how many hours should i except to study during undergrad?

[chewbacca1991]

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Hey guys awesome site you guys have here. I will be entering first year university this fall and was wondering if anybody could ballpark the amount of studying required to achieve a very solid GPA(i do under people have different abilities so times may vary)? I understand university is much different from high school so i don't want to be shocked when I first start. Thanks for your time guys.

 

[chief illiniwek]

Hey guys awesome site you guys have here. I will be entering first year university this fall and was wondering if anybody could ballpark the amount of studying required to achieve a very solid GPA(i do under people have different abilities so times may vary)? I understand university is much different from high school so i don't want to be shocked when I first start. Thanks for your time guys.

in addition to your own abilities, this also depends on what school you will be attending and what major you choose. making a general estimate, i would say expect to do 3 hours of studying/homework each weekday and 6 hours/day on the weekends. if you are organized and can manage to stay ahead of your classes, this really isn't hard. if you procrastinate and let things build up, you will find yourself cramming and pulling all-nighters.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Hey guys awesome site you guys have here. I will be entering first year university this fall and was wondering if anybody could ballpark the amount of studying required to achieve a very solid GPA(i do under people have different abilities so times may vary)? I understand university is much different from high school so i don't want to be shocked when I first start. Thanks for your time guys.

In general, expect between 2-3 hours of study time for each scheduled hour of class time. This number will vary widely depending on the classes you take, the competitiveness of your school, and how much you need to study to do well.

 

[BigD311]

damn, what school are you at. I wish my hours were like yours.

I typically pull 8 AM -2 AM days... give or take 2-3 hours for food/exercise.

I work all Sunday and sometimes Sat nights.

18 credit hours

 

[Appless]

in addition to your own abilities, this also depends on what school you will be attending and what major you choose. making a general estimate, i would say expect to do 3 hours of studying/homework each weekday and 6 hours/day on the weekends. if you are organized and can manage to stay ahead of your classes, this really isn't hard. if you procrastinate and let things build up, you will find yourself cramming and pulling all-nighters.

I think this is a good idea. Personally I just review each of my notes from all my classes each weekend which takes like 4-6 hours and M-F I focus on doing other things. Maybe 2 hours a day M-F and 4 hours sat-sun? Its arbitrary and hard to say but in general Id say thats a decent amount of time while still allowing time to have a life!🙂

 

[chief illiniwek]

damn, what school are you at. I wish my hours were like yours.

I typically pull 8 AM -2 AM days... give or take 2-3 hours for food/exercise.

I work all Sunday and sometimes Sat nights.

18 credit hours

😱 that sounds terrible.

i have even a single semester like this. im not working right now, but i worked about 20 hours per week as a freshman, sophomore, and first semester senior while taking anywhere from 16 to 18 hours in one of the nation's toughest engineering programs. so really, im wondering where you are. at the very worst, i had two days a week like this.

 

[BigD311]

yea man...it sucks. Apparently we are notorious GPA killers too....AWESOME!

I am pretty damn determined to get into med school though, so maybe it is a to each is own sorta deal...but my friends who are BME/Premed follow the same schedule as I do. One of my friends actually has it worse.

 

[Mike7704]

6 hours on both saturday and sunday! my goodness. I guess I don't put that much time in on weekends because I usually spend more time studying on weekdays, ~5-6 hours during the down time in the lab doing research.

 

[chief illiniwek]

6 hours on both saturday and sunday! my goodness. I guess I don't put that much time in on weekends because I usually spend more time studying on weekdays, ~5-6 hours during the down time in the lab doing research.

that's what i did in my heavier semesters. right now, its surprising if i have to do 2 hours/day on weekends, though, because my class schedule is so light.

edit: also, thats nothing compared to biGD.

 

[BlueElmo]

damn, what school are you at. I wish my hours were like yours.

I typically pull 8 AM -2 AM days... give or take 2-3 hours for food/exercise.

I work all Sunday and sometimes Sat nights.

18 credit hours

Dude, that's like my schedule. Glad to know I'm not the only one suffering. What school you at?

