how much can YOU study in one day?

[bravesfan113]

i put in about 7 hours of solid studying today.. dispersed throughout the day with plenty of breaks. everything i went over i had to pretty much relearn because its been so long since i had the classes. i read/made notecards on chapter 6 in TPR organic (Biologically important organic chem) and chapters 8, 9, and 10 in TPR physics (oscillations and waves, sounds, light and geometric optics, respectively). overall it was about 100 pages of the TPR books. right now i'm pretty much burned out. this seems like about the amount of new stuff i can learn in one day. i'm trying to gauge my stamina against other MCATers. people on here say they can study for 12 hours in a day.. i don't think i can study for more than 8 productively.

so... how much can YOU study in one day?

also, how much new material can you learn in one day?

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[Ebete]

I am SOOOOOOOO jealous!!!! I wish I could study for that long, well I could if I didn't have anything else to do, but I have yummie little kids to feed/bathe/read to/tickle...... so that leaves me with 2-3hrs during their nap time and if I'm lucky and the baby goes to sleep at night then I have an additional 3-4hrs, otherwise for sure 1hr.

8 nice long quiet non-interupted hours sounds so good!

 

[MossPoh]

10 inches. Wait. What are we talking about?

 

[bravesfan113]

8 nice long quiet non-interupted hours sounds so good!

typical weekend of studying for me. i'm jealous of people who actually do things other than study!

 

[RSAgator]

avg about 3-4 a day. If I were doing practices I could probably do problems nearly non-stop, but sometimes it's just difficult to absorb material after a certain point. It depends how close to test time it is though, I cram fairly well.

 

[Vihsadas]

Well when you're in the fire like me (struggling to even get people to look at you!) you find a way to put in 14+ hrs a day if you have to.

 

[Howzat]

Well when you're in the fire like me (struggling to even get people to look at you!) you find a way to put in 14+ hrs a day if you have to.

Non-stop?

 

[Vihsadas]

Non-stop?

pretty much. bathroom breaks only...I guess I run to the fridge, pull out some left overs or otherwise junk food and that's it.

 

[Howzat]

pretty much. bathroom breaks only...I guess I run to the fridge, pull out some left overs or otherwise junk food and that's it.

Wow, nice. I guess that's the secret behind your 40! Many people want to put in that much of time but only few actually willing to put in that kind of time.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I pulled about 18 hours of studying yesterday afternoon and ALL of last night. It wasnt for the MCAT, but I got way behind in a couple classes and had to cram hardcore.

 

[MossPoh]

I don't see how one can even study mcat material that much. I start to get real low returns in a day after about 4 hours. So low that it is worthless to try. I mean, if you did 14 hours a day of practice passages even, you'd clean through the material in about a week and a half. What the hell do you do?

 

[Howzat]

I don't see how one can even study mcat material that much. I start to get real low returns in a day after about 4 hours. So low that it is worthless to try. I mean, if you did 14 hours a day of practice passages even, you'd clean through the material in about a week and a half. What the hell do you do?

I guess you could study some, practice some, study study, practice, study same stuff over and over again, practice again, study, study, practice. And pretty much keep repeating that cycle, eh?

 

[Vihsadas]

I don't see how one can even study mcat material that much. I start to get real low returns in a day after about 4 hours. So low that it is worthless to try. I mean, if you did 14 hours a day of practice passages even, you'd clean through the material in about a week and a half. What the hell do you do?

That's true. I spent a lot of my time supplementing what I read in Kaplan/TPR with info from the net. I literally tried to dissect the understanding behind every single concept presented in those books. That required a lot of time. I think that because I was "excited" to study for the MCAT, I didn't view it as a chore, but rather a "game". So, putting in 14hrs a day (and don't get me wrong, I did not do this every day) is not hard when you have the adrenaline pumping from your last 41 on a practice exam! Success on my practice exams drove me even harder to try and be perfect.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

That's true. I spent a lot of my time supplementing what I read in Kaplan/TPR with info from the net. I literally tried to dissect the understanding behind every single concept presented in those books. That required a lot of time. I think that because I was "excited" to study for the MCAT, I didn't view it as a chore, but rather a "game". So, putting in 14hrs a day (and don't get me wrong, I did not do this every day) is not hard when you have the adrenaline pumping from your last 41 on a practice exam! Success on my practice exams drove me even harder to try and be perfect.

you're still studying arent you??? You are gonna retake that 40.

Dont lie to us Vihsadas, you gunner you.

