Students who do not attend class regularly: What is a typical day like?

[Frogger27]

Title says it all... What time do you usually get up/go to bed? Do you watch the lectures and pretty much take notes all day? Any and all insight would be appreciated!

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[intubesteak]

Every day is different for me, which is part of the beauty. If yesterday's material was really dense, I might study it for most of the day and put off today's material. If the material is really light, I might get ahead a day or two and watch last years lectures. I am able to be strategic about how I use my time, instead of being stuck with whatever schedule the curriculum came up with.

Personally I like to focus more on the textbooks/reading assignments rather than lecture. I just learn better from books. So as I approach a new lecture, I usually read the book, then mark topics and do questions in firecracker, then watch the lecture last. I tend to pay attention to lecture and absorb more that way as well. I also end up with more time to keep up with firecracker and do Qbank questions (usually the day or two before the test). Skipping lecture is not for everyone, but it is exactly the advantage I need to live up to my full academic potential.

In summary: I do whatever I think is going to help most on a given day. Its all about strategy and being efficient.

 

[Frogger27]

Every day is different for me, which is part of the beauty. If yesterday's material was really dense, I might study it for most of the day and put off today's material. If the material is really light, I might get ahead a day or two and watch last years lectures. I am able to be strategic about how I use my time, instead of being stuck with whatever schedule the curriculum came up with.

Personally I like to focus more on the textbooks/reading assignments rather than lecture. I just learn better from books. So as I approach a new lecture, I usually read the book, then mark topics and do questions in firecracker, then watch the lecture last. I tend to pay attention to lecture and absorb more that way as well. I also end up with more time to keep up with firecracker and do Qbank questions (usually the day or two before the test). Skipping lecture is not for everyone, but it is exactly the advantage I need to live up to my full academic potential.

In summary: I do whatever I think is going to help most on a given day. Its all about strategy and being efficient.

Thank you for your response! I have never been one to learn in lectures (too much ADHD and I am not an auditory learner), so I'm guessing it will not magically happen in med school. I know the key to med school is learning what works for you and being efficient with your time. What time does your day typically start and finish (guessing this may be pretty variable)?

It's refreshing to hear that although you are studying day in and day out, there is some variance to the day

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

Do whatever makes you comfortable. I always did my best studying at night so my sleep schedule was messed up: in bed by 3-4am, woke up at 12-1pm most days.

The important thing is to not get behind. You need to get the lectures outlined (in your preferred way) the day they are available. The longer you put off lectures the faster they build up.

As I progressed into second year, I was able to spend less time on lecture stuff and more time on Step 1 prep (Qbanks, HY review, etc).

 

[DrDarce]

I'm an early riser so I get up around 6-7AM depending on if I'm going to workout that day. Usually start my day around 8 AM at the library while other people are getting to class. I then either review yesterday's material or the material that day (it depends) then when the lectures are posted I watch those. The best part is the flexibility in my schedule and also being able to watch the lectures at 2x (sometimes 2.5x) and be a lot more efficient with my time.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

...and also being able to watch the lectures at 2x (sometimes 2.5x) and be a lot more efficient with my time.

It not only saves time, it makes the lecturers sound more upbeat!

 

[intubesteak]

Thank you for your response! I have never been one to learn in lectures (too much ADHD and I am not an auditory learner), so I'm guessing it will not magically happen in med school. I know the key to med school is learning what works for you and being efficient with your time. What time does your day typically start and finish (guessing this may be pretty variable)?

It's refreshing to hear that although you are studying day in and day out, there is some variance to the day

I would say the typical day is studying by 8am and done studying by 9pm or so. I also take plenty of breaks throughout the day and try to exercise. The hours usually stay the same (except before a test), but the intensity of those hours changes day to day. Some days are more productive than others but my goal everyday is to basically study until my brain is tired, then stop so I can rest enough to do it again the next day. If your brain doesn't feel tired at the end of the day, youre probably slacking off too much.

