MS1 and MS2 with A and/or B average--please share your study method(s)

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Can some MS1 and MS2 who have been racking up As/Bs in med school share the way they have studied to get these grades? I am about to start med school and my friend who just finished MS2 told me he studies 5+ hours EVERYDAY just to be average in his class. That scare the bejesus out of me because it is hard for me to retain a lot info after studying for more than 6 hours...

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It's not how much you study it's how, and you can't say one way works for everyone. Some people can read and maintain a lot of info in their head and others need a audio/visual stimulus. And I can't explain how I study because it's different for what I'm studying exactly. For example if I'm learning a concept or memorizing something I tend to use different methods. But again it might not work for you. Honestly, in my opinion not everyone finds their niche early on. It takes awhile. Try different methods of studying and see what works.
 
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Your "6 hour" study limits are just illusions. Once you sit down and start studying 12+ hours a day your body and brain adapts
 
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This very much depends on the person. In any med school, there are some that can score average-above average with minimal studying and some that may need to invest more time/effort for the same result. And when I say more, I mean relatively speaking..not any absolute amount. In my experience however, really knowing the details backwards and forwards requires some extra effort, regardless of one's inherent acumen.

The material isn't very difficult to understand..it's just the volume you have to absorb in a condensed time frame. You'll adapt to this quickly.
 
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1) Get tons of advice from upperclassmen as well as your current classmates. Helps more than any random SDN advice can.

2) Always know your general schedule for the next few weeks. Don't get caught off guard.

3) Don't give up. I almost decided to give up on getting my gross grade up but decided to give it a 100% anyway despite the fact that I couldn't raise it even with a perfect in the next few modules. Turns out, there was a curve they never told us about (even on the syllabus), and I ended up with a grade higher than I expected. And don't half ass quizzes just because 'they're only worth 5 points.' You get a lot just by studying for them, and the points add up anyway.

4) Study your ass off, but to be honest, I've found most of the guys putting in crazy hours every day with no real breaks are the ones doing worst in the class. Balance is important. All bets are off week before exams, though. At the beginning of the year, I could only study for 4-5 hours before getting headaches bad enough that they prevented me from continuing. I worked through them, and at this point, I could pull 13-15 hours and have none whatsoever.

5) The endless surveys and mandatory sessions? Do them all. Even if they don't take attendance. Anything you do to piss someone off higher up than you or even a peer can screw you badly if they decide to report it.

6) Aim to do better than you think possible. You never regret working too hard, only too little. That being said, don't let falling short of expectations get to you, or you will be miserable for the rest of your life.

7) Shadow in first year in whatever you think sounds interesting. Do it in multiple specialties, not just the same one over and over. No residency will give a **** about shadowing, but it will help you figure things out a lot. Shadowing as a med student is way cooler than as a premed.

8) Always be clean shaven and very professional looking for those doctoring sessions. Those classes are usually graded on how your preceptor judges you. A bad impression is virtually impossible to fix in those classes. Also, volunteer to interview SPs when asked.

9) Go to lecture only if you feel you need it to keep on schedule. Otherwise, stay at home and do things at your own pace. I rarely watch lectures for most classes and just power through lecture notes/practice tests but always watch early in new classes. If I realize they test from details not in the notes, I start watching lectures at 2.0 speed. They say that just because you watch lectures at 2.0 speed doesn't mean you learn at 2.0 speed. That's true unless you have gone through the notes already and don't need to think about the details of what they're saying. Or if it's one of those really fluffy lectures.

10) If you preread for lectures, don't half ass it. Either go through the notes to learn them in detail or don't waste your time. Skimming lectures generally means you get nothing out of it.

11) Like Bruce Lee said, be like water. Adapt to each class. They're all different with different efficient ways to study for them. I have a general study method I use for new classes, and I adjust it from there for each class depending on how it's taught. For example, we have a group that goes into gross lab a week before exams and teaches each other everything we know. We found that teaching each other works really well for learning things for practicals. Throw out what doesn't work and experiment with what does. First year is easier than second year (according to 2nd years at my school, at least). First year is the time to figure out how to study most efficiently for everything so that you have those tools in the box for second year.

