pages?


Please do not post if you are going to say....

"I don't study...ect. ect." Only helpful and relevent comments please.

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Brown429 said:
Just wondering how premeds with 3.8+ GPA's study?
(In terms of biology only...not Orgo, Physics, ect.)

a. Make Notes
b. Read, reread, and reread again
c. notecards and read
d. Other

I have a 3.9, but I make notes for each chapter and they are detailed, of which I do not even use after I make them...just trying to figure out a new method of studying before I get to medical school when I will not have an entire day to outline a chapter.

Also, how quickly do you read through the material...in other words do you take each word at a time to comprehend...thus taking 2 hours to get through about 10 pages?


Please do not post if you are going to say....

"I don't study...ect. ect." Only helpful and relevent comments please.

Most med schools provide notes now, for what it's worth. As for undergrad, I just read and highlight my notes, then collect notes from all the days of class that I didn't attend, and finally refer to the book if by chance a concept is not well explained in the notes. However, it's good to ask the professor if he tests mostly on the notes or the book, because that can make a big difference.
 
I find it very helpful to be really focused in class, because sometimes the book sucks and only what the prof says matters
 
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Brown429 said:
Just wondering how premeds with 3.8+ GPA's study?
(In terms of biology only...not Orgo, Physics, ect.)

a. Make Notes
b. Read, reread, and reread again
c. notecards and read
d. Other

I have a 3.9, but I make notes for each chapter and they are detailed, of which I do not even use after I make them...just trying to figure out a new method of studying before I get to medical school when I will not have an entire day to outline a chapter.

Also, how quickly do you read through the material...in other words do you take each word at a time to comprehend...thus taking 2 hours to get through about 10 pages?


Please do not post if you are going to say....

"I don't study...ect. ect." Only helpful and relevent comments please.


this thread really didnt apply to me since my GPA is 4.0 but i thought i would chime in.......i sit in lecture, watch, listen and remember what was taught.....then im ready for the test....i dont read the book and i dont take notes....basically i dont study......im guessing you do study...too bad

ps. are you sure you.re cut out for medicine? :sleep:
 
i have a 3.9 and reading every word in the chapters tested on before the test works best for me. lectures are not my thing...i need to be in the right state of mind to take information in and only pressure can bring me to that stage
 
rajad10 said:
i have a 3.9 and reading every word in the chapters tested on before the test works best for me. lectures are not my thing...i need to be in the right state of mind to take information in and only pressure can bring me to that stage

I agree. Waiting 'til the last minute is the only thing that will get a little adrenaline pumping, and getting a little adrenaline pumping is the only way I'm actually going to sit there and learn it.
 
Dr.TobiasFünke said:
i treat every class like a game... for each prof. there is a formula to get an A. I do the absolute minimum.

Granted, I haven't watched very closely, but that's the first time I've seen you break character.
 
I had a 3.85. I took notes in class. Skimmed the text before class (10 min). Then the weekend before a test I would run through all the stuff I needed to know and write it down in short form (3 hours). The activity of writing it down again made me remember almost everything and left me with a short synopsis that I could review for an hour the night before the test (1 hour). Might work for you if you learn from reading and writing.
 
I make outlines and then actually make power point slides off the outline and study from there.
 
I have a 4.0, knock on wood. I just take detailed notes during class, and then I compile them into outlines. By the time I have the outlines done, I'm finished studying.
 
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Dr.TobiasFünke said:
I study like a cat... I always seem to end up on all fours... ... I said like a cat

I try my best to pay attention in class. Then, if there is time after class - like 1 hour break in b/w classes - I go over the notes from class b/c the lecture is fresh. I recently started taping lectures with a digital recorder - but only for courses where the prof tells you the lectures are important for the test. If there is a assigned textbook and readings, I do those. If it's not required and the prof emphasis only lectures are tested, I stick with lectuers only, recordings, and I will go see them during office hours if things need to be clarified. I don't make any notes at all, I just read class notes and read text readings - I do highlight my textbooks - and do my best to understand it well, and usually come test time, when there's like 4 tests in 5 days, I only have to skim over stuff for certain courses and I can focus more on the other ones. Yea, preparing ahead of time, knowing your schedule, and basing your studying around when tests are and things is what got me good grades, knowing which assigments and tests can take hits and which ones are worth more and hence deserves more study time was also crucial.