 

[takeurmeds02]

Non-mandatory lectures; I started out going to lectures but then stopped. Life was great initially but I felt like I did worse in the blocks that I didn't go to lecture so now I'm back. We'll see if my theory proves true after this block's test.

We do PBL so I'm on campus at least 3/5 days in the mornings. Thursdays typically only have lecture but again, they're not mandatory so I go to a coffee shop and review old stuff until they're uploaded.

One point, I feel like it's really easy to fall behind if you don't go to lecture. By going at least you've seen the material once lol. Whereas, at home I have a tendency to say "oh well I'll just watch them later" and 5-6 episodes of [insert fav netflix show] later, I don't.

 

[f4reignbeauty]

I go to a school where we have optional lectures, and mandatory afternoon sessions. Usually, I try to podcast the day's lectures by the end of the day, but if the material is heavy I'll reserve the remainder of the review for the next morning. I typically am only 1-2 lectures behind by Friday, and I finish those by that evening. On the weekends, I tie up loose ends, deep review the week's material and do UWorld/Rx questions.

I didn't start UWorld until the middle of second year.

 

[68PGunner]

FAP marathon on boring days.

 

[Rekt]

Non-mandatory lectures; I started out going to lectures but then stopped. Life was great initially but I felt like I did worse in the blocks that I didn't go to lecture so now I'm back. We'll see if my theory proves true after this block's test.

We do PBL so I'm on campus at least 3/5 days in the mornings. Thursdays typically only have lecture but again, they're not mandatory so I go to a coffee shop and review old stuff until they're uploaded.

One point, I feel like it's really easy to fall behind if you don't go to lecture. By going at least you've seen the material once lol. Whereas, at home I have a tendency to say "oh well I'll just watch them later" and 5-6 episodes of [insert fav netflix show] later, I don't.

Just do you. SDN is hugely biased towards staying at home with non-mandatory classes. It feels like you're missing out, but it isn't a big deal. I'm a class goer. Ranked in top 5% of the class now. After going to class I don't even need to review material until the weekend and have switched to focusing on boards/pathoma/sketchy throughout the week since I already got a solid pass of the material through the week if I pay attention.

 

[intubesteak]

Just do you. SDN is hugely biased towards saying at home with non-mandatory classes. It feels like you're missing out, but it isn't a big deal. I'm a class goer. Ranked in top 5% of the class now. After going to class I don't even need to review material until the weekend and have switched to focusing on boards/pathoma/sketchy throughout the week since I already got a solid pass of the material through the week if I pay attention.

I envy you. Life would be simple if I could actually pay attention/learn from lecture.

OP: Try going to class. Most of the people who don't go to class realized that they struggle to pay attention and it becomes a waste of time. Life is probably easier if you can go to class and get something out of it.

 

[vernhart]

I envy you. Life would be simple if I could actually pay attention/learn from lecture.

OP: Try going to class. Most of the people who don't go to class realized that they struggle to pay attention and it becomes a waste of time. Life is probably easier if you can go to class and get something out of it.

It it just me or were lecturers better in undergrad? I don't remember having such a hard time focusing in undergrad lectures (unless I had a really bad prof for that specific class).

 

[Crayola227]

It it just me or were lecturers better in undergrad? I don't remember having such a hard time focusing in undergrad lectures (unless I had a really bad prof for that specific class).

They were better.

As you get further and further from K-12, you get teachers who are less and less intentional about wanting to be professional teachers, and more and more the teaching duties are just sorta added onto whatever they meant to do.

 

[Dr. Death]

I'm at school from 9-5. When I'm not in a lab or required activity I watch lectures on 2x speed and take notes. At 5 I go home and don't study the rest of the night. Depending on how I feel about the material I may or may not study on weekends. While at school I only take breaks to use the restroom and heat up my lunch.

 

[intubesteak]

It it just me or were lecturers better in undergrad? I don't remember having such a hard time focusing in undergrad lectures (unless I had a really bad prof for that specific class).