12) Don't study for Step 1. Don't buy USMLE World or anything else like that. Focus on learning first year material. Any time you spend going through Step 1 material is a complete waste of time. And yes, I know people in my class that are already studying for it.
 
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Anatomy is a completely different beast from all of the other blocks. Bottom line, just study, go to lab, memorize everything and survive. I think for the most part, people either love or hate anatomy, there is no middle ground.

For the other blocks (everything not anatomy) this is what I have generally been doing:
  • I go to lecture (most of the time), not necessarily paying close attention the whole time. I like to go so that I know generally what is going on in the class, and if I really don't understand something, it clues me into that; so that way I can prioritize that in my studying. I also would easily fall into the sleep till noon schedule if I didn't go.
  • On a week not before a test, I maybe study 1-3 hours outside of class per day. On the week of/before a test, this probably goes up to around 6-7 hours outside of class per day doing whatever I haven't really covered in depth and reviewing what I have studied.
  • Find out what kind of learner you are and use resources that play into that. For example I'm a huge visual and auditory learner, during those 1-3 hours of normal study time a day, I am using things like picmonic, pathoma, etc to get the information down. Some people prefer reading straight out of books, maybe that's more your style.
Good luck and relax some before school starts!
 
Can some MS1 and MS2 who have been racking up As/Bs in med school share the way they have studied to get these grades? I am about to start med school and my friend who just finished MS2 told me he studies 5+ hours EVERYDAY just to be average in his class. That scare the bejesus out of me because it is hard for me to retain a lot info after studying for more than 6 hours...

5+ hours everyday? To be average? Lol, peasant.









Truthfully it's going to depend on you and also your school's curriculum. I have friends at P/F with grades schools and their average exam scores are in the mid-80s. So the average person gets a B and the top 20% get As everytime. It's not that their whole class is particularly smart or hard working, it's just that their exams are written in a way that everyone gets high scores.

Don't read into your scores as much as your scores relative to your classmates. Even then, don't read much into that unless you're a serious gunner.
 
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Its pretty much how you individually learn but for me:

1. Start off Sunday by finding out which lectures I have Monday and watching last years lectures about the same thing and take notes.
2. I come to class on Monday and just listen to lecture.
3. Go home and review the days notes that I took when I watched the lectures the day before.
4. Then I find out which lectures I have the next day and watch last years lectures and take notes again.
5. Repeat for the week
6. Saturday I spend a couple hours reviewing the entire week.

Overall, I would say I'm involved in school from 8-7 with a 45 minute break in there to ride my bike. After 7, I play xbox, kick it with my wife / daughter and watch TV. Its not too bad
 
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+1 to the above posters who have mentioned that there is really no "golden bullet" method of studying that will work in every class for every person - how you study may vary from class to class, and obviously different methods will work for different people. So, take what you hear, maybe try it out for a few days, and don't be afraid to drop it and move on if it isn't working for you. Also, when you DO find something that works, don't change what you are doing just because someone else in your class is raving about a particular method or whatever of studying.

That said, my general study routine is something like: go to class (I've usually only got it for a few hours in the morning, and like lecture - if classes were from 8-5 pm, I likely wouldn't go...), take notes using OneNote, go home, and then make Anki cards for the lecture(s). Review those, make sure I've reviewed old cards, and I'm usually done by 5-7 pm. Other than reviewing my old Anki cards, I pretty much always take the weekends off, except right before a test on Monday or something.

Again, experiment with different methods, recall what worked for you and didn't work for you in undergrad, and go from there. Something will click eventually. If it doesn't, schools usually have some type of academic counseling available that might be helpful.
 
