Med School Course Load

Started by TxRunner
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TxRunner

TxRunner

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I am currently taking Organic 2, Anatomy and Physiology 2 and a biology course along with the MCAT Princeton Review course. With all of these classes combined, I am studying or in class for about 12 hours a day. Realistically how does this compare to the work load in Medical School with regards to time commitment required. Thanks for any input- I just want to know if I will actually be able to take time out to run and such, so please don't turn this in to a dispute over course content or difficulty!
 
I'd say if you averaged 12 hours a day over a whole semester, time-wise you would be WELL ahead of most students. Or your head would explode.
The only times I've had to cut into my free time (workout time), I made bad choices several weeks before and it was simply time to pay the piper.
I do think, however, that the volume of material you will be asked to fit into those 12 hours is what makes it different. The pace cannot be overstated. But then, I'm not very smart. Which is okay, considering nothing is HARD, there is just a ****load of it.

Oh, I found time to train for a half-mary, which is on Sunday...I missed a few too many runs this past round of tests, so my 1:45 goal has turned into "finish, don't permanently damage anything, and don't be last..."

You'll have more time than you think, depending on how important it is for you to be #1 in your class.
 
hey, I'm an M1 student and this has been talked about quite a bit over in the allopathic forums. Maybe I'll do a search for ya and find some links in a minute.
12 hours a day seems like an aweful lot of study time to be putting in during undergrad....
Anyway, its difficult to tell you how much time you'll put into med school, although I have a hard time seeing it being more than 12 hours a day. I'd plan on 8-10 hours a day plus a 6-8 hour day on the weekend. Nearly all med students find time to do things that they value (i.e. exercise).
Weeks before tests tend to be more time intensive than other weeks. Some people also require a lot more time studying than others (there are quite a few people over on allo that will claim you shouldn't have to study more than 4-6 hours a day).
Some will depend on what type of school you attend and how much attendance is required. Many people do not attend lectures and so if a person was in a lecture only school and they didn't attend lectures, they would rarely have to even go to the school. A person who has a lot of required attendance items (i.e. PBL) might end up requiring more school time.
 
TxRunner said:
I am currently taking Organic 2, Anatomy and Physiology 2 and a biology course along with the MCAT Princeton Review course. With all of these classes combined, I am studying or in class for about 12 hours a day. Realistically how does this compare to the work load in Medical School with regards to time commitment required. Thanks for any input- I just want to know if I will actually be able to take time out to run and such, so please don't turn this in to a dispute over course content or difficulty!
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From my experience, the schedule in med school varies widely depending on the time of year and proximity to exams. I didn't have the sustained daily studying you describe as an MSI/II, it was more extended periods of casual reading (couple hours a day) punctuated with a couple weeks of hardcore studying before major tests.

For what it's worth, I worked far harder as a freshman/sophomore in college than I did as a pre-clinical med student.
 
Thank you so much everyone! I was kinda worried about how people were going to reply to this thread. The Princeton Review along with 6hrs of class a day is what is really filling out the 12 hour time frame. Good luck to Mr. Freeze on Sunday!
 
TxRunner said:
Thank you so much everyone! I was kinda worried about how people were going to reply to this thread. The Princeton Review along with 6hrs of class a day is what is really filling out the 12 hour time frame. Good luck to Mr. Freeze on Sunday!
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That was probably a well-founded concern. There can be a lot of dinguses here. I pretend to be one, but you caught me in a transitional period...
 
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