How many college credit hours would you say is the equivalent to Medschool

[csx]

I took 12 credit hours this semester in college. I took two 300 level courses (histology w/ lab and biochem) and a 400 level (ornithology w/ lab- birds...nothing else fit my schedule). Then I had a 1 credit class which I don't count.

I got an A- (Biochem) an A (orni), and presumably a B (Histo). I worked pretty hard to get these grades.

I am worried I will not be able to handle Medschool. My question to you is how many science credit hours would you say is the equivalent to a typical semester in Medschool? I just want an idea of whether I can handle it or not.

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[Rub A Dub GTI]

You are taking around 30-35 hrs of lecture a week. It is not fun

 

[Etorphine]

it depends on the type of college class/major; let's face it, not all majors are equal...back in uni, I saw some psych students coast when taking their 18 credits. I majored in a physical science, go to a top-20 med now, and say its similar to about 22 hours of tough classes. To each their own, though.

edit: also. it depends on how well you want to do in medical school. If you go to a P/F school, it is possible to take it easier.

 

[D elegans]

It's kind of difficult to equate undergrad credit hours to medical school because the amount covered per unit time would be much greater. The material is also much different than undergrad science classes (you'll be thinking much less conceptually in medical school and be memorizing a lot more).

The easiest way to answer your question for me is to say that I study much, much more than I ever did in undergrad. Looking back, I could have completely slaughtered all of my undergrad courses if I put in the effort I do in medical school (I guess I also am not involved in nearly the number of extracurricular activities I was in undergrad either).

Everyone has to step up a level when they get to medical school. Most people do this without too much trauma. Keep working hard and I think you'll be fine. Your grades are good. Don't get discouraged.

 

[John Lannister]

I would say 25'ish compared to what I had at my school. 25 science though, not fluff.

 

[alpinism]

Agreed. It depends on the block, but 22-26 credits of all hard science sounds right.

 

[Textbookversion]

32. Easily twice the time commitment of taking a full load of science classes.

Keep in mind first year != second year at a lot of schools too, so there are going to be some varying perspectives.

 

[csx]

I would say 25'ish compared to what I had at my school. 25 science though, not fluff.

are we talking with science courses with lab (4 credit )or just 3 credit science classes?

 

[survivordo]

I would say most of these estimates are right on. I would remind you that it is right to worry but at the same time THOUSANDS of students have successfully made the transition. Your study habits improve, the material is presented in a way which makes it clear what you NEED to know, your class helps each other out etc etc etc. You will be fine!

Survivor DO

 

[DocVapor]

are we talking with science courses with lab (4 credit )or just 3 credit science classes?

I feel like you are splitting hairs here. All you need to know is that you'll be studying much, much more. And if your lectures are required, you'll be in lecture much, much more as well.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

You aren't going to have a lab with every class, and schools are different, but where I had a couple hours of lab once a week per class, anatomy is numerous times per week at a few hours per time, but micro was one 4 hour lab the entire time. Stuff like that. Also you will have simulated patients, BLS stuff, ethics, etc. stuff that will take hours of prep outside of science.

 

[Fox800]

Dunno what it's worth, but my MS-I fall semester was 39.5 hours and the MS-I spring semester is 42 hours.

 

[yehhhboiii]

I'd say like 30 but upper level courses.

 

[JABWS]

Right now we have four hours of lecture per day. It's hard to say how many college credit hours that equates to, but if you consider the amount of time spent studying outside of class as well, let's just say it's a much heavier load than your typical college semester.

Not to scare you or anything, but one of the big differences I've found between college and medical school is the amount of time I spend studying. Sure, I may have had a "heavy course load" in college, with a fairly large amount of lecture time, but studying for exams was much easier then. Now, I usually start studying about a week out, while also trying to keep up with the new material.

 

[blub1212]

In my junior year, I was taking 18 credits (two upper division bio), while working a part-time job, and studying for the MCAT. I study more now than I did that semester.... That being said, I have learned that I was really inefficient. Medical school forces you to learn how to learn at your optimal level.

 

[Smurfette]

Moving to PA...