For anything that requires pure memorization, I do just that - I try to memorize it by looking it over and practicing memorizing/reciting or whatever ppl do to memorize - during the spare times on the bus, in the washroom, before i go to sleep, etc over and over again till it is stuck in my head. B/c you can't waste precious study time for memorizing, you don't need intense concentration to memorize stuff - you'll need that for understanding concepts.

Getting past tests - most courses sell test packages - and getting a feel for the format and question types, is a big help and cannot be neglected for the 3.8+ student, unless you're a superstar.
 
They study in office hours, by wearing the TA's a$$ like a hat.

Oh wait. Maybe that was just my students? Damn. J/K.

The one quarter I got a 4.0 (all BCPM) I had no life. Seriously. I blew off my boyfriend, I didn't work at my job, I didn't do jack besides go to class, review, and study like a crazy person. Oh, and I was in lab all the time. And doing lab write ups.
 
i hate this thread already...lol
 
Brown429 said:
Just wondering how premeds with 3.8+ GPA's study?
(In terms of biology only...not Orgo, Physics, ect.)

a. Make Notes
b. Read, reread, and reread again
c. notecards and read
d. Other

I have a 3.9, but I make notes for each chapter and they are detailed, of which I do not even use after I make them...just trying to figure out a new method of studying before I get to medical school when I will not have an entire day to outline a chapter.

Also, how quickly do you read through the material...in other words do you take each word at a time to comprehend...thus taking 2 hours to get through about 10 pages?


Please do not post if you are going to say....

"I don't study...ect. ect." Only helpful and relevent comments please.



I have a 4.0, and for biology, I go to every class, i dont really study very far ahead of each test, but i say up really late a few nights before studying, it stays fresh in my mind that way. I reread the notes and highlight them. I read the chapters, usually twice, and I take my own notes. I find taking my own notes in my own words helps more than anything
 
Matth52 said:
I find it very helpful to be really focused in class, because sometimes the book sucks and only what the prof says matters

+1. I don't know if my experiences are normal, but most of my professors are too lazy to take stuff out of the book.

I've had two instances of professors claiming some percentage of questions would be over material solely in the book, one flat out didn't follow through. The other put in exactly 10% like she had promised. In retrospect, I should have done the readings. Point is, only read if you're warned to, and don't fret if you don't get around to it anyway. Much more high-yield activities include research and volunteering.
 
I wrote during class. For Chem, I'd write down what was in the lecture notes during the lecture and embellish on them after class if I didn't have time. If there was something I didn't understand, I went to the book (which was really a waste of $150, since I only read it like 3 times over two semesters). Last biology class I had, I just wrote exactly what was in the lecture notes and went through the study guide we were assigned. For tests, I'd study by looking over the homework problems and making sure I knew how to do them, maybe do a few again just to be sure, and re-read the notes over and over again. I have a 4.0 now, so I must be doing something right...
 
rajad10 said:
i have a 3.9 and reading every word in the chapters tested on before the test works best for me. lectures are not my thing...i need to be in the right state of mind to take information in and only pressure can bring me to that stage

i agree with this poster. i'm not really into the whole lecture thing and derive most of my info from the book. however, by the end of the first lecture you have a pretty good idea whether or not the prof is lecture heavy.
 
You guys gonna let me get away with that a$$hat comment? Its too serious in here! Tomorrow's friday!! :laugh:
 
jackieMD2007 said:
You guys gonna let me get away with that a$$hat comment? Its too serious in here! Tomorrow's friday!! :laugh:


i just enjoyed it with a little chuckle. this thread is way too serious, do you guys realized its SUMMER!!!! :p
 
joanofarc0907 said:
i just enjoyed it with a little chuckle. this thread is way too serious, do you guys realize its SUMMER!!!! :p

RIGHT!! :laugh: Maybe its easier for me to be flip about college grades since I'm three years out.
 
This thread is ridiculous. You have a 3.9 you're doing something right, keep doing it
 
Dr.Acula said:
This thread is ridiculous. You have a 3.9 you're doing something right, keep doing it
Yeah, dude, I don't really get why you're even asking. I'm freaking out over how I'm gonna get 3.5+ in an SMP. You've already mastered undergrad, so there's no problem.
 