 

[ThaliaNox]

You know how sometimes people brag about how little time they spend studying? "Oh, I wrote my term paper last night while watching the football game. Took me three hours, tops." I kind of get that sort of vibe here, only in reverse.

Seriously, though, I think most people do not study X amount of hours per day. Its more of a time management thing where you work your studying in around the rest of your lfe. Want to go out on Friday night? Fine, study on Saturday afternoon. I've also found that the 2-3 hours outside of class for every hour in it truism isn't so true except for the really hardcore classes (Organic, P-chem, Calculus). You probably won't have more than a couple of these at a time most semesters. Myself, I usually study on Sundays along with blocked times throughout the week for various things (ex: P-chem lab Thursday night, ASL readings an hour before class on Monday in hole in class schedule, etc.) Manage your time and you'll find you have plenty of it left over. 😛 A good measure is whether or not you're getting As... If not, more studying is needed, if so, obviously you're doing okay!

 

[Wylde]

weekdays: 2-4 hours/day

weekends: 0-7 hours/day

This varies widely depending on upcoming tests; I usually procrastinate and then turn-up the studying during the week of the test.

From a low ranking public university (I am curious what schools the "8AM-2AM" people are at?).

Also remember that in college you attend classes only about 3 hours a day (depending on course load obviously).

good luck.

PS: The single most beneficial thing you can do (for your medical school application) is maintain the highest GPA possible. Everything else is easier to fix.

 

[BigD311]

I manage my time very well I think. I never procrastinate.

Here's what eats up my time. Reading>>Studying>Notes>Papers/Lab Reports>Lab Time>Written HW

PM me if you wanna know where I go.

 

[Red Leader]

You should work as hard as you need to in undergrad, but **** man if you work straight from 8AM - 2AM, you really should look at your life and cut out the fat. The key is just to manage your time well. Time spent studying is a useless measurement...efficiency is a MUCH better scale to try to improve yourself by. Someone can sit on their ass for 5 hours and say they studied or you can focus intensely for 45 minutes and get your **** DONE.

Think about it, this is about your future we're talking about and if you don't work your absolute hardest and put in the time, or prioritize well, you WILL regret it in the future! Look, if you have one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment...would you capture it? Or would you let it slip away?

 

[vin5cent0]

You guys work way too hard. I generally skip lecture and do as I please (usually sleep in). I MAYBE spend 2 hours/night on homework. Night before a test, I pull an all-nighter and cram. Doing this has been nearly nothing but A's since I started. Before then, I was doing the "study for two hours a day" and by the time the test came, I had forgotten a lot of stuff.

I guess the important thing to note here is each person has their own studying abilities that work for them. I got this "study habit" from a friend of mine who literally attended 1/6th of ONE o-chem lecture (he stayed for the first 10 mins of the first class and then booted), and walked away with an A in both O-chem 1 and 2.

 

[Anotherface]

in addition to your own abilities, this also depends on what school you will be attending and what major you choose. making a general estimate, i would say expect to do 3 hours of studying/homework each weekday and 6 hours/day on the weekends. if you are organized and can manage to stay ahead of your classes, this really isn't hard. if you procrastinate and let things build up, you will find yourself cramming and pulling all-nighters.

Wow, that sounds like a lot more than I usually study. With the exception of two semesters, I have studied/worked about 15hrs a week.

The two exceptions include a semester in which I was taking 21 credits, and another in which I was taking multiple upper division labs.

 

[LiveUninhibited]

Red Leader is absolutely correct that it's not all about time studied, but also how efficiently you can study and that's something you'll have to get a feel for yourself. Some people study well in groups, for example, but others just socialize in a group setting and it takes them twice as long to learn half as much. Everybody should always go to class, but those who learn better by hearing things in particular should make sure they miss as few days as possible. Some people use memorization tools, others use notecards and learn by sheer repetition. You'll have to figure out what's right for you. This is important because it'll free up time to maintain your sanity by going to the gym or even some time to do nothing constructive.

