if you don't go to class, what is your daily schedule like??

[drjeni2b]

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I am about to start the 2nd semester of my 2nd yr and am debating not going to class at all. i'm hoping this will free up more time to study for classes and incorporate more studying for the boards. If you don't go to class, what's your daily schedule like (please be detailed!)🙂

 

[deleted109597]

Uh, this was a couple years ago, but I'll shoot.

Wake up around noon.
Surf the internet for about 4 hours.
If there is a test in the next 5 days, read for it.

When Step I came around, school was already over by a month. So I just read every day after I woke up. Usually for about 6-7 hours.

 

[dynx]

I am about to start the 2nd semester of my 2nd yr and am debating not going to class at all. i'm hoping this will free up more time to study for classes and incorporate more studying for the boards. If you don't go to class, what's your daily schedule like (please be detailed!)🙂

Pre-third year my schedule was something like:

9am wake up
10am Gym
noon - lunch
1pm-5:30pm or so, reading
6pm dinner
movies, drinking, football, video games etc

Modify as exam time approaches but if you read 4 or 5 hours a day you dont need to cram much. Just make sure you read EVERY day, if there is no new material, review stuff. There is not that much material covered in a day, you can always cover a day of class and review old stuff each day with that type of repitition memorization is easy.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Five hours of random crap, five hours of school. Pretty much my day in a nutshell.

 

[Sophie]

Wow I'm envious of the above posters. I still go to some classes - a few are required, and I like going to pathology and path labs. I avoid the majority of classes, and on the days when I don't have required classes my schedule goes something like this:

8am: wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc
9am - ~12pm: read the lecture handouts for the day
12pm: lunch
12:30pm - ~8:00pm: go over yesterday's lecture handouts in detail, writing out the answers to all of the listed learning objectives and any details I think are important
8:00pm: dinner
9:00pm - 12:00am: read tomorrow's lecture handouts if I'm going to classes tomorrow. If not, goof off, talk to housemates, watch TV, talk to fiance.
12:00am: go to sleep

 

[SoCuteMD]

7:30 - wake up, shower, make coffee
8:30 - drive to school
9:15-12:30 - study
12:30-1:00 - lunch
1:00-3:30 - mandatory stuff at least 2x a week, usually 3
4:00-7:30 - study, prep for small groups
7:30-9:30 - home, cook dinner, eat, relax
9:30-11:30 - study
11:30-12:10 - an hour of TV cut down to 40 mins courtesy of TiVo 🙂
12:15 - bed

 

[mules05]

I NEVER go to class except for review sessions/mandatory stuff. Typical day for me:
6 or 7: wake up, shower, walk to school
8-12 study
12-1 If I'm lucky, free lunch from some student group!
1-4ish study
I'll go home when I start to lose steam (usually around 4, but sometimes I can go till 7 or so) and eat dinner, watch tv, hang out with friends, do laundry, etc.
I also tend to work hardest at the start of a block, and NOT cram the week of the test. I went to class during first year, and struggled to pass. This year I'm doing so much better, and it seems like I'm putting in less effort because I'm studying when I'm at my best (for me, that's early morning) and really making sure I'm focused when I'm studying. I also like that self-studying lets me organize the material the way I want- I'll read through all of the class material for a 3 or 4 week block in the first week, then begin reviewing (rather than read one lecture, review it, review it again, and really try to have it down before moving on, which I've found doesn't work as well for me).

Since not going to class has been the best thing I've ever done, I'm a huge proponent of anyone trying it out, especially if you don't feel that you're learning well from lecture. It doesn't work for everyone and it takes a lot of self-motivation and self-discipline, but for me the improved grades and reduced stress has definitely been worth it.

 

[lord_jeebus]

Those were the days...

MS1/MS2 Algorithm:

Test tomorrow?

No:

Wake up at noon
Lunch
Afternoon: Waste time online
Dinner
Evening: TV, Playstation, more internet
Go to bed at 2 AM

Yes:

8AM: Wake up
Morning: Panic
Lunch
Afternoon: Panic
Dinner
Evening: Panic
Midnight: Swear to establish regular study schedule

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Those were the days...