Can some MS1 and MS2 who have been racking up As/Bs in med school share the way they have studied to get these grades? I am about to start med school and my friend who just finished MS2 told me he studies 5+ hours EVERYDAY just to be average in his class. That scare the bejesus out of me because it is hard for me to retain a lot info after studying for more than 6 hours...

Does he/she go to a top tier school? That could be why he's all of a sudden "average". By the way, 5 hours every day for medical school basic sciences is nothing.
 
What are these dumb schools that give As/Bs?

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UTSW is one example. Probably low-ranked/not ranked schools as well.
 
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+1 to the above posters who have mentioned that there is really no "golden bullet" method of studying that will work in every class for every person - how you study may vary from class to class, and obviously different methods will work for different people. So, take what you hear, maybe try it out for a few days, and don't be afraid to drop it and move on if it isn't working for you. Also, when you DO find something that works, don't change what you are doing just because someone else in your class is raving about a particular method or whatever of studying.

That said, my general study routine is something like: go to class (I've usually only got it for a few hours in the morning, and like lecture - if classes were from 8-5 pm, I likely wouldn't go...), take notes using OneNote, go home, and then make Anki cards for the lecture(s). Review those, make sure I've reviewed old cards, and I'm usually done by 5-7 pm. Other than reviewing my old Anki cards, I pretty much always take the weekends off, except right before a test on Monday or something.

Again, experiment with different methods, recall what worked for you and didn't work for you in undergrad, and go from there. Something will click eventually. If it doesn't, schools usually have some type of academic counseling available that might be helpful.

off topic, but I feel really sad for the guy in your avatar. I always have the feels for the elderly, homeless.
 
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So everyone has been mentioning this, and I'll just preface my post as well by saying it is highly variable for different people. Some people are visual learners, some are auditory, some need to read things (me), others need to do things, etc. Regardless, I think there are some fundamental principles you need to have in your study routine that transcend learning styles

- efficiency: find out what your school focuses on. Usually this means watching the lectures at least once (ideally at 2x speed) if your lecturers write questions so you know what is important in their opinion. Know what is high-yield for your school (this will take a few exams for you to pick up on) and then know those topics extremely well. Don't just memorize lists/mindlessly read through powerpoints, but try to understand underlying concepts as much as you can. Efficiency overall will cut down on the time you need to study and leave you less prone to burn out, and likely make the hours you do study more worthwhile.

- repetition: I make sure I look at the material 3x before a quiz, and add a 4th time before the final exam. This is the sweet spot for me, some need more some need less. This is really not too hard to do if your school gives you a reasonable amount of material per day

- not falling behind: it is easy to do, particularly if you work from home. I have a few hard and fast rules that absolutely must happen for a given day before I go to bed. I have to watch the lectures once, and review them once. That's it. On the weekends I have to make one pass through that week's material. That's it. Doing this is not a huge time commitment and guarantees 3 passes through the material in that first week that you have been exposed to it, reinforcing ideas while they are still fresh and helping you have a foundation for the next weeks material.

So as a case study, for me: I wake up whenever I feel like it and watch the lectures at 2x. We have a max of 4 lectures per day = 2 hrs of time. Sometime later that day I review all these lectures to really learn the materials and use google/wikipedia to make sure I have a good understanding of the important concepts/things that were unclear from lecture = 2-4 hours of time. The rest of the day is taken up by required events at school or free time to do hobbies, chill, etc. On weekends I review what we learned in the past week. For finals I count back from the day of the test and review one week of material per day up until the test, supplementing with First aid and pathoma to really hit high yield board info since our finals are NBME questions. Just what works for me, maybe it will help someone.
 
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Does he/she go to a top tier school? That could be why he's all of a sudden "average". By the way, 5 hours every day for medical school basic sciences is nothing.
He goes to a mid tier (average MCAT score 32). He was very lay back in undergrad, but still got good grades... Now he tells me that he is studying 5+ hours/day just to be the average Joe with low-to-mid 80s... That is scary!
 