The most common mistake would be people who cram for tests. I know from experience that cramming can work for the purpose of the test, depending upon the content, but it also makes it less likely that the information will be stored in your long term memory. This means you'll get less out of the class and things like upper division courses down the road or even your MCAT could suffer later. Gotta love it when a professor on the first day says, "So I assume you remember..." and then you don't follow what he's saying because you forgot the material from the previous course.

Another thing to consider is the rigor of your classes in reference to your strengths. I had to study ten times as much to do as well in physical chemistry versus genetics, for example.

The fact that you're asking this question now, before you've made any serious mistakes, is a very good sign. Talk to your professors during office hours with any concerns you have. Every professor is different but they are there to help. Maybe they can even write a LOR later.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

You guys work way too hard. I generally skip lecture and do as I please (usually sleep in). I MAYBE spend 2 hours/night on homework. Night before a test, I pull an all-nighter and cram. Doing this has been nearly nothing but A's since I started. Before then, I was doing the "study for two hours a day" and by the time the test came, I had forgotten a lot of stuff.

I guess the important thing to note here is each person has their own studying abilities that work for them. I got this "study habit" from a friend of mine who literally attended 1/6th of ONE o-chem lecture (he stayed for the first 10 mins of the first class and then booted), and walked away with an A in both O-chem 1 and 2.

This would never work at my school. Professors have asked me (outside of class, of course) on multiple occasions questions like "Hey, TooMuchResearch, Billy/Jenna/Jose/SwampThing hasn't been in class much lately. Do you know if they're doing alright?" Like I said before, it all depends on the school you attend.

 

[BigD311]

Same here, professors like to call on random students in class...

not to mention in class clicker questions.

 

[binko]

Same here, professors like to call on random students in class...

not to mention in class clicker questions.

Hahaha I am one of the few people who LOVES those damn clickers! I never saw one before until I came to OU last quarter.

 

[gsquared]

I think depends on your coursework, school, EC obligations, and most importantly the amount of studying you need to actually learn the material.

Freshman year I studied a good 4-5 hours each weekday, 5 hrs on Sat, and at least 8 on Sun. Did very well in all my classes. This year I have been studying less (fewer hours in the lib- probably about 2-3 a day and 5-6 on Sunday and I have had similar success. I am taking harder classes now, but I am also much better at budgeting my time/limiting study distractions.

Find out what works for you and learn how to study efficiently. You should have plenty of time left for EC's, friends, fun, and a well-rounded college life.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

3-5+ hours a week for year 1-3

0-1 Hours a week for senior year.

 

[BlueElmo]

3-5+ hours a week for year 1-3

0-1 Hours a week for senior year.

That's pretty crazy.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

That's pretty crazy.

why?

 

[thedoctor8706]

You guys work way too hard. I generally skip lecture and do as I please (usually sleep in). I MAYBE spend 2 hours/night on homework. Night before a test, I pull an all-nighter and cram. Doing this has been nearly nothing but A's since I started. Before then, I was doing the "study for two hours a day" and by the time the test came, I had forgotten a lot of stuff.

I guess the important thing to note here is each person has their own studying abilities that work for them. I got this "study habit" from a friend of mine who literally attended 1/6th of ONE o-chem lecture (he stayed for the first 10 mins of the first class and then booted), and walked away with an A in both O-chem 1 and 2.

Yea but do you still remember what you learned now? That method probably works to get the grades, but not the knowledge. If you run into anything from college again in med school, you will probably have to relearn it.

As for me, a good rule of thumb for science classes is 2 hours of study for every hour in class, then maybe a bit more the week before an exam.

 

[235009]

wow, compared to you guys i basically didn't study in undergrad! (and i was in a tough major at a tough school taking 18-21 credits a semester). i routinely pulled all nighters when big assignments, lab reports, or papers were due. pulled all nighters throughout midterm week and finals week. otherwise i only "studied" long enough to get my homework assignments done on weekdays and weekends and would routinely ignore classes that didn't have hw until exams rolled around. i did however religiously do my reading assignments for the year-long english class i took...mostly because i enjoyed it and am not much of a reader otherwise.

obviously my 3.6 GPA isn't exactly stellar but i don't think i would've been able to retain my sanity studying over 24 hours a week during undergrad while everyone else was out having fun. more power to you guys but seriously don't spend undergrad in the library and miss out on all the awesome experiences you can be having!