Dr.Acula said:
This thread is ridiculous. You have a 3.9 you're doing something right, keep doing it

hey, you relax.. OBVIOUSLY a 3.9 isnt a 4.0. and listen, if u have a 3.9, ull never get a 4.0. NOT BECAUSE ur not smart enough, indeed, you are a fine breed of premed, however, once a B blemishes your transcript, a sea of A's can not hide it.. EVEN AN A- can tarnish a 4.0, exoneration will never surface, medical schools won't accept you (only 4.0's this cycle i hear.. heard it from this other guy who told me).


all and all, 3.9 might get you in DO, IFFFFF ur lucky maybe even rosss, i don't know if youll have time to apply to both since u might be freakin out for the 3.9; i would be. :scared:


alright, enough of the sarcastic mumbo jumbo. i just had to get that out... u kno what i DONT recommend, flash cards.. waste of life making them, waste of life using them... unless your friend made them, then they are awesome..
 
yeaaa...so like I said, the way I study is ludacris...I waste too much time taking notes I do not need, and am just looking for a better way to study.

BTW I'm already accepted to a med school...im not obsessive...welll at least not anymore...oh and I am taking a summer class that is why I am asking about study methods...relllaaaxxx im just trying to get some input people...

Reading sounds good, I never learn anything much from lecture anyways, even if I read before going into it.
 
the people I can't stand are the ones who talk about protecting their GPA's "Virginity" from a B or whatever. To those people, I just want to say: Dude, I don't think your GPA's virginity is what you should be worried about, natch.
 
jackieMD2007 said:
the people I can't stand are the ones who talk about protecting their GPA's "Virginity" from a B or whatever. To those people, I just want to say: Dude, I don't think your GPA's virginity is what you should be worried about, natch.

That, ladies and gents, is why we love Jackie.
Seriously, I don't associate with the >3.8 crowd. It's not healthy.
 
And quote of the day goes to JackieMD2007.
 
biology... oh man. I have bad memories from AP Biology in my high school. that was seriously a hard class, but so was ap chemistry. i just remember in order to own the tests, i had to read the chapter the day we started and then read them all before the test. i was in my room for like 5 hours before a test. the class was a ton of fun and i'm kind of sad that it was over. i think memorizing a ton of kingdoms and phylums was INSANE. the reading was definitely good for ap chem, since ap chem was all problems... but, ap chem is insane in itself. maybe it's because i had really bad teachers, though.

safe to say it was worth it. i'm attending princeton w00t

i don't even know if i'm going to do premed in princeton, though.
 
CavalierMD said:
That, ladies and gents, is why we love Jackie.
Seriously, I don't associate with the >3.8 crowd. It's not healthy.

I didn't have a science GPA this high until the end of college...bascially, I gave up any sort of life I had and spent almost every night (during the week) in the library, and my gpa saw a significant jump. As for studying methods, I relied almost completely on the textbook (where possible), using my class notes as an outline, and took thorough notes as I went through the material the first time, and then went back and took more concise notes the second time, and then studied those. And all of this was done like at most a week prior to an exam.
 
Billy Shears said:
I have a 4.0, knock on wood. I just take detailed notes during class, and then I compile them into outlines. By the time I have the outlines done, I'm finished studying.


That's what I do. I also try to read the chapters and take notes before class so that while the professor is going over his lecture I'm not trying to figure out what's going on.

I study the night before exams, but also do take some time to review each day after class so that I don't completely forget everything by the time we have an exam.
 
Two words, kids: Teacher's Edition.

I have one for the Biochem class I TA'ed, and it is the shizzle. I kid you not.
 
Brown429 said:
Just wondering how premeds with 3.8+ GPA's study?
(In terms of biology only...not Orgo, Physics, ect.)

a. Make Notes
b. Read, reread, and reread again
c. notecards and read

I have a 3.6, don't take notes, I find them to be completely useless to me since the lecture slides are usually posted, or alternatively, there's always the textbook. I hope I don't continue on this route to med school...need to take a note-taking class.....Wonder if I should take notes in the note-taking class?
 
jackieMD2007 said:
the people I can't stand are the ones who talk about protecting their GPA's "Virginity" from a B or whatever. To those people, I just want to say: Dude, I don't think your GPA's virginity is what you should be worried about, natch.

My GPA's virginity got lost early, the perps call themselves the Bs of Brooklyn.
 
durfen said:
My GPA's virginity got lost early, the perps call themselves the Bs of Brooklyn.