He goes to a mid tier (average MCAT score 32). He was very lay back in undergrad, but still got good grades... Now he tells me that he is studying 5+ hours/day just to be the average Joe with low-to-mid 80s... That is scary!

Honestly, 5 hours a day is not enough for the volume of stuff you get in medical school, if you want an "A" or "Honors. He was one of those who had an easy time in undergrad which doesn't translate to medical school. I'm of the firm belief that if you had a "harder" undergraduate experience, then medical school is much less of a shock.
 
studying 5+ hours/day just to be the average Joe with low-to-mid 80s... That is scary!

I agree with @DermViser, 5 hours a day is absolutely nothing if you want to be at the top of your class. Every school, regardless of rank, is going to have people that just put in insane hours of time to get what they want.

If you are expecting to finish at the top by putting in 5 hours a day, you're going to have a bad time.
 
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Honestly, 5 hours a day is not enough for the volume of stuff you get in medical school, if you want an "A" or "Honors. He was one of those who had an easy time in undergrad which doesn't translate to medical school. I'm of the firm belief that if you had a "harder" undergraduate experience, then medical school is much less of a shock.
I don't think he had it easier in undergrad because some of the classes (biochem, genetics, Orgo, P-Chem) were notoriously difficult, but he did well on them. He is more of an analytical guy than 'memorization' (so to speak)... Maybe med school is more memorization than 'analyzing' things....
 
I don't think he had it easier in undergrad because some of the classes (biochem, genetics, Orgo, P-Chem) were notoriously difficult, but he did well on them. He is more of an analytical guy than 'memorization' (so to speak)... Maybe med school is more memorization than 'analyzing' things....

This applies to coursework in the first 2 years only, as you're taking multiple choice exams, mainly. But like I said, if he's only putting in 5 hours of studying each day, that's really not enough to get an "A" or "Honors" bc you need more mental passes to commit the information to memory.
 
This applies to coursework in the first 2 years only, as you're taking multiple choice exams, mainly. But like I said, if he's only putting in 5 hours of studying each day, that's really not enough to get an "A" or "Honors" bc you need more mental passes to commit the information to memory.
Oh boy! I will probably have a hard time since I can not retain that much after studying for more than 6 hours...
 
Oh boy! I will probably have a hard time since I can not retain that much after studying for more than 6 hours...

I didn't say 6 hours at a stretch with no breaks. Also, a lot of your schedule in the first 2 years will be dependent on how modernized your school is: i.e. videotaping lectures, non-mandatory attendance, etc.
 
I didn't say 6 hours at a stretch with no breaks. Also, a lot of your schedule in the first 2 years will be dependent on how modernized your school is: i.e. videotaping lectures, non-mandatory attendance, etc.
I know... I usually do 2-hour at a time with 15-20 minutes break in b/t... I guess I will have to find some ways to get As/Bs...
 
Maybe med school is more memorization than 'analyzing' things....

Here's my take on it... the most gifted people in med school have a potential that is admittedly higher than mine. However, your intelligence only takes you so far because in order to even get to the point of tackling certain questions that would utilize your intelligence or analytical skills, you have to know a huge level of detail. There's a colossal memorization component and no matter how smart you are, you have to put in the hours to learn the detail. This is especially true for the basic sciences.

The people that do the best are very smart AND put in a serious amount of hours.

Oh boy! I will probably have a hard time since I can not retain that much after studying for more than 6 hours...

Don't worry, that will all change once you start anatomy :nod:

Being an ex-athlete, I've likened the experience thus far to be a lot like training in the off-season. Suddenly, a couple months into your regimen, you realize that you are a lot stronger, bigger, and faster than you were a few months prior. The same is true in med school - you become more efficient, memorize faster, and learn how to synthesize information more effectively.
 
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you don't have to be a genius to do well on the tests/shelfs. You just need to put time in and know what works best for you honestly.
 
is B a good grade in med school? our average is 85. I want to say 60-70% of our class gets Bs or higher. Not really a good grade at my school.
 