 

[Howzat]

That's true. I spent a lot of my time supplementing what I read in Kaplan/TPR with info from the net. I literally tried to dissect the understanding behind every single concept presented in those books. That required a lot of time. I think that because I was "excited" to study for the MCAT, I didn't view it as a chore, but rather a "game". So, putting in 14hrs a day (and don't get me wrong, I did not do this every day) is not hard when you have the adrenaline pumping from your last 41 on a practice exam! Success on my practice exams drove me even harder to try and be perfect.

I think you make a very good point. When we treat it as a 'chore', we don't enjoy it and thus can't study as long as we would like to. Treating it as a 'game' is very important and will go a long way in making sure you do well on your MCAT. I truly believe that.

Edit: Vihsadas, I just read one of your posts on Pre-Allo forum where you say that one of your profs told you signing up for the MCAT was going to be the waste of money. Imagine if you'd listened to him! You know better and you didn't listen to him/her but what I find sad and unfortunate is that many people take others' advice as gospel. Too many pre-meds give up on their dream of becoming a doctor either by people telling them they can't do it or simply by not doing well in a class or two (especially O-Chem!) and concluding this isn't for them.

 

[iA-MD2013]

you're still studying arent you??? You are gonna retake that 40.

Dont lie to us Vihsadas, you gunner you.

I wish I could do 14 a day! It's harder to study for the mcat because i keep telling myself that tmrw ill work harder...and it never works out that way.
I've done 21 consecutive hrs of studying once...but that was extreme cramming for a final (pulled an all nighter for an 8 am test). Worst day/night ever!!!

 

[Vihsadas]

you're still studying arent you??? You are gonna retake that 40.

Dont lie to us Vihsadas, you gunner you.

haha. I wouldn't consider retaking my 40 even if there was another type of 40 with a shiny metal barrel and trigger pointed at me.
No seriously, but I am studying right now to try and ace my 6 courses and TA position. (holy crap.)

 

[wannabedocta]

Today I studied for about 6 solid hours 3 hours in the afternoon and 3 hours in the evening since I'm soo behind. Usually I only study about 3-4 hours a day. I'm taking mine in a month and I haven't even glanced at O-chem My endurance level isn't as high as others.

 

[DrMattOglesby]

i did 25 hours today.

har har

okay but in all seriousness...
i think i study a lot more than im aware of.
I work everyday as a tutor for microbio, anatomy and physiology.
Although those things are lightly touched upon by the MCAT, i still feel like i am putting in a good biology review 5 days of the week.
and when im not studying...I am watching my Gold Standard MCAT videos, working out listening to Audio Osmosis...or posting on SDN =]

 

[BloodySurgeon]

I swear sometimes I dunno what happens to the time. I don't really do much but mcat... my classes are easy and I dun even show up to class, I quit my job and research and do nothing but study. Yet, I feel like I barely get much work done. I do about 7 passages of verbal, 100 G-chem or physics problems and a chapter reading of bio on my good days. I take short breaks and wake up relatively early. Why is it so hard to get more done?

The first time I took the mcat, I did a full-length ever other day and got about twice as much done on my off days (with sundays off). Now I don't take sunday off and I can't catch up... SO PAINFUL STUDYING VERBAL!

 

[BloodySurgeon]

I know it seems like I did a lot, but if i'm doing nothing but mcat with no distractions, i expect to get more done in a day. Also, these are my good days... I usually do about 7 verbal passages 50 g-chem or 70 physics problems and half a chapter of bio.

 

[tncekm]

I thought I was studying a lot until I read some of the posts here. LOL. I don't know how you all do it!

On a really good day I can get in 6-8 hours doing MCAT stuff--there is just usually something getting in my way of getting more done, usually. If I had to guess the first month of studying I put in 15-20hrs/wk and the last few weeks I put in maybe 30+/wk.

The hardest I ever studied, consecutively, was for a Molecular Cell Biology Final. I didn't really crack my book open until the Monday before the Thursday test. In those few days I probably put in 40hrs, including one all-nighter. The text was just so dense, and there were so many pages! I ended up with an A though, so it was worth it It was one of those Mid-term + Final classes, so there was no driving force for me to keep up on studying throughout the semester, haha.

 

[tncekm]

I know it seems like I did a lot, but if i'm doing nothing but mcat with no distractions, i expect to get more done in a day. Also, these are my good days... I usually do about 7 verbal passages 50 g-chem or 70 physics problems and half a chapter of bio.

7 verbal passages? Do you have endless verbal resources that the rest of us don't know about?!

I'd run out of verbal material pretty quick if I did that. What sources are you using?

 

[wannabedocta]

do any of you guys feel stressed out after studying for such a long period of time? I'm getting small anxiety attacks every now and then after studying for 6+ hours a day I don't know how i'm gonna handle USMLE's in med school

 

[Howzat]

tncekm, I mean you could essentially re-use some old verbal practice material. You've got AAMC CBT's, EK 101, GS CBT's, BR etc etc. Thats enough practice for 2-3 months.