 

[BigD311]

TOO Late.

Here's a good one: I was this girl's date to her sorority formal last fri. We hit it off well and we wanted to see each other again. I had to explain to her that she won't be seeing me very much for the next 2 weeks because of my MCAT but that afterwards I want to make it up to her.

She said she completely understood...I'll let you know in 2 weeks hahaha.

Premed Suckiness Factor: +1 Social Life: -1,000,000

 

[Raryn]

3-5+ hours a week for year 1-3

0-1 Hours a week for senior year.

Ditto. Maybe 12 hours max some week I had two midterms.

Those of you claiming to study 40plus hours a week, what on earth are you guys doing? I think I did that maybe the week before the MCAT or during one or two of my tougher finals weeks...

 

[McPoyle]

Ditto. Maybe 12 hours max some week I had two midterms.

Those of you claiming to study 40plus hours a week, what on earth are you guys doing? I think I did that maybe the week before the MCAT or during one or two of my tougher finals weeks...

I agree, either their study habits are TERRIBLE, or they (for whatever reason-I am not judging) need to work that much harder to understand the info...

This question seems to be asked quite often, and again in the allo forums. There really is no catch all answer except "It varies" and this is based on a host intangibles that we could expound on forever here on SDN. So, OP, take nothing from this thread except nobody knows how much you wil need to study or even be able to guesstimate!

As a side note... do not ever, ever, ever study as much as some have claimed they do. Don't let school consume and define you, you'll just be a tool if it does. Make sure to leave time for friends, parties, and chasin tail, this will give you some balance that allows you to perform well when you must (midterms, finals, etc). I worked full-time for the majority of my undergrad, in a addition to research and marriage etc. I found that dedicating at least one day a week to doing anything besides school really helped keep me sane.

 

[BigD311]

I mean, if you can figure out how to read 300 pages a week (no, thats not an exaggeration), on top of writing lab reports, online web assignments/problem sets for 3 classes, and studying for random quizzes in all under 40 hours a week then I would LOVE to hear how. This is on top of class time.

And what I described above is just to get by. I want to do well. Reading 300 pgs isnt enough. You need to take notes and prepare for class. Lab reports take at least 5 hours.

Then you have to look at outside commitments. Research is a big time sucker. So is volunteering.

And you know the drill, you can't say drop all outside activities, because thats not practical to get into a med school.

I'll sleep when im a doctor, dammit!

For the record, it has gotten much worse as the MCATs approach for obvious reasons. But before I went full drive for that beast of a test, I made sure I gave myself at least Friday night to have a good time. However, most of the time, Saturday nights were a no go and going out during the week was ESPECIALLY not going to happen.

I don't complain really because I enjoy everything I am involved in. I am glad to stay late nights in my lab because I believe in the research. I don't mind picking up a few extra volunteer shifts if the organization needs because I enjoy it.

Do what you enjoy and everything falls into place quite nicely. Yeah its tiring, but thats the name of the game.

 

[BlueElmo]

why?

You study too little! I'm so jealous.😛

 

[Van Chowder]

to the dude above me.. You are also going to be in med school@ 19 and let's face it.. Csu Fresno isn't exactly ivy
Genius+subpar institution= for the win

 

[BlueElmo]

to the dude above me.. You are also going to be in med school@ 19 and let's face it.. Csu Fresno isn't exactly ivy
Genius+subpar institution= for the win

never mind.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

You study too little! I'm so jealous.😛

ahhh...I mean its varied, but I do what I have to in order to get to my goals.

The staright A,B,C, D grading scale has its advantages

 

[ChubbyChaser]

to the dude above me.. You are also going to be in med school@ 19 and let's face it.. Csu Fresno isn't exactly ivy
Genius+subpar institution= for the win

Yeah probably not the best idea to diss his UG. HIs school must have done something right because he was able to score 99%ile on the MCAT.

