I Keep Hearing 'I don't study ever'

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waka flocka flame

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People that claim to never do any practice problems or go through any of the material yet get straight-A's. I have tried to get people together for a study group and I have heard this multiple times. Is this largely BS? It's makes me feel kind of bad since I feel like I study a lot.
 
It's likely BS.

I had a classmate in HS who liked to brag that she didn't do any studying. She would obviously carry no backpack or messenger bag, and made announcements that she didn't need to bring any textbooks home. She was an A student, so we all wondered how she did it.

Well, my mom went to some function that her mom was at, and her mom happened to mention that she always purchases a double set of text books for her kids (this was a private prep school) so that her children (girls) didn't have to lug heavy textbooks home.

So...the moral of the story is....some people get some sick thrill out of making others think that they're so naturally smart that they don't have to study....don't believe it.
 
Do what you need to do to succeed. In first year I knew someone who claimed to cram 1 block's worth of information 2 nights before an exam. One time I visited his apartment and there were meticulous notes on his desk.

Put in the work you need to get the grade you want and that's all that matters.
 
Sounds like it doesn't matter anyway from your 'doubts about medicine' thread, but yes, there are some very smart people out there. No need to get angry about it any more than you should be angry that you're not as attractive as George Clooney.
 
People lie.


People that claim to never do any practice problems or go through any of the material yet get straight-A's. I have tried to get people together for a study group and I have heard this multiple times. Is this largely BS? It's makes me feel kind of bad since I feel like I study a lot.
 
I did know a guy who claimed that he never studied or notes. He was an Mechanical Engineering major turns out he got kick out of his fraternity because he was on academic probation too much. :laugh: Honestly, I think there was truth to his claim.
 
We also hear it, about a dozen times a week from people who cannot make a forum search.
 
In college I was that kid that "never studied but rocked tests (in BCPM classes, anyway)". In reality, I just studied on my own, in my own time, using my own methods that worked for me.

Be more wary of the kids that make a spectacle out of meeting in the school's library every day from 4pm to 11pm, and still get B+s in classes.
 
I never studied in high school and only studied just before tests in college. It bit me in the ass when I took the MCAT for the first time and made me change the way I faced academics entirely after that.

Some people can get by like that, but not without consequences.

ps: nearly straight A student, but did I really learn that stuff back then? Not as much as I should have
 
They're lying.

Admittedly, I studied a whole lot less (probably too little 😳) than most other people in college and got better grades. Intelligence reduces the amount of time you have to commit to studying, but it can't eliminate it entirely. No degree of smarts can magically make the right information appear in your head.

But really it's irrelevant. Study as much as needed to achieve your goals, and don't worry about 'smarter people'. They probably have other issues/difficulties in their lives.
 
Maybe your college sucks and your student body quality is low so someone smart who's there for some reason doesn't have to study to beat you guys

Encouraging words XD
 
Depends on what you consider to be studying. I did well in a lot of classes without extra studying beyond doing assigned homework and practice tests, but I had do at least some studying in most of my classes.
 
In college I usually start studying for a test about 5 hours before it occurs (which is still studying) and it works very well. However, I had to really buckle down and make myself sit down and study for the MCAT last semester, It's great to be able to study late, but good study habits are so important to develop, if I could go back to freshmen year, I would focus on those.
 
There are people with near photographic memories who don't need to study. And there are people who lie. Telling people you don't have to study at all is a popular gunner psych-out technique.

But it really doesn't matter. The earlier you learn to keep your eyes on your own plate, and that your job is to master the material for you and no one else, the better off you will be, in med school and life.
 
Sounds mainly like BS.

However, I will say there were subjects that I never had to study for beyond doing the required exercises--Physics II and part of Computer Science. I also grew up playing with electronics and writing programs, so I had a little head start. :nod: Some classes studying won't help, because the test questions are so far in left field there's just no way to prep. Then some professors very effective at presenting the material that it cuts your study time drastically.

However, I would be wary of people who claim they don't study in classes where the professor is so bad that you need to teach yourself the material.

So you never know.
 
There are people with near photographic memories who don't need to study. And there are people who lie. Telling people you don't have to study at all is a popular gunner psych-out technique.

But it really doesn't matter. The earlier you learn to keep your eyes on your own plate, and that your job is to master the material for you and no one else, the better off you will be, in med school and life.


Entirely true. I say good for those w/ near eidetic memory. But you also have to know how to use what you have memorized. Plus, cramming takes the fun/enjoyment/interest out of learning many times. I realize tyranny of the urgent has it's adrenaline factor; but it's nice to savor and think on things.
 
Thanks. I can see that people will use that as a tactic to cause other people to feel bad about studying. Maybe to make it easier to be top of the class.
 
I mean you will eventually realize that medicine attracts some extremely intelligent people. But there are always going to be pre-meds and med students who are lying about their capabilities. This goes both ways. More than once I've encountered gunners who intentionally underestimate their skills or knowledge as well as overestimating them.

Competition breeds this kind of behavior. People just act on it. End of the day though, you have to do what you have to do to get the grade/scores you want. Mimelim made a post about constantly comparing yourself to everyone. Its a path to depression.
 
Everyone I know with the "I never study" style is either waiting to get a single interview invite or is a reapplicant. Obviously this may be for many different reasons, although in my humble opinion, this style of person isn't very likeable to be around (just speaking from my experiences, put down the pitchforks). I'm pretty sure the trait of not being honest with yourself in front of other people keeps these kids out of med schools to some extent (rightfully so, I hate being around that kind of vibe).
 
You do you. You may achieve similar ends through different means. If you pull the same good grade, consider the means a character-building experience and enjoy the end.
 