 

[bravesfan113]

vihsadas,
that is hard core (14 hrs). right now if i spend about 10 hours "studying" i actually only get about 7-8 hours in... due to eating and breaks and whatnot.

mrmattoglesby,
how are those gold standard mcat videos? they sound like something i could watch when im burned out. are they worth the money? or did you get them somewhere else (like bittorent)?

 

[tncekm]

I think they're pretty decent for getting down all the concepts. They don't give too much in specifics though.

 

[wooki]

wow you guys are insane. i have been studying for 4-6 hr on weekdays for the last 5 weeks. i feel burnt out already. test in 2 months =/

 

[newooub]

So, putting in 14hrs a day (and don't get me wrong, I did not do this every day) is not hard when you have the adrenaline pumping from your last 41 on a practice exam! Success on my practice exams drove me even harder to try and be perfect.

Were you able to study 14 hrd/day before you got around 41 on practice exams (assuming you didn't start out that well)?

 

[Hindiana_Jones]

do any of you guys feel stressed out after studying for such a long period of time? I'm getting small anxiety attacks every now and then after studying for 6+ hours a day I don't know how i'm gonna handle USMLE's in med school

While studying 8+ hours a day is extremely impressive, I think you'll be fine with studying 6 hours a day. 6 hours a day of solid studying is nothing to scoff at, and if you studied like this for 6 days a week during medical school, I imagine you'll be fine. I am not in medical school, but two of my friends are M2s and many of them are M1s, and some of them don't even study 6 hrs a day. Granted their not honoring all of their classes, but they do well enough.

 

[MossPoh]

While studying 8+ hours a day is extremely impressive, I think you'll be fine with studying 6 hours a day. 6 hours a day of solid studying is nothing to scoff at, and if you studied like this for 6 days a week during medical school, I imagine you'll be fine. I am not in medical school, but two of my friends are M2s and many of them are M1s, and some of them don't even study 6 hrs a day. Granted their not honoring all of their classes, but they do well enough.

You are dealing with a more neurotic bunch on SDN. The vast majority of people don't study THAT much. I mean, I've gotten to the point now where, excluding organic which I haven't the second level of, I really don't feel like I can "learn" much more per se. I have to work on stupid things like math, and reading the questions better. Once in a while I encounter a question on the practice exams that is a "how the hell should I have known that" type question. I don't dread studying, it is actually a nice release for me when I get on a roll, but I feel like I have looked at this stuff way too much and most of it isn't a surprise. I am not neurotic enough to memorize every equation, every hormone, and every whatever else. It seems to work so far. I'm not getting 40s on practice exams, but the mistakes I am making tend to be because I misapplied stuff I knew, or was just distracted and went stupid. Not massive flaws in knowledge.

Most medical students don't put in 6+ hours a day either. Why? They are in class from 8-5 sometimes! Even if you got a solid hour or two in during the gaps in the day, you're still faced with studying another 4 or 5 hours later on. I suspect there is a time where you have to do other things like eat, or maybe exercise. It is more important to have a constant routine and not get behind in medical school. Just like the MCAT, most of that stuff isn't technically difficult, but the volumes can be overwhelming. I'm a firm believer in trying to be efficient with studying, but NOT doing it all day. Most people need a release and I don't want to be driven to suicide out of fear because I'm trying to match Billy Bob in hours of studying. I have a very defined line with my studying. I can study for most anything for about an hour to 2 hours and get a B, but if I want the solid A it gets a LOT longer. Some classes that gap is larger than others. The truth is, I have no urge in trying to match that girl studying 12 hours a day next to me. Fear does a lot with the MCAT, but it can also hamper you. Just gotta find a balance.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

You are dealing with a more neurotic bunch on SDN. The vast majority of people don't study THAT much. I mean, I've gotten to the point now where, excluding organic which I haven't the second level of, I really don't feel like I can "learn" much more per se. I have to work on stupid things like math, and reading the questions better. Once in a while I encounter a question on the practice exams that is a "how the hell should I have known that" type question. I don't dread studying, it is actually a nice release for me when I get on a roll, but I feel like I have looked at this stuff way too much and most of it isn't a surprise. I am not neurotic enough to memorize every equation, every hormone, and every whatever else. It seems to work so far. I'm not getting 40s on practice exams, but the mistakes I am making tend to be because I misapplied stuff I knew, or was just distracted and went stupid. Not massive flaws in knowledge.