 

[Kingston]

I hate studying and I avoid it whenever possible. I usually study about 3 hours the night before a test. Lucky for me, I learn best by going to class.

 

[searun]

Admittedly, I am an old guy. I am 26, just finishing my second year of med school. 9/11 happened when I was two weeks into my freshman year. I loved college and had a fantastic experience. I played a varsity sport in college, soccer, and competed in national competitions as a snowboarder, so I was pretty busy in addition to my academics as a college student. I also had a girl friend, and belonged to a fraternity, so my social life was full.

But even with athletics, the girl friend, and the frat, I studied hard. I was a singer in my college acapella choir. I did not play video games, or watch television, I went to virtually every class, because I calculated how much I was paying by the hour for each and every class. I made friends with my professors. I cut the useless waste out of my life, but went to the keggers and dances on Friday night and really enjoyed the social life of college.

Set goals, have alot of fun, work hard, and usually it will work out. It did for me.

 

[tiedyeddog]

I hate threads like this. All colleges are different, as are majors. Talk to someone at your university who has done well. I find there is a large difference in what is demanding university to university. Also, some people are naturally gifted at memorizing and don't need to study as much, others need to study more.

 

[searun]

I hate threads like this. All colleges are different, as are majors. Talk to someone at your university who has done well. I find there is a large difference in what is demanding university to university. Also, some people are naturally gifted at memorizing and don't need to study as much, others need to study more.

I totally disagree. I think the principles of success are universal. Work hard, lead a balanced life, eat healthy food, be disciplined in your studies, avoid drugs, spend alot of time in the library, get lots of exercise, and have a really hot girl friend. Oh, and don't play video games.

 

[LiveUninhibited]

TOO Late.

Here's a good one: I was this girl's date to her sorority formal last fri. We hit it off well and we wanted to see each other again. I had to explain to her that she won't be seeing me very much for the next 2 weeks because of my MCAT but that afterwards I want to make it up to her.

She said she completely understood...I'll let you know in 2 weeks hahaha.

Premed Suckiness Factor: +1 Social Life: -1,000,000

lol. If she can't wait 2 weeks she wasn't that interested anyway.

Yeah probably not the best idea to diss his UG. HIs school must have done something right because he was able to score 99%ile on the MCAT.

I'm sure there's some correlation. It does seem that some schools turn out nothing over a certain score, and other schools regularly have students above the 90th percentile. You'd know better than me. But it's probably possible to score high on the MCAT without even going to college if one is a genius who has amazing independent study discipline. Then again, you'd be doing it just to brag about it so that might make one stupid in another way.

However, flaming somebody else's school does seems indicative of insecurity more than anything else.

Admittedly, I am an old guy. I am 26, just finishing my second year of med school. 9/11 happened when I was two weeks into my freshman year. I loved college and had a fantastic experience. I played a varsity sport in college, soccer, and competed in national competitions as a snowboarder, so I was pretty busy in addition to my academics as a college student. I also had a girl friend, and belonged to a fraternity, so my social life was full.

But even with athletics, the girl friend, and the frat, I studied hard. I was a singer in my college acapella choir. I did not play video games, or watch television, I went to virtually every class, because I calculated how much I was paying by the hour for each and every class. I made friends with my professors. I cut the useless waste out of my life, but went to the keggers and dances on Friday night and really enjoyed the social life of college.

Set goals, have alot of fun, work hard, and usually it will work out. It did for me.

26 is old? Maybe in the Bronze Age. I think that's an average age for some schools like OHSU. I'm 25 man. Don't call 26 old.

I totally disagree. I think the principles of success are universal. Work hard, lead a balanced life, eat healthy food, be disciplined in your studies, avoid drugs, spend alot of time in the library, get lots of exercise, and have a really hot girl friend. Oh, and don't play video games.