There's nothing wrong with being average among a group of smart peers. Like people have said time and again, pretty much everyone in your med school class did well in undergrad and is motivated to do well in medical school. 5 hours a day really isn't anything. That translates to 35 hours a week, including weekends! On average, the people in your class will study at least that much, so if you do the same, you will most likely score average relative to everyone else.

Edit: But don't worry OP, like others have said, you will adapt and figure out how you learn most effectively! I've always found taking a short nap helps me after I've been studying for a while and nothing seems to be sinking in, so that's one idea!
 
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Lol at these fascist schools still giving letter grades. I can only imagine how many prescriptions were written for something that ended in "-pram", "-pam" or "-ine" as a direct result of that policy.


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Lol at these fascist schools still giving letter grades. I can only imagine how many prescriptions were written for something that ended in "-pram", "-pam" or "-ine" as a direct result of that policy.

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Letter grades or Honors/High Pass/Satisfactory Pass/Marginal Pass/Fail.

Of course, you have many of the Stockholm Syndrome students who say they "study better for Step 1" bc of having grades (a.k.a. lying), when it's really it's to gain a higher rank (not that there is anything wrong with the latter, but be honest).
 
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Just wanted to let you guys know that 3rd year is the only time I'm going to put in 100% effort.
 
P's = MD's

I hate that saying.

Passing med school gets you a set of initials but does not get you your specialty of choice, program of choice, or a spot in your location of choice. It's an obscenely competitive process.
 
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So what would be "desirable" grades then? If a student has mostly High Passes, is that considered a problem?

To stay on topic: I've been using Anki for most of my studying. It's been extremely helpful.
 
Just wanted to let you guys know that 3rd year is the only time I'm going to put in 100% effort.

Effort has nothing to do with 3rd year grades doggie
 
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Just wanted to let you guys know that 3rd year is the only time I'm going to put in 100% effort.

Yeah, well good luck with that. Your 3rd year grades are not proportional to "effort".
 
How so? Didn't say I was going to blow off medical school.

P's = MD's

P = MD, but MD =/= residency, esp. in this residency matching environment now.

There's a reason why cliche medical school sayings are ridiculous. Here's another ridiculous cliche: 2 months for USMLE Step 1, 2 weeks for USMLE Step 2, and No. 2 pencil for USMLE Step 3. Hardly true, but sounds good to the naïve mind. If it's too good to be true, it is.
 
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I hate that saying.

Passing med school gets you a set of initials but does not get you your specialty of choice, program of choice, or a spot in your location of choice. It's an obscenely competitive process.

And that's getting to be for nearly all specialties at this point, not just the "competitive" ones.
 
I'm in the top quintile of my class, and I, at most, put in maybe 1-2 hours of studying a day, if even that. Some days, I just say fuk it and don't do anything besides watch lectures. I can put in the heavy hours before exams, pass them with flying colors, and retain most of the information long-term. The number of hours you need to study largely depends on your individual skill sets and your efficiency. One person's 5 hour/day studying may not be equivalent to another's 5 hour/day. Some people study all day long because they aren't efficienct (e.g. Facebook breaks every 10 minutes).

What I personally do is focus on understanding the concepts first and foremost. Once I get that down, I work on the nitty-gritty details that may be easily forgotten. Use the concepts as a framework to stick the details on. For detail work, I've heavily relied on Anki, a spaced repetition flash card program. Also, kill all your distractions. I'm infamous in my friend circles as a Facebook ***** so I've used apps like StayFocusd to keep myself from time-wasting sites.

With that said, I need to get back to Step 1 studying. :lame:
 
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I'm in the top quintile of my class, and I, at most, put in maybe 1-2 hours of studying a day, if even that. Some days, I just say fuk it and don't do anything besides watch lectures. I can put in the heavy hours before exams, pass them with flying colors, and retain most of the information long-term. The number of hours you need to study largely depends on your individual skill sets and your efficiency. One person's 5 hour/day studying may not be equivalent to another's 5 hour/day. Some people study all day long because they aren't efficienct (e.g. Facebook breaks every 10 minutes).