 

[Trogghunter]

At the end of my 2nd year I calculated the credit hours up and it was a grand total of 121. However, we had 8credit classes which had 24 lecture hours/wk just in that course

 

[Lady Netter]

As long as you're not doing really badly in undergrad courses, you'll probably be fine in med school - you'll just learn how to manage your time better and learn how to study longer. Thinking back, I don't really know how I studied in undergrad because the amount of studying I do now is MUCCCCCHHHHHHHH more than I EVERRRR did in undergrad. It's hard to really explain how much work med school is because you won't really know until you get here. It differs for everyone though - I usually make it to 4 hours of class and study at minimum 4 hours a day (number already adjusted to take out distracted time) - usually longer, but that's like a bare minimum number. So it's at least 8 hours a day, class included.

So essentially, med school is like a full time job.

 

[NickNaylor]

Like Trogg, I also calculated our hours equivalent. During our pathophys course, we had lecture 7 hours/day, 3 days/week. That alone would be 21 hours. We also usually had 3-4 hours/week of clinical skills commitments.

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[Mountaineer12]

For my first block in August the main science class is 16 credits compared to most undergrad science classes that were 3 credits. In addition, we have public health for 4 credits and a PBL-like class for 3 credits so 23 total.

 

[JABWS]

Like Trogg, I also calculated our hours equivalent. During our pathophys course, we had lecture 7 hours/day, 3 days/week. That alone would be 21 hours. We also usually had 3-4 hours/week of clinical skills commitments.

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Jesus that sounds awful. How could you possible sit through 7 hours worth of lecture in a day?

 

[NickNaylor]

Jesus that sounds awful. How could you possible sit through 7 hours worth of lecture in a day?

It's a long day. Unless you're a real trooper it's hard to spend time at the end of the day studying. I stopped going to class pretty early on simply because of how inefficient it was.

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[mvenus929]

During first and second year, probably 25-30 credits, depending on the system. We were in class for 24ish hours per week, and had some extracurricular requirements as well.

Consequently, a lot of people quickly pick up the mentality that they don't need to get the A anymore. I was perfectly happy so long as my exams were over 70.

 

[chillaxbro]

Sounds like roughly 25 credits which isn't too bad
Especially without having to worry about extracurriculars, volunteering, homework (I assume ), and getting a 90+ average in every class

It sounds like a cakewalk 😎

 

[DocVapor]

Sounds like roughly 25 credits which isn't too bad
Especially without having to worry about extracurriculars, volunteering, homework (I assume ), and getting a 90+ average in every class

It sounds like a cakewalk 😎

Lol, yeah. The cake definitely walks all over you.

 

[FSU2013]

We are officially listed as taking 45 credits a year. I would say it feels like it.

 

[pachewisc]

FWIW: Credits and class hours are not the same thing. That makes this question extremely hard to answer, OP.

In UG, my P-Chem lab was only 1 credit but ran 4 hours. O-chem lab was 2 credits but 6 hours per week. With science courses and their labs, sometimes 15 credits can be >20 hours, easily. If the above med students are saying 25-35 hours per week, who knows how many "credits" that would be.

 

[obscurehero]

Depending on the week in my medical school, we had something like 15-20hrs/wk of just lectures. Some weeks were worse with 30-35hrs. Our lightest week ever might have been 12hrs. Then there are at least another 5-10hrs of team based learning activities. Then, you also have clinical experiences that can be >5hrs a week. Of course, that says nothing of how much time you need to put in to learn the material.

That said, I know many/most medical schools record lectures. So, I stopped going to lecture and started listening to podcast lectures. Lets you skip past the parts of the lecture when the faculty is like "This is for your own edification" or some such nonsense. Also lets you play lectures at a minimum of 1.5x speed up to maybe 3x for the people who speak like molasses. So maybe 20hrs of lecture only takes you 12-15hrs to get through.

But someone said it, your study habits improve. You have fewer ECs (if any for some people) and overall you're more focused. You might not feel ready now, but you might be when you get here.

 

[blub1212]

Sounds like roughly 25 credits which isn't too bad
Especially without having to worry about extracurriculars, volunteering, homework (I assume ), and getting a 90+ average in every class

It sounds like a cakewalk 😎

ROFL. Undergrad credits are not equal to med school credits. Which is one of the reasons that these comparisons are hard to do.

 

[music2doc]

For M1 year, we averaged 25 units/semester. Of course, blocks vary but in intensity, but using contact hours as the measure, it would be 25. We also had 26 exams this year and will have another 26 next year.

 

[Ismet]

It depends on the block we're in but I'd ballpark that we have 20-25 hours of science lecture/lab/PBL per week, plus 4 hours/week of "soft" courses like ethics, plus 3-4 hours/week of clinical experience.