Even caffeine? 🙁 I must say I couldn't handle BYU. I'm a caffeine junkie. While your suggestions are generally good ideas, I don't think they're all strictly necessary. Playing video games occassionally is not going to ruin somebody, but getting psychologically addicted to a game to the point of it interfering with your many obligations could.

It is kind of silly to put a concrete number on hours of studying time. It will depend on a lot of factors. How much should you study? However much it takes to get A's and get as much as you can out of it.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I mean, if you can figure out how to read 300 pages a week (no, thats not an exaggeration), on top of writing lab reports, online web assignments/problem sets for 3 classes, and studying for random quizzes in all under 40 hours a week then I would LOVE to hear how. This is on top of class time.

And what I described above is just to get by. I want to do well. Reading 300 pgs isnt enough. You need to take notes and prepare for class. Lab reports take at least 5 hours.

Then you have to look at outside commitments. Research is a big time sucker. So is volunteering.

And you know the drill, you can't say drop all outside activities, because thats not practical to get into a med school.

I'll sleep when im a doctor, dammit!

For the record, it has gotten much worse as the MCATs approach for obvious reasons. But before I went full drive for that beast of a test, I made sure I gave myself at least Friday night to have a good time. However, most of the time, Saturday nights were a no go and going out during the week was ESPECIALLY not going to happen.

I don't complain really because I enjoy everything I am involved in. I am glad to stay late nights in my lab because I believe in the research. I don't mind picking up a few extra volunteer shifts if the organization needs because I enjoy it.

Do what you enjoy and everything falls into place quite nicely. Yeah its tiring, but thats the name of the game.

Three hundred pages per week seems pretty reasonable, depending on the course load. What type of reading is it? If it's taking you a very long time, you might want to play around with finding a better reading style. I have ~140 pages per week of convoluted social science theory to read for one of my classes, and I probably only spend one minute or less per page (a bit more if I'm leading class discussion). For science texts, I skim them once before class, and then give them a better read through sometime after class (paying more attention to the sections covered in class of course).

 

[pride4jc727]

I think it's been mentioned here already but my pre-med advisor in college said for every 1 hr of scheduled class, you should spend 3 hrs of outside study time to master the subject.

 

[BlueElmo]

I think it's been mentioned here already but my pre-med advisor in college said for every 1 hr of scheduled class, you should spend 3 hrs of outside study time to master the subject.

If that was true, I would have no time for sleep. Not that I get much anyways.😛

 

[Brent8927]

I agree, either their study habits are TERRIBLE, or they (for whatever reason-I am not judging) need to work that much harder to understand the info...

This question seems to be asked quite often, and again in the allo forums. There really is no catch all answer except "It varies" and this is based on a host intangibles that we could expound on forever here on SDN. So, OP, take nothing from this thread except nobody knows how much you wil need to study or even be able to guesstimate!

As a side note... do not ever, ever, ever study as much as some have claimed they do. Don't let school consume and define you, you'll just be a tool if it does. Make sure to leave time for friends, parties, and chasin tail, this will give you some balance that allows you to perform well when you must (midterms, finals, etc). I worked full-time for the majority of my undergrad, in a addition to research and marriage etc. I found that dedicating at least one day a week to doing anything besides school really helped keep me sane.

I agree. I don't think most people take the time to understand what study method works best for them. In undergrad, I generally didn't study much (maybe 5 hours/week) and my method was to recopy my notes. When I began my post-bac program I quickly learned my method just wasn't effective, so I changed my study habits.

Generally I studied 1-2 hours per day in my post-bac program, and I usually didn't study on the weekends. If a midterm or final was coming up, I was studying about 4-8 hours/day for the two days before the test, depending on how on-top of things I was.

This left me with more than enough time to volunteer at multiple places, and have a very good social life. And it definitely worked well for me since I did well in my post-bac program and on the MCAT.

I would highly people to analyze their study habits, and figure out if they couldn't do things better. I know its comfortable to keep studying how you have been studying, but especially when you go to medical school, you'll want to spend as little time studying to gain the maximum amount of information--otherwise you will burn out.