:laugh: And after that, durfen, its all downhill, right? :thumbup:
 
No offense, but who freakin' cares how to study??? I mean, you want to be a doctor, right? You do what you have to do to make good grades and you get accepted to medical school. However, the real world ain't going to give you pointers on how to be top of the game. I studied like the OP studied in UG. Have a higher GPA than 3.8--thought I was doing great. Went into another allied health program and studied like that throughout graduate school. But, then as soon as the test is over, man, forget about it. Don't use it, you lose it. Nothing wakes you up into reality more than when you walk into a room, evaluating a stroke patient, the family hovering around, hoping you have either (1) good news, (2) hope, (3) anything they can cling to in order to tell themselves everything may be ok. You better know AT THAT MOMENT everything you learned in school. I don't care if you got a C in that class, if you remember what you need to know in order to treat your patient correctly, that should be your goal. Now, being a non-trad and studying for this MCAT, I am re-learning all the information, I supposedly did well enough in to get an A. If I got an A, I should remember right? You bet your bottom I don't. So, OP, if it takes you 2 hours to categorize and store new information into your memory when you study, don't worry about it. At least you may remember it... Good luck! With a 3.8, you're fine.
 
Thanks for the input...i do remember much more than others after classes end...but the point of this topic is basically just to inform (me) of different ways to study because at the rate I am studying I am setting myself up for failure in medical school thats all. Yeah, I have a 3.9 and busted my ass to get it however i feel I could have been much more productive with my time rather than note taking. Just looking for different ways to study...if you studied the same way I do then you must have stopped taking detailed notes in medical school because from what I hear and basically know there is no time too!!

Yeah having above a 3.8 at least with a science major really is not too good for your social life at all...but my admit to medical school (early w/o the MCAT) was definately worth it!! Lovin' life right now... :D
 
jackieMD2007 said:
:laugh: And after that, durfen, its all downhill, right? :thumbup:

Well the way I looked at it after first quarter of freshman year was, yup it can only go up from here. :thumbup:

And why you bold me name, mann? *gets dreadlocks out of way*
 
Speaking of GPAs:
Has anyone had that one midterm or final where they totally missed an entire page of questions, because, well, you just didn't see it?
Happened to me once. Chemistry, no less.
 
Happened to me in my first biochem test.
 
I used to type my notes shortly after lecture. It really made the material sink in, didn't take too long, and provided me with a neat (I have wretched handwriting) study guide from which to review before the exam.

And to all you haters on SDN, it actually IS possible to have a 4.0 BCPM without kissing butt and without sacrificing your social life. Flame me if you want, but it's true. I know plenty of people who did.
 
GinGinChicken said:
I used to type my notes shortly after lecture. It really made the material sink in, didn't take too long, and provided me with a neat (I have wretched handwriting) study guide from which to review before the exam.

And to all you haters on SDN, it actually IS possible to have a 4.0 BCPM without kissing butt and without sacrificing your social life. Flame me if you want, but it's true. I know plenty of people who did.
Yeah, it's called grade inflation.
 
chaeymaey said:
Yeah, it's called grade inflation.


Haha, okay. Or you could call it hard work, good time management, and a little bit of dumb luck, but either way...
 
jackieMD2007 said:
the people I can't stand are the ones who talk about protecting their GPA's "Virginity" from a B or whatever. To those people, I just want to say: Dude, I don't think your GPA's virginity is what you should be worried about, natch.

Granted, you were being facetious [I hope =p], but I don't understand why stereotypes such as that are embraced. Don't get me wrong, I think it's idiotic in general to judge someone's social life by their grades, but if someone said "people who can't get 4.0s are ****ing *****s" they would have had their ass flamed out of SDN. Both comments are ridiculous.
 
GinGinChicken said:
And to all you haters on SDN, it actually IS possible to have a 4.0 BCPM without kissing butt and without sacrificing your social life. Flame me if you want, but it's true. I know plenty of people who did.

Well said.
 
chaeymaey said:
Happened to me in my first biochem test.
lol. that would definitely suck. did your teacher give you back the test?
 
amnesia said:
lol. that would definitely suck. did your teacher give you back the test?
He admitted that the test was "poorly administered" and dropped it for everyone. There were more problems than that one page I missed. A lot of people were confused by some of the other questions because of the way that they were presented and we started the test late. It was sweet that he dropped the test, though. He was one of my favorite profs. I had him for O Chem 2 as well.
 
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