M1 Question: How many hours per day/week do you have free?

[Noirukiddingme]

I understand that it varies, but I'd like to get a rough idea of how many hours everyone has free per day and week. I'd like to reiterate that I understand it varies based on a number of factors. I'm an incoming M1 and, from what I hear, I will have class roughly 9 - 5, an hour for dinner, then study 6 - 9 or 10 (some say only till 8, but im not planning on that). Just curious.

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[turkeyjerky]

wow, class 9-5? sounds like a terrible system.

we usually have class from 8-12 in the morning, an hour for lunch (which I study during), maybe two hours of lab in the afternoon, then I'll study for 2-3 hours after that. Done by 5 or 6 most days.

I'll also study for about 6 hours one day on the weekend and take the other day off.

 

[penguin24]

I think the 8-5 includes the afternoon labs, which usually end around 3pm, but occasionally go to 5pm. The OP is close to the avg med student from what I have observed. If you want better grades, add a couple hrs/day. If you don't worry about silly A's, deduct a couple hrs/day.

The weekends are variable, some ppl take weekends off, some one day, some don't take any. Obviously, the more you study, the better your grades. However, if you have a burning desire to be a Family doctor, then it would be dumb to study day & night for straight A's & a 260 Step 1. I would say that the avg med student studies 1 day on the weekend & takes the other off, except for before tests, when they study both days. But then, after the test, the avg joe takes the whole weekend off, so it balances out

 

[lildave2586]

The beauty of the first two years is that you have as much or as little free time as you want. It all depends on how much of the material you want to learn. If you want to learn it all, then study every minute your awake and you might be able to (but probably not). Most people shoot for a lot less than that. For your first block, make a schedule and stick to it. If you fail block one then reasses your study plan and devote more time to studying. It's as easy as that.

 

[45408]

most of M1 didn't take more than 8-10 hours of my day, IIRC. I certainly had some really, really busy weeks, but I also had some weeks where I didn't do anything. We had blocks of exams, so right after the exams finished (and I'd been studying 60 hours a week), then I'd take an entire week off.

 

[coldweatherblue]

test week + week before test week = study 8-12 hours a day.

other weeks = maybe an hour or two of class/study time total, the rest of the day was free.

 

[WellWornLad]

You'll see a huge range of responses. Some people on here claim they study 8-10 hours outside of lecture every day. Others say only a few hours over the weekend. It really does depend on how smart you are and how ambitious you are.

On average, the preclinical years are probably equivalent to having a full-time job, 40-50 hours a week. Of course, you usually have a lot more flexibility as to where and when you spend those hours than you would at a job, which is nice.

I will have class roughly 9 - 5, an hour for dinner, then study 6 - 9 or 10 (some say only till 8, but im not planning on that).

If I were you, I'd pray that attendance isn't mandatory.

 

[psipsina]

For M1 and M2 I didn't go to lecture (except anatomy since I had to be there for lab right afterwards anyway). At the beginning of the block I'd get a solid 4 hours a day of studying escalating to 12-15 hours a day for the two weeks before block exams. Up until the two weeks before exams I took of Sundays as a date day with my husband.

 

[a winner is you]

From what I remember from first year, test week I studied around 12 hours a day and the week before that, maybe around 6-7 hours a day. The rest of the time, I didn't go to class and didn't study at all.

 

[mq123]

I will have class roughly 9 - 5

Same at my school . Afternoons were either lectures or small group sessions for a clinical clerkship course. Or when we were in anatomy and had lab, then lab would be in mornings and lectures in the afternoons.

From what I remember from first year, test week I studied around 12 hours a day and the week before that, maybe around 6-7 hours a day. The rest of the time, I didn't go to class and didn't study at all.

I think that's pretty much what the majority does at my school also (including myself). No studying at all really in the 2 weeks after a test, and then eating, breathing, and living for the test in the week before . i told myself I would start early EVERY time just so I wouldn't be time-crunched at the end, but never really did it. And it worked just fine.

 

[montessori2md]

I'd say what folks here are posting jives w/ what I see at my school. Anatomy was worst for me, I'd say I was putting in 12-14 hour days, 4 days/wk, and then maybe 1/2 days (4-6, depending on how soon the exam was) the other 3 days. But a lot of anatomy was not "studying" b/c lab was mostly just cutting and randomness (looking for stuff, looking for faculty to confirm) and maybe 15% actually learning.

The rest of the year was basically 40-60 hours/week (weekends included), with the number of hours varying based on whether I was taking an elective, how hard the material was, required non-useful crap I had to do, blah blah blah.

 

[VoiceofReason]

hopefully class isn't mandatory, if it is then i suggest prereading to get the most out of the lectures.

i didnt have to go to class and honestly i spent anywhere between none and 5 hours on any given day but averaged about 3 a day and i did fine.

 

[League54]

SKIP CLASS, study 5.5 hours a day, and 8-12+ hours a day the week before a test. If you go to class you're going to put in 10 hours a day minimum. If you want a life, don't go to class.