MS1/MS2 Algorithm:

Test tomorrow?

No:

Wake up at noon
Lunch
Afternoon: Waste time online
Dinner
Evening: TV, Playstation, more internet
Go to bed at 2 AM

Yes:

8AM: Wake up
Morning: Panic
Lunch
Afternoon: Panic
Dinner
Evening: Panic
Midnight: Swear to establish regular study schedule

Mine looks a lot like this, only I work in the evenings.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

did you guys finally get through all the porn on the interweb?

 

[MadameLULU]

If I didn't go to class, chances are that I was very behind. So, when I finally wised up and started to study I spent the time that I would have been in lecture, watching previous lectures that I didn't attend (they're online), at the gym, or just studying.

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

Exam in more than 1 week: (mon-thursday)

9am wake up
9-11: waste time on the internet, eat breakfast
11-2: work out, waste more time on the internet, eat lunch, shower
2-6: study
6-7: dinner
7-10/11: study
11-12: waste more time on the internet/drink with my friends

Exam in less than 1 week:

8 am wake up
8-11 work out, eat breakfast, shower
11-2 study
2-3 lunch
3-12: panicked studying

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

Wake up between 9-noon depending if I have any non-class responsibilities in the morning/afternoon.
12-8/9pm: A mix of studying, screwing around, and talking to people.
Then I come home, eat dinner, exercise, then watch TV/play video games until I hit the sack.

Exam study sessions are similar except just add more anxiety and later studying.

 

[DarksideAllstar]

7am Wake up, eat breakfast, make coffee
8-12: Cover that day's lecture materials, usually could review the notes twice in this time span
12-1: Lunch with some Comedy Central thrown in
1-4: A required Path lab 2x per week, otherwise review previous day's material
4-5ish: Hit the gym, check out the ladies in the Spinning class
5-Midnight: Any possible combination of dinner, TV, a movie, hanging with some friends from class and playin PS2, going to bars, etc. The only set thing I had going on was Chapelle's show at 10:30. If there was a test coming up I would limit myself to a couple of hours of TV around dinner time and study the rest of the night.

I thought it was great. I was able to honor every one of my classes during 2nd year vs only about 1/2 of them 1st year when I attended class pretty regularly. Definitely learned more studying on my own. The only sucky part was the adjustment to having to be at the hospital and on someone else's schedule during 3rd year.

 

[tchantel21]

During 1st yr, my formula was pretty much this...

*awake= studying

As a second yr, I find that the 1st few days of a course (our courses are 2-3 weeks long) often involve no meaningful activity before 1:00. However, at times when there is an appreciable cushion between this post-exam laziness and the impending exam, my schedule will briefly take on the appearance of a moderately tempered balance of the normal activities of life and serious study as follows:

10:30 - wake up
11:00 12:30 - random gestalt-type study: brs/first aid/syllabus
1:00-4:00 - a)Required stuff 2-3 times wkly
b) Otherwise lunch and study
4:00- 6:00 - shopping of some sort, phone calls, dinner, pre-study cleaning (an OCD-esque ritual I guess). I call it pre-study b/c after this is the "serious" study session
7:00-10:00 - "structured" study- listening to recorded lectures
11:00- 2:00 - waste time on phone and/or internet...and look @ that...I'm right on schedule 🙂

*As a second yr, I find that exam week looks a lot like 1st year.

 

[mrs.smith]

I was able to honor every one of my classes during 2nd year vs only about 1/2 of them 1st year when I attended class pretty regularly. Definitely learned more studying on my own.

Are you saying you may have done even better 1st year by not going to class or was this only possible in 2nd year? Does UCSF have lecture podcasts or just lecture notes online?

 

[Tired]

8:00a - alarm goes off
8:30a - snooze cycle finally runs out
12:00p - get out of bed, shower, dress
12:30p - crap, read medical books
1:30p - move studying out of bathroom to living room
2:00p - give up on studying, watch re-run of Judge Judy
3:00p - order pizza
4:00p - crap again, call the boys
5:00p - Happy Hour
8:00p - Happy Hour ends, use "well, I'm already pretty drunk" as excuse to keep drinking
2:00a - bars close, wander home, throw up
3:00a - optimistically set alarm for 8:00a, thinking "five hours is plenty of sleep"

lather, rinse, repeat . . . ah, those were the days

 

[D30417995]

just wanna join in 🙂

After finishing first year, i'm still struggling with time management, still trying to fit weight lifting and piano playing everyday into my study schedule and man, it's hard.

