how many hours do first year students study?

[VickFan]

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on average, how many hours did you study (outside of class) as a first year medical student?

during the week and during the weekends?

 

[efex101]

A lot

 

[Tristy]

A lot

I agree with this one, I studied like psycho during weekdays and weekends,(to me 1st year seemed like the hardest) but then it gets better.

 

[efex101]

Thank God! I do not think that I could keep up this pace forever....it feels like MCAT studying EVERY day!

 

[Syranope2]

hardly at all. much less than i did in undergrad. honestly. everyone at my school says that second year is much worse than first year. first year is nothing. here, at least

 

[alliemac]

hardly at all. much less than i did in undergrad. honestly. everyone at my school says that second year is much worse than first year. first year is nothing. here, at least

I think that you are in the minority. For anatomy, which I just finished, I would say that I studied AT LEAST 4 hours a day (including weekends). Once it's test week, I study about 8 hours a day. It's true, though: it's like finals week over and over and over again.

 

[mattorama]

not much at all here too....mainly because I have had most of the first year material to some extent in undergrad. YES! It is helpful to take medschool-like classes as an undergrad. I hardly do anything and have all HPs and Hs so far in a class that is much more overacheiving then normal (the word from several professors...). Too bad second year will burst that bubble.

 

[10minutes]

A lot

Ditto. The library is my new home. No background is tough. 😡

 

[snapdad]

Wouldn't it depend in part upon how many hours you were in class? I would expect to study more in a 9-12 school than in an 8-5 school.

Depends on how you learn, too. I'm in a (more or less) 8-5 school, but I'm not an auditory learner so I don't usually go to class. This means I spend ridiculous hours outside of class studying. Eight hours of studying per day is a bare minimum for me...usually it's much more than that, but it's paying off so far.

 

[kate88]

everybody studies differently. I think one of the biggest mistakes you can make is comparing the amount of time you study to other people... it'll end up freaking you out if you study less than they do/way more than they do. You just have to study till you feel comfortable with the material.

I study A LOT more in med school than I did in undergrad, but I am not very good at memorizing. (a great skill to have in med school, btw). Its not totally horrible though. You just have to be efficient and organized. If you can get into med school, you can get through it, don't worry bout it 🙂

ps: as an aside for all you pre-meds, one of the best study tactics of all time is to quiz one another. I never studied with other people in undergrad, but have found that studying on my own and then quizzing with a friend the day before my test is incredibly effective. It helps to fill in details you may have overlooked (or intentionally avoided b/c you thought they were ridiculously unimportant, in my case usually!), plus you always remember facts you are asked to recall on the spot.

 

[VickFan]

Kate- i agree completely. one can study 15 minutes for a bio exam, remember lots of info and do well on the exam while another studies for 2 hours and receive a bad grade. everyone studies differently and it also depends how effective of a studier u are. also to keeping in mind, how much one is able to learn in a class would limit or somewhat minimize the studyin outside of class.

but all that aside, i just wanted to see how much med students here studied.

JUST wanted to see how much the average medical student spends time studying

 

[daisyage]

i'm a class-goer, so my study time is usually at night, and most nights i study for at least 2-3 hours. when exams are coming, that number increases significantly.
different strategies work for different people. we always compare notes and try different ways, but if you find something works, go with it.

 

[lattimer13]

how bout asking this question in the allopathic or osteopathic forums for a better sampling?

 

[kate88]

wasn't trying to offend anyone with my comment, sorry if i did. if its pure curiosity on your part, then here ya go:
-I probably study an average of 2 hours a day outside of class time.
-I have class from 8-5 MWF and about 8-11 TR. I don't always go to all my classes. I often leave for the really boring lectures to go study on my own. I also have a bad (or good 😉 ) habit of oversleeping.
-Near exam time, I probably clock in about 12 hours a day studying b/c i've procrastinated so much. I hardly ever do work on weekends, so I end up having to cram a bit before exams. If i put in about 6 hours a day on weekend, I'd probably be a lot better off. But I like making the weekend a school free zone.

good luck with all your applications

 

[Anka]

Hi,

My guess is this varies heavily from school to school. Our school is pass fail for a while, so there's relatively little studying going on except what's required to pass. I'm pretty interested in what we're doing (med school is actually a lot of fun if you keep your sense of wonder at how complex everything is instead of feeling like God designed the pelvis specifically to confuse the heck out of you), so I study a lot. On the other hand, I don't actually go to any class that isn't required. I probably spend about 60-80 hours a week studying (including what little time I acutally spend in class).

Anka

 

[SOUNDMAN]

I think the studying with others is a great idea. I know I've done this when we have had big tests, and teaching the material to someone else really helps as well. I always though spent time by myself first and then got into the group to help polish things up and really solidify concepts.

 

[mikedc813]

I bet the average student studies 2-3 hrs a night. But that's probably just going to get you a Pass. If you're trying to do better I'm guessing those people are studying 4-5 hours a night. It also does depend on whether you go to class or not and what your school's class schedule is like.

 

[10minutes]

In my school, it's pass/fail (pass above 70 in general), but class averages are usually around 85-90. I've talked to several people in my class and most of them told me they study more than 5 hours everyday (after class). These people certainly have a high standard.

 

[macdown]

I usually study 3 to 4 hours a night, Sunday - Thursday. Unless we have a test I take off the weekend and go out.

 

[leechy]

Are there any subjects / books people would recommend studying before med school, to have an easier time first year? I have thought about learning stuff "ahead of time" with my free time, but wonder if it might be useless as well... any thoughts? (I don't have much of a science background)

 

[mimi1]

ENJOY YOUR FREE TIME NOW!!!

Seriously, don't even think about trying to study before med school. You will be far more appreciative of the relaxation and fun that you have before you come to school.