I think part of it for me is that my brain can only take in so much in one sitting. Its not so much about time between breaks as it is amount of material. Just because we get a break every 50 min during lecture doesn't mean I can pay attention for 100 slides of pharmacology lol.

But yeah in response to my class whining about quality of lectures and stuff, our dean of student affairs basically said "lower your expectations, they are not getting paid to do this.."

 

[intubesteak]

For those that watch lectures at 2x-2.5x speed: Is that a skill that you developed or did you just jump right into listening to lectures at that speed once school started? I've been watching youtube videos at 1.25x-1.5x, but once I hit 2x I cannot even understand what is being said, even if I have headphones on full blast.

I don't know how people do it. 1.6 is about as fast as I can go and still jot down a few notes

 

[MareNostrummm]

For those that watch lectures at 2x-2.5x speed: Is that a skill that you developed or did you just jump right into listening to lectures at that speed once school started? I've been watching youtube videos at 1.25x-1.5x, but once I hit 2x I cannot even understand what is being said, even if I have headphones on full blast.

They're exaggerating (its kind of like the people who say they don't study that much to make themselves look better but actually put in a ton of time behind the scenes).

The only way you would be able to watch something at 2x speed (god forbid 2.5x) is if its already review on a topic that you already know well (ex: metabolic pathways you already learned in undergrad). Once you hit something new you either slow down to 1.25x or 1.5x or you end up having to rewind a lot.

 

[takeurmeds02]

I envy you. Life would be simple if I could actually pay attention/learn from lecture.

OP: Try going to class. Most of the people who don't go to class realized that they struggle to pay attention and it becomes a waste of time. Life is probably easier if you can go to class and get something out of it.

Yea, I constantly have to remind myself to check back in every 10 min or so haha. Some lectures are truly a lost cause though, either because the lecturer moves at a glacial pace or the topic is unbearably uninteresting.

 

[intubesteak]

Yea, I constantly have to remind myself to check back in every 10 min or so haha. Some lectures are truly a lost cause though, either because the lecturer moves at a glacial pace or the topic is unbearably uninteresting.

I feel like all lecturers talk too slow in our lectures partly because of feedback from the mic. They can hear themselves echoing and it makes them sssllllooowww dooowwwnnnnn... Speeding it up to 1.5 just makes it like a normal person talking for me. So annoying haha

 

[Mr Roboto]

For those that watch lectures at 2x-2.5x speed: Is that a skill that you developed or did you just jump right into listening to lectures at that speed once school started? I've been watching youtube videos at 1.25x-1.5x, but once I hit 2x I cannot even understand what is being said, even if I have headphones on full blast.

I worked up to it. Started at 1.25, gradually increased. One of my friends watches sketchy and pathoma at 3x speed... he's a freak of nature.

 

[NotYou20]

For those that watch lectures at 2x-2.5x speed: Is that a skill that you developed or did you just jump right into listening to lectures at that speed once school started? I've been watching youtube videos at 1.25x-1.5x, but once I hit 2x I cannot even understand what is being said, even if I have headphones on full blast.

Within the first week I was at 2x. It took a little bit to get comfortable with it but it was worth missing a few pieces from those early lectures. It helps that I read the lecture before watching, if I don't I struggle to identify what's important. I also rarely take notes and pause the lecture if I need to or if I don't understand something.

 

[68PGunner]

I worked up to it. Started at 1.25, gradually increased. One of my friends watches sketchy and pathoma at 3x speed... he's a freak of nature.

There's no option for 3x speed on sketchy and pathoma.

 

[68PGunner]

They're exaggerating (its kind of like the people who say they don't study that much to make themselves look better but actually put in a ton of time behind the scenes).

The only way you would be able to watch something at 2x speed (god forbid 2.5x) is if its already review on a topic that you already know well (ex: metabolic pathways you already learned in undergrad). Once you hit something new you either slow down to 1.25x or 1.5x or you end up having to rewind a lot.

A lot of professors talk ridiculous slow in medical schools. Personally, I watch Pathoma and Sketchy on 1.5 speed. I never watch Pathoma on 2.0 speed even if it's my 2nd or 3rd go. As for Sketchy, I put that thing on 2x speed after my first trial.