Most medical students don't put in 6+ hours a day either. Why? They are in class from 8-5 sometimes! Even if you got a solid hour or two in during the gaps in the day, you're still faced with studying another 4 or 5 hours later on. I suspect there is a time where you have to do other things like eat, or maybe exercise. It is more important to have a constant routine and not get behind in medical school. Just like the MCAT, most of that stuff isn't technically difficult, but the volumes can be overwhelming. I'm a firm believer in trying to be efficient with studying, but NOT doing it all day. Most people need a release and I don't want to be driven to suicide out of fear because I'm trying to match Billy Bob in hours of studying. I have a very defined line with my studying. I can study for most anything for about an hour to 2 hours and get a B, but if I want the solid A it gets a LOT longer. Some classes that gap is larger than others. The truth is, I have no urge in trying to match that girl studying 12 hours a day next to me. Fear does a lot with the MCAT, but it can also hamper you. Just gotta find a balance.

I sure hope I get into a school that doesnt require class 8-5. One of my state schools does, and i think its just ridiculous.

 

[Vihsadas]

Were you able to study 14 hrd/day before you got around 41 on practice exams (assuming you didn't start out that well)?

Yeah I did. Admittedly I started out high (diag was 28), but I didn't start seeing really high scores on practice exams until 1 month before the test. (I started 4 months prior).

 

[deleted92121]

I can study for about an hour or two a day. Right now my focus is on Bio concepts only. I finish Physics II this summer so then I will begin with Physics.

I know it seems really simple and redundant to say this, but i'll do it anyway. Focusing on the high-yield, basic concepts will help you achieve an average score (24-28). In order to add on to that average score, keep working on improving your verbal reasoning and critical thinking skills. Simple as that.

dxu

 

[shaka23h]

did an all nighter for the MCAT tonight lol.. just didn'tfeel like going to sleep and I don't have a test for classes for another 2 weeks . Feels good to get a lot done. Did about 6 hours of solid studying and 2 hour for a couple of homeworks due this week.

 

[Blade28]

At my max efficiency back in undergrad, I could study for 14-16 hours a day with minimal breaks for bathroom, meals, etc.

Now I'm lucky to be able to concentrate for 2 hours without getting distracted!

 

[ORTHO4ME]

typical schedule for me, sleep at 4 am, wake up around noon. lift wieghts for an hour, slack off until about 4 or 5. then start studying until 10 or 11. this varies a little bit. then workout, lift wieght etc for an additional 2 hours. slack off on sdn/youtube/facebook/myspace/espn until i fall asleep again (usually 4 am or so). then it starts all over. but with march madness coming up, i will probably be studying much less. i eat one larg meal b4 my morning workout, little meals during the day when i study, and another protien rich meal after my nightly workout. very mundane, but its been working out so far for the last few months.

 

[mterp45]

Give a bathroom near by, water, some snacks in case I get a sweet tooth, a cute girl as a study partner, and I can go on for 8 plus.

 

[ORTHO4ME]

Give a bathroom near by, water, some snacks in case I get a sweet tooth, a cute girl as a study partner, and I can go on for 8 plus.

wat kinda cute are you talking about, natalie portman cute or elaine bennis cute. on a side note, sarah silverman really does it for me, i dont know what it is.

 

[mterp45]

wat kinda cute are you talking about, natalie portman cute or elaine bennis cute. on a side note, sarah silverman really does it for me, i dont know what it is.

well , I would have to say julia stiles cute would certainly do it for me.

 

[jclaude2007]

averaging 2 to 3 hours a day( Wayyyyyyyyyyyy less to what i used to put in). I used to put 8 to 9 hours of studying everyday(7 days a week) back in high school and did that for 4 years. u may ask urself why and the reason is I did high school overseas and the level of competion was very high so i loved to compete especially ur final grade in senior year of high school determined if u were gonna make to medical school or not but u had to score at least 225 out of 240 to get accepted ( to score that high u have to go through a series of really tough exams on the following subjects: Biology, general physics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, math, english, foreign languages). The books were: biology(350 pages), general physics(450 pages), chemistry and orgo(300 pages), math( 700 pages) english ( 400 pages)and foreign languages ( 400 pages). plus the exams in these subjects were open-ended exams and never ever multiple choice exams so that made it even more frustrating to students but believe it or not some people would score really high. well this system made my life way easier after I moved to US and to me the college american system was a piece of cake ( to always get the best grades in all subjects- I had a 3.92 GPA on the first 50 credits studying 1/4 of what I used to do in high school overseas, oh dont even ask what my current GPA is as it went down a bit as I got more and more americanized ).

 

[riceman04]

10 inches. Wait. What are we talking about?