 

[D30417995]

so most people here sleep at around midnight?

 

[DarksideAllstar]

Are you saying you may have done even better 1st year by not going to class or was this only possible in 2nd year? Does UCSF have lecture podcasts or just lecture notes online?

I think I probably would have done better during first year had I skipped all the non-required classes. My learning style (reading, taking notes, and reviewing) is such that it was (and is) a waste for me to go to lecture, but during 1st year I felt compelled to go to every class bc everyone else was. I learned what works for me. BTW, I am not a UCSF student so I cant comment legitimately, but my roommate was and he had a huge notebook-bound paper syllabus that he used to tote around (this was 5 yrs ago, the first year of their "new" curriculum). Not sure what they are doing now for lecture notes/materials.

 

[DarksideAllstar]

so most people here sleep at around midnight?

First two years, I would probably crash around that time. Third year, typically whenever I got home. Fourth year I usually come home from the bar around 2am or so

 

[Edison]

First two years, I would probably crash around that time. Third year, typically whenever I got home. Fourth year I usually come home from the bar around 2am or so

that's a real consolation for me; you made me really look forward to starting my rotations 😉

 

[Guyton Killah]

that's a real consolation for me; you made me really look forward to starting my rotations 😉

😀😀😀 Surf the net, 24-7😀😀😀 Maybe I could take advantage of the economic recession, lols!

 

[apricotattack]

During 1st yr, my formula was pretty much this...

*awake= studying

As a second yr, I find that the 1st few days of a course (our courses are 2-3 weeks long) often involve no meaningful activity before 1:00. However, at times when there is an appreciable cushion between this post-exam laziness and the impending exam, my schedule will briefly take on the appearance of a moderately tempered balance of the normal activities of life and serious study as follows:

10:30 - wake up
11:00 12:30 - random gestalt-type study: brs/first aid/syllabus
1:00-4:00 - a)Required stuff 2-3 times wkly
b) Otherwise lunch and study
4:00- 6:00 - shopping of some sort, phone calls, dinner, pre-study cleaning (an OCD-esque ritual I guess). I call it pre-study b/c after this is the "serious" study session
7:00-10:00 - "structured" study- listening to recorded lectures
11:00- 2:00 - waste time on phone and/or internet...and look @ that...I'm right on schedule 🙂

*As a second yr, I find that exam week looks a lot like 1st year.

you are the only realistic person on here, or at least the only truthful one.

I'm an M1. Awake = studying.

 

[coldweatherblue]

uhh.. when it's a long time before exams it's something like:

wake up, hang out at home. go to beach if conditions are good, skate, be outside, ??? profit. maybe study?

now we have exams so it's:

wake up, curse for having been so lazy the past month, study 4 hours at home, go to coffee shop, study 4 more hours, walk out in daze, go home, promise that next time I won't procrastinate so bad, study 3 more hours? eat? sleep..

 

[UnderdogMD]

you are the only realistic person on here, or at least the only truthful one.

I'm an M1. Awake = studying.

Not really. Being in the top of the class is one thing and just passing is another. Everybody doesn't study all the time. There are those in my class that study almost every waking moment (as you describe) and those who are lucky to get in 2-3 hrs of studying a day (that end up cramming).

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Class 9-noon. Lab noon to 5.

 

[bodonid]

I haven't studied in a week (wasn't ready for spring break to end). I studied for eight hours yesterday, four hours today, and now I know more than the people I studied with tonight. And I didn't go to 11 hours of class that week. Life is good. 😎 (but we are on psych/neuro and it is prob our easiest module)

 

[apricotattack]

Not really. Being in the top of the class is one thing and just passing is another. Everybody doesn't study all the time. There are those in my class that study almost every waking moment (as you describe) and those who are lucky to get in 2-3 hrs of studying a day (that end up cramming).

erm, i'm just passing.