Prefer to study alone or in groups?

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Do you prefer to study alone or in groups?

  • Alone

    Votes: 166 78.3%

  • Group

    Votes: 14 6.6%

  • Group, if and only if there is an attractive girl (or guy) in group

    Votes: 32 15.1%
  • Total voters
    212
2

218303

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I was wondering if you all liked to study alone or in groups better? The reason I ask is that I have a group of friends that all study together, except me. I just don't get much out of group study. We either end up talking all the time, or there is one slow person (sometimes me) that slows everybody else down.
 
Usually alone. Not because I like to, but because I have to.
 
I find group studying very worthless..... Most of the time it is just a social hour and nothing gets done. I usually move quickly through material and do more repetition than just slogging through it.

I do like to study with 1 or 2 other people, but by "studying with them" I mean being at the library or coffee shop together, only talking every once and a while to take a break or to clarify a topic (which happens only a handful of times throughout the time we study together). So it is basically studying alone but having someone you know sitting across or next to you. This usually ends up being the GF
 
I prefer to study alone.

I am a serial talker, and I know that when I am with a group, I easily distract.
 
I always study alone. I have never really understood what study groups do? We don't really have much of it going on over here, think it's more an American thing.
 
i study alone because i focus on what i need to focus on.

i don't mind helping other people out. i just need to have my own focused study time first.
 
One strategy that worked pretty well for me during 2nd year was to get together with a couple other students, spend some time studying independently (in the same room) and periodically take a break to go over something together or answer each other's questions. It was fun and helped us stay motivated, plus we learned things from each other that we probably would not have picked up on alone. If I had been on the ball, I might have done something like that all through 1st and 2nd year. We typically did this within the few days before exams which might not work for some people, but it probably would have helped to have couple of sessions periodically, rather than just before exams. I still did some studying on my own, of course.

Group learning isn't extremely efficient, but it is useful. Often you'll realize that you don't fully understand a concept when you try to explain it to someone else who doesn't understand it. It's great for review, not so good for a first pass.
 
I think the only time I've felt group study was worthwhile was during anatomy lab. When you can go through and point out everything to someone else and check them while they do the same, you know your stuff. Otherwise, I distract waaay too easy as it is that studying with other people around is just not valuable.

I think the poll here is likely to be skewed. The SDNers are more likely to be study loners otherwise we'd not be on here... we'd be talking with real people. 😉
 
I studied by myself but with a friend in the room. We didn't usually review things together or study even the same topic, but it made it less boring.
 
I definitely prefer alone also. I go faster and get more done. But I try to get some group stuff in to cover holes in my knowledge.
 
I usually study alone, but I don't really like it because I'm hyperactive, so I lose concentration pretty quickly.

Then again, studying in groups is pretty worthless too because most likely you won't get stuff done fast enough because one thing leads to another and in the end you're chatting about your dog, or what you ate last night 😉.

Finally, group studying would be best with a bunch of people you don't like. Since you will be more critical to them and thus you will get better/more discussions about specific subjects.
 
Alone if theres no exam in the near future. In group if there is exam.

And I dont have the luxury of having good looking people in my group since most of my friends are hideous.
 
One guy told me that it's absolutely impossible to cover all the material in MSI/MSII by yourself, and that's why group study is essential. In other words, some groups divy up the material, each person is responsible for making good notes on a particular section, then sharing with the rest of the members of the group.

Thoughts on this idea? Sounds interesting, but I'd be weary of depending on other peoples' notes. Do you agree that it's absolutely impossible to cover all of the material by oneself?
 
DrMetal said:
One guy told me that it's absolutely impossible to cover all the material in MSI/MSII by yourself, and that's why group study is essential. In other words, some groups divy up the material, each person is responsible for making good notes on a particular section, then sharing with the rest of the members of the group.

Thoughts on this idea? Sounds interesting, but I'd be weary of depending on other peoples' notes. Do you agree that it's absolutely impossible to cover all of the material by oneself?
Click to expand...

This idea makes no sense to me. How is it faster to have someone tell you the material than to just read it yourself?

There may be a handful of people I'd trust to cover a subject to my standards. Not enough to make a proper group, anyway. But I could still learn it faster/better by myself. For me, learning = concentration, which can only really happen when I'm by myself, in silence, with a book and without distraction.
 
I like to study alone, review in groups. I have to get most of the information down myself first then when I get into a group we can go over any questions we may have. It helps
 
I always study alone. I tend to start studying for an exam later than most of my classmates, so group study of material I may not have read yet is definitely not productive.

I've told myself that I'll start reviewing in groups, but I generally get so into studying during the last day or so before an exam that the few review groups I have tried really aren't able to match the pace. I also tend to favor reading over drawing diagrams or making study aides, so groups that focus on those are also a big no no for me.
 
Before med school: always studied alone.

Now: There's sooo much to study, that spending that much time alone seemed hazardous to my health. Seriously, though, I've become more of a group studier than before, though time spent studying alone is still more (and more efficient) than with a group, which has its own merits (socializing aside)...
 
TheProwler said:
I studied by myself but with a friend in the room. We didn't usually review things together or study even the same topic, but it made it less boring.
Click to expand...

I do this too. It's also good to occasionally share with each other interesting facts or dirty jokes about what we're studying.
 
Jwax said:
I think the only time I've felt group study was worthwhile was during anatomy lab. When you can go through and point out everything to someone else and check them while they do the same, you know your stuff. Otherwise, I distract waaay too easy as it is that studying with other people around is just not valuable.

I think the poll here is likely to be skewed. The SDNers are more likely to be study loners otherwise we'd not be on here... we'd be talking with real people. 😉
Click to expand...


I liked studying with another soul during anatomy lab (like u). I found it very useful going over new stuff in a couple of minutes, with a friend at hand and the real deal to prove us right/wrong. The material really sticks this way. But apart from that, I cannot study in groups because I want to know the material first before getting distracted/wasting time talking or even listening to an explanation not knowing whether s/he is fully correct in her/his interpretation. I did try doing groups but I just didn't like the way they approached the material....it probably worked for them but it didn't seem right for me. Unfortunately most people in my medschool study in a similar fashion....in groups, which leaves me to myself for the most part. And I am thankful for that 🙄

...I guess it all boils down to finding what works for you and gives you what you need.
 
DrMetal said:
One guy told me that it's absolutely impossible to cover all the material in MSI/MSII by yourself, and that's why group study is essential. In other words, some groups divy up the material, each person is responsible for making good notes on a particular section, then sharing with the rest of the members of the group.

Thoughts on this idea? Sounds interesting, but I'd be weary of depending on other peoples' notes. Do you agree that it's absolutely impossible to cover all of the material by oneself?
Click to expand...
that's the most absurd thing I've ever heard--it's not like you're filling out a worksheet/
 
I prefer groups of 2 to 3 @ starbucks or beaners!
 
Alone. Always.

Way too many distractions with group studying.
 
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