Have ever seen the movie Good Will Hunting? Those sort of people do exist. Some of them go to medical school. One or two may even be in your class. Don’t worry about competing with them.
What I am going to tell you is that anyone who gets into medical school on merit (not the my-mommy-is-tenured-faculty-so-I-get-a-pass types) has the ability to be at the top of their class. Maybe not THE #1, but top 10-25% surely.
It takes humility, self reflection, countless hours of work, and a nurturing of the passion for your day to day learning.
You got into medical school, your brain obviously works. You can train it to do what it needs to do for you to meet your goals.
The diversity of resources and learning techniques is endless. Something will work for you if you keep searching.
My best advice is to start out at 50 hours per week dedicated to learning the material in whatever way suits you. That means 50 hours with a STOPWATCH outside of class plus whatever mandatory time you accrue in the curriculum.
See where that gets you. Odds are it will be pretty far. I’m guessing a SOLID 50 hours could get most people a high B or an A. That is a solid 50 hours where you aren't counting time spent on other tasks.
I’d go so far to say that I guarantee this will work provided you are flexible with study strategies initially.
In general, you are capable of far more than you envision yourself being able to do.
Nerves are normal. They will pass.
TL;DR —> Be meticulous in preparation, confident in execution, and HUMBLE in victory.