I also used different study methods for different coures. For bio, it was mostly re-reading notes. For physics, it was doing extra problems and writing up summary sheets of the concepts (electromagnetism, mechanics, etc.), and for organic chemistry, it was... I actually can't remember. Probably doing problems as well.

You really need to find out what works specifically for you. Some people get the most out of study groups, some just need to do problems over and over again, some re-read their notes, some do experiments, some talk out loud as the go for a jog, and some even incorporate dance! Just find what works for you, and you'll be a very happy premed 🙂

 

[parafilm]

I think it's been mentioned here already but my pre-med advisor in college said for every 1 hr of scheduled class, you should spend 3 hrs of outside study time to master the subject.

I've heard that too. Seems class to me... I have 18 hours of scheduled class, which would be 54 hours a week of studying. 72 hours a week dedicated to school work... no thanks!

I probably study about 20 hours a week, but it really depends on what work I have to do.

 

[McPoyle]

Admittedly, I am an old guy. I am 26, just finishing my second year of med school. 9/11 happened when I was two weeks into my freshman year. I loved college and had a fantastic experience. I played a varsity sport in college, soccer, and competed in national competitions as a snowboarder, so I was pretty busy in addition to my academics as a college student. I also had a girl friend, and belonged to a fraternity, so my social life was full.

But even with athletics, the girl friend, and the frat, I studied hard. I was a singer in my college acapella choir. I did not play video games, or watch television, I went to virtually every class, because I calculated how much I was paying by the hour for each and every class. I made friends with my professors. I cut the useless waste out of my life, but went to the keggers and dances on Friday night and really enjoyed the social life of college.

Set goals, have alot of fun, work hard, and usually it will work out. It did for me.

ya... not old... maybe average...

I agree about the general principles, however there is a lot of subjectivity. Hard obviously has a different application for different people, and even more so depending on the semester.

 

[Raryn]

to the dude above me.. You are also going to be in med school@ 19 and let's face it.. Csu Fresno isn't exactly ivy
Genius+subpar institution= for the win

Because the material for Pchem isn't the same everywhere. Maybe I have better teachers because they actually give a damn about teaching as opposed to research... Or maybe we should stop generalizing about each others institutions, all right?

 

[21isFun]

I don't know about you guys but I've managed to keep a 3.8+ with very little studying. Yah I'll pull the all nighter before a HUGE test, or during finals week, but I just don't think I'd ever study 20 hours a week. Two semesters where I took 18 credits of all upper level BCPM courses I may have studied 10-15 hours a week, and even then I was prob in the low end of that range (and I had 3 lab courses both those semesters). The key for me is going to class and paying attention and taking some furious notes. After hearing and seeing it the first time I usually can just start studying 2-3 days prior to the exam and do well. Screw reading the textbook- the point of lecture is for the teacher to highlight the main important parts. You are prob getting 75-80% of whats going to be tested over told to you! Thats whats important to study...so study that hard and with what time you have left study the minutiae because it less likely to be on there. If you are really studying that much start playing the odds...because thats just cruel and unusual- I have a double concentration in biology and a minor in chem and have still had to time to work 35+ hours a week and be club officers, volunteer, shadow, spend time with friends, family, boyfriend,etc, and did research (legitimate too...first author publication so that kinda tells you it wasn't a 2-3 hours per week gig). you gotta make time for yourself...I snowboard, travel, scuba dive and still got accepted to med school. I know M1 students who don't even study 8am-2am everyday! maybe during exam block weeks, but NOT 24/7/365. I'd stop reading the text books and just start doing note/hw/review studying

 

[Slack3r]

Do you have exams every week? What's all this studying for? 1-2 days (maybe more, depending on the class) before the exam for 2 hours a day seems more than sufficient.

 

[doctord2012]

You should expect to study a minimum of two to three hours per weekday. This will vary due to exams. The more important thing is to study until you understand the concepts. If that takes one hour, you are golden. If you need more time, that is fine to. The most important thing to do is understand the material being taught, particullarly in the pre-req courses. Good luck on your freshman year, study hard.