What I personally do is focus on understanding the concepts first and foremost. Once I get that down, I work on the nitty-gritty details that may be easily forgotten. Use the concepts as a framework to stick the details on. For detail work, I've heavily relied on Anki, a spaced repetition flash card program. Also, kill all your distractions. I'm infamous in my friend circles as a Facebook ***** so I've used apps like StayFocusd to keep myself from time-wasting sites.

With that said, I need to get back to Step 1 studying. :lame:

I don't know how your curriculum is structured or how many hours of lectures you have daily, but you are DEFINITELY not the norm for most people. Most people here are talking about 5 hours of actual studying, not just 5 hours of sitting at a desk. Very few people can pull off only 1-2 hrs of studying daily and still be at the top of the class.
 
I don't know how your curriculum is structured or how many hours of lectures you have daily, but you are DEFINITELY not the norm for most people. Most people here are talking about 5 hours of actual studying, not just 5 hours of sitting at a desk. Very few people can pull off only 1-2 hrs of studying daily and still be at the top of the class.

We have block scheduling at my school, so I'm tackling one preclinical science course at a time. By the way, I didn't factor in lecture watching as part of my studying time. I watch lectures at home and, on average, we have 3-4 hours of lecture per day. Since I watch them at least at double speed, that comes out ~2 more hours. Add that to my study time, and it comes out to around 4 hours a day needed, on average.

I do agree that I'm probably not the norm lol.
 
We have block scheduling at my school, so I'm tackling one preclinical science course at a time. By the way, I didn't factor in lecture watching as part of my studying time. I watch lectures at home and, on average, we have 3-4 hours of lecture per day. Since I watch them at least at double speed, that comes out ~2 more hours. Add that to my study time, and it comes out to around 4 hours a day needed, on average.

I do agree that I'm probably not the norm lol.

you must have some sort of photographic memory, or some supernatural powers. I wish i was in the top quintile with 1-2 horus of studying… a little jelly but good for you
 
We have block scheduling at my school, so I'm tackling one preclinical science course at a time. By the way, I didn't factor in lecture watching as part of my studying time. I watch lectures at home and, on average, we have 3-4 hours of lecture per day. Since I watch them at least at double speed, that comes out ~2 more hours. Add that to my study time, and it comes out to around 4 hours a day needed, on average.

I do agree that I'm probably not the norm lol.

Dude even at 2 speed it takes just as long as going to class because I'm pausing, going back to hear what they said or to look things up. I learn better at my own speed but I also take a lot more breaks.
 
Dude even at 2 speed it takes just as long as going to class because I'm pausing, going back to hear what they said or to look things up. I learn better at my own speed but I also take a lot more breaks.

When I first started watching lecture podcasts, I was working with 1.5x speed because anything faster than that was too much for me to comprehend at once. But, I started to up the dose, slowly going up in speed little by little once my tolerance started to grow. Towards the end of 2nd year, I was able to push speeds up to 3.2x, which to everyone else sounds like garbled junk, but for me, I'm forced to be super attentive or else I've just missed a whole point. Of course, the speed at which I listened to a lecture strongly depended on how quickly the lecturer taught. In actuality, I'd range between 2.5-3.0x. But I'd keep my fingers on the fine speed adjustment hotkeys at all times to adjust it as needed and on the fly.

Also, I've shied away from pausing lectures to much because it kills my flow. I feel like I retain much more information from a lecturer if I focus on actively listening to it rather than punctuating it with multiple breaks where I'm fiddling with slides. My annotations are little and only cover major points unless the lecturer is truly terrible. I'm content with missing minutiae here and there, and only if I have a burning question do I rewind and re-listen at a slower speed.
 
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