Should one attend class?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Dr Dazzle

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
916
Reaction score
28
What is the consensus? I know it has to do with a personal preference too. However, what are your guys pros and cons on going to lecture versus listening to audio? Especially those that decided to go with one over the other.
 
In retrospect I would have gone to class unless your school has Kaplan like recorded ppt's with audio and annotations. My school was inconsistent with videos but had scribes, however thought my eyes were going to bleed out after reading 40+ pages of transcribed lectures along with any lecture notes and/or Robbin readings.
 
Must be nice to choose! This year KCUMB has a mandatory attendance policy. We will see how it pans out...
 
No one is going to be able to answer that question for you except you. Sorry, bro. No short cuts on this one. Just try everything up front and triage according to your performance.

I spent first semester attending class. I did respectable, above average but not top quartile. Second semester I decided that streaming lectures at double speed was the way to go. I dropped to below average, sometimes considerably so. I was in denial all the way until our last final, when I dutifully attended every lecture. Boom, top quartile 🙄 Just keep in mind that what works for most people may not necessarily work for you.
 
My school doesn't even have a lecture hall big enough to fit the whole class at once. I'll be attending lectures for the first few weeks of new classes. After that, I'll just watch everything at home at 1.5-2.0 times speed.

Go to lectures if you need discipline. If you are self disciplined, then it's not really necessary.
 
Not only does it depend on the person, it depends on the course, even down to the lecturers. I attended the majority of classes for anatomy, embryology/cell bio, neuro, and psych because they had pretty good lecturers and I was interested and able to stay awake in class. I skipped pretty much all of biochem and immuno, and all of the non-science courses like biostat, ethics, and behavioral med. My school does audio recorded lecture with the PowerPoint so it's not a big deal to miss class, but you definitely have to be more disciplined with keeping up on your own. Just try it out, you'll figure out what works for you.
 
I am not a morning person. Therefore I couldn't be functional enough to get anything out of lecture at 8 in the morning.

Therefore, I didn't go to class.
 
Go to class for a week. Then the next week, don't go to class. See which works better for you. If you feel like you're wasting time in class, then don't go. If you feel constantly behind at home, or you're not learning well on your own, then start attending lecture.

YOU won't know what works for YOU until YOU try it out for YOURSELF.
 
Go to class for a week. Then the next week, don't go to class. See which works better for you. If you feel like you're wasting time in class, then don't go. If you feel constantly behind at home, or you're not learning well on your own, then start attending lecture.

YOU won't know what works for YOU until YOU try it out for YOURSELF.

or watch the lectures at 1.5~2x speed in the comfort of your home
good advice though
 
In general, attending class worked better for me. I'm not disciplined enough to wake myself up in the morning to study, but I can wake myself up for class. I found myself remembering things because I remembered the "setting" - I could remember hearing something and seeing the teacher and the slides that went with it. Listening to lectures took away those context clues. I just didn't think it really saved that much time. Going to class also meant I could socialize a little...if I didn't, I'd be studying alone.

But, again, it just all depends on you. Try attending class and then try not attending class and see if you feel a difference.
 
We only have an hour of lecture everyday. I go, but this is personal preference and works into my study schedule pretty well. I know those who dont go.....one thing I've realized, whatever works, go with it.
 
I didn't attend a single class from last year and opted to study from home instead.

You can find stories either way. Some people study from home and honor everything while others attend class dutifully and just pass.
 
Top