I never really studied in college, with three exceptions- biochemistry, physics, and organic chemistry. Everything else was kind of a breeze.
 
I never really studied in college, with three exceptions- biochemistry, physics, and organic chemistry. Everything else was kind of a breeze.

Well, those are the 3 main things that require any serious form of study in college for most people though.

Hell I think physics is more convoluted than biochem or orgo!
 
Well, those are the 3 main things that require any serious form of study in college for most people though.

Hell I think physics is more convoluted than biochem or orgo!
Same, physics was definitely my most daunting course, I'm just not very mathematically minded.
 
Same, physics was definitely my most daunting course, I'm just not very mathematically minded.

Agreed, its Light. Understanding Light is more complicated than trying to understand, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and the krebs cycle combined!
 
Had a friend like that. I would catch her in the lab snorting adderall and not sleeping for 2 days and then comes to the exam telling everyone how she didnt study and instead had a good nights rest instead of cramming
 
People lie. They say it to hide the fact they're closet gunners.
 
Had a friend like that. I would catch her in the lab snorting adderall and not sleeping for 2 days and then comes to the exam telling everyone how she didnt study and instead had a good nights rest instead of cramming


Well that's seriously screwed up.

OP, hang out w/ more nontrads; b/c they seriously won't give a crap if someone got their grade by cramming, eyelid osmosis, or Adderall.
We totally don't give a rat's azz, and we are perplexed by those that do.
 
Im kinda scared of Adderall and feel its gives students a unfair edge , but I keep that to myself to each his own
 
That's some high school stuff. University is all about studying. You have to memorize things, you have to regurgitate facts in MCQ exam after MCQ exam. I know smart people with 2.5s, idiots with 4.0s.
 
Lies. 99% of the time.

I had several idiots tell me that they "felt sorry I study so much", and they dont, yet they get higher scores than me. The same people that continue to fan the fires of their nonexistent 4.0. Or the 21 credits they are taking, Not factoring in their 2 WWs and dropped courses because they scored a 50% on 2 tests.

The handful of people I met that literally spend 3 hours before a test and get a 110% have learned throughout the years not to disclose their scores. But thats just my experience (my experience with friends. I will never be that person lol).

Whatever is going on around you, recenter and refocus. As Yourself, what you need to do for you, to get the high scores you want. Its easy to get caught in currents that will do you detriment and lead you down a miserable semester.
 
I don't think there's anybody out there that aces med school prereqs without at least a little studying. Some people only need to see a lecture once and then never see the material again, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone that can see the Kreb's cycle once and remember every step 3 weeks later for an exam without at least glancing at it the night before.

I will say though, to all premeds still in undergrad, if you need to study 7 hours a day 5+ days a week to maintain a 3.5, do yourself a favor and don't go to medical school. You don't need to be a genius to become a doctor but be honest with yourself about whether you're willing to sleep 4 hours a night for 2 years to barely pass.
 
There are people with near photographic memories who don't need to study. And there are people who lie. Telling people you don't have to study at all is a popular gunner psych-out technique.

But it really doesn't matter. The earlier you learn to keep your eyes on your own plate, and that your job is to master the material for you and no one else, the better off you will be, in med school and life.


Even those with photographic memories have to look at (study) the material, even if they don't have to study for long periods of time. Not everything is shown in the classroom.

And, simply memorizing facts may be fine for certain classes (maybe some bio classes), but there are other STEM and other classes where critical thinking and analyzing needs to occur.

Either way, those who don't think they need to study, will not have developed any good study habits....and that will likely bite them in the ass at some point.
 
In my experience, everyone studies, but the amount varies very widely. One person could glance over 150+ slides and have them totally memorized, another would need to make flashcards and practice for several days. One person might just look over notes before an in class essay style exam, another might try to plan outlines and practice their essays earlier in the week. I've seen both types get A's and both types struggle
 
In my experience, everyone studies, but the amount varies very widely. One person could glance over 150+ slides and have them totally memorized, another would need to make flashcards and practice for several days. One person might just look over notes before an in class essay style exam, another might try to plan outlines and practice their essays earlier in the week. I've seen both types get A's and both types struggle

I dont see how the former would struggle to be honest. I know people who have never really worked hard in school at all because they are so smart... they dont have to work to get grades. Study 1 week before MCAT, makes 37 type of people.
 
People that claim to never do any practice problems or go through any of the material yet get straight-A's. I have tried to get people together for a study group and I have heard this multiple times. Is this largely BS? It's makes me feel kind of bad since I feel like I study a lot.

It depends. Some truth some not. For my science and math classes, I didn't study. For my history classes... I studied that harder than all my engineering classes put together. Can't memorize ****.
 
Some people were born knowing about protons, neutrons, and electrons. They were born knowing about cell organelles. They were born just knowing all the bones in the body... Haha, not really. Anyone who says they don't study at all is full of it. Everyone has to look over the material some. But saying that makes them sound smarter, so they say it.

I guess to what degree people study before knowing the material differs from person to person, but everyone has to learn the material at least once...
 
I dont see how the former would struggle to be honest. I know people who have never really worked hard in school at all because they are so smart... they dont have to work to get grades. Study 1 week before MCAT, makes 37 type of people.
They can struggle because extraordinarily strong memorization skills does not an A make
 
Sounds like a horrible habit to have.
 
They can struggle because extraordinarily strong memorization skills does not an A make

Thats what I'm saying. People who study for the MCAT for 1 week and make a 37 or so probably dont study with undergraduate coursework, and probably dont study with medical school coursework either. MCAT is mostly a critical thinking test so strong memorization doesnt apply there.
 
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