For med class lectures, I normally watch them at 1.8-2.0 speed. We have a Pathology professor that tries to put people to sleep. For that dude, I put him on at 2.5x speed.

 

[IslandStyle808]

They were better.

As you get further and further from K-12, you get teachers who are less and less intentional about wanting to be professional teachers, and more and more the teaching duties are just sorta added onto whatever they meant to do.

Not exactly.

The K-12 teacher were better because of the fact they were trained to teach, PhD aren't. PhD are given a ridiculous amount of freedom to teach with no oversight. The reason why undergrad seemed better was because you had a choice as to what classes to take, but you have no choice with medical school professors. I can definitely say that my worst medical school professors were definitely better than my worst undergrad professors.

 

[DrDarce]

There's no option for 3x speed on sketchy and pathoma.

video speed controller will change your life

 

[Mr Roboto]

There's no option for 3x speed on sketchy and pathoma.

VLC goes all the way up to 4x.

 

[68PGunner]

VLC goes all the way up to 4x.

Yeah, I'm tracking that, except that you can't download Pathoma and Sketchy videos.

 

[MedicalSport]

VLC goes all the way up to 4x.

4x, that's next level

 

[Vain Brother]

MS2 here. wake up at 10-11. catch up on current events and sports news for an hour or so. read textbook or do UWorld/FA for the next 8 hours, with breaks for food/sex/TV. crush exam every 2-3 weeks. start over. easy game.

 

[piii]

Space all my lectures for the coming week out over 7 days, usually 2 lectures per day. Watch 2 lectures at night when I can just chill and have lower energy. Wake up and make Anki cards and study those lectures. Then complete all my Anki reviews and new cards throughout the day up until evening at my own pace around mandatory classes/labs. Plenty of time to take multiple breaks playing my instruments or video games or Netflix. I stretch evening at a nice pace over the whole day with a good amount of chill breaks. And I try to do the hard work in the morning (making cards).

If I have a mandatory thing or lab in the morning I just make my cards after.

 

[Frogger27]

MS2 here. wake up at 10-11. catch up on current events and sports news for an hour or so. read textbook or do UWorld/FA for the next 8 hours, with breaks for food/sex/TV. crush exam every 2-3 weeks. start over. easy game.

Now this sounds like my type of schedule. Glad to see it can be done. Keep on keeping on my friend

 

[Frogger27]

Space all my lectures for the coming week out over 7 days, usually 2 lectures per day. Watch 2 lectures at night when I can just chill and have lower energy. Wake up and make Anki cards and study those lectures. Then complete all my Anki reviews and new cards throughout the day up until evening at my own pace around mandatory classes/labs. Plenty of time to take multiple breaks playing my instruments or video games or Netflix. I stretch evening at a nice pace over the whole day with a good amount of chill breaks. And I try to do the hard work in the morning (making cards).

If I have a mandatory thing or lab in the morning I just make my cards after.

So you watch the videos in the evening and then make the cards for those lectures in the AM. Study them throughout the day until you get to evening where you will watch next days lexture. Rinse, repeat?

 

[piii]

So you watch the videos in the evening and then make the cards for those lectures in the AM. Study them throughout the day until you get to evening where you will watch next days lexture. Rinse, repeat?

Pretty much. It allows for quite a bit of free time and flexibility. I can be social or do hobbies. But I am still working my butt off. With my Anki schedule I hit at like 4-5 passes of the lecture material within 7 days of watching the video, and probably 10-15 passes before each exam. I hardly have to study long days before my exams, been making > 90% on every test. The best part about it is that I've keep up my reviews for everything we've had thus far from past exams. So I'm still seeing everything I've learned, will keep it up until boards. Now I'm throwing in 30 minutes of reviewing first aid from past material and adding 15 Anki cards a day.

 

[neoevolution]

Sketchy and Pathoma don't allow downloading but it's still possible to do