Study or attendence?

[nirvana23]

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I thought that I would ask this of all the wise ones out there.


I've always been an auditory learner, so I always attend classes and pay close attention. In college, I would attend all of my classes, but I hardly ever studied outside of class and still did decently. Can I do the same in med school?

I've read many-a-post saying, "Don't attend classes, just study on your own" or something to that effect.

My problem is that I'm not a study-er or much of a textbook reading person. Must I change my ways for med school?!?!?

 

[nirvana23]

sorry about the duplicate thread... my ISP flaked out on me.

 

[kutastha]

You'll figure out which classes you should attend and for which ones you can learn on your own.

 

[mpp]

It will depend on the class. Unfortunately some of the classes have so much information given in such a short time that it will be very difficult to just learn from attending the class without studying (Gross Anatomy is a perfect example). I have just gone to class and not studied for a couple of classes (or just studied for an hour or so before the exam) and have passed. However, these were minor pass/fail classes (to me) and I definitely did not do well...but I passed and that's all I felt I needed to get out of those particular classes.

 

[phar]

Originally posted by nirvana23
I thought that I would ask this of all the wise ones out there.


I've always been an auditory learner, so I always attend classes and pay close attention. In college, I would attend all of my classes, but I hardly ever studied outside of class and still did decently. Can I do the same in med school?

I've read many-a-post saying, "Don't attend classes, just study on your own" or something to that effect.

My problem is that I'm not a study-er or much of a textbook reading person. Must I change my ways for med school?!?!?

Nirvana(one of my teenage heros...not you though 😉 ) I am not in medical school yet and can't really give you an advice.

In my opinion, college(party time!!!) classes are easy compared to medical school classes. So, you need to change your study habbits.

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by kutastha
You'll figure out which classes you should attend and for which ones you can learn on your own.

Precisely.

Continue to do what works for you. Do not, however, waste time that could be spent studying in a class lecture that does not help you out.

 

[Brewster]

I, too, am an auditory learner. Knowing this about myself, I went to every class and did well.

Other people I know are not auditory learners, they prefer to study on their own. They also did very well.

Likewise, I know people who went to class and who skipped class who struggled.

Basically, you have to do what works for you. If you have always been an auditory learner, this will not change now. So, I would start by going to every class and if you feel like you are wasting your time, think about changing your strategy.

In any event, stick with the method that has worked for you in the past rather than blindly listening to the advice of people who do not know you or your study habits (me included).

 

[8744]

Originally posted by nirvana23
I thought that I would ask this of all the wise ones out there.


I've always been an auditory learner, so I always attend classes and pay close attention. In college, I would attend all of my classes, but I hardly ever studied outside of class and still did decently. Can I do the same in med school?

I've read many-a-post saying, "Don't attend classes, just study on your own" or something to that effect.

My problem is that I'm not a study-er or much of a textbook reading person. Must I change my ways for med school?!?!?

I go to class most of the time. I find that paying attention in lecture pays off later when it comes time to review.

Oh, and sit up front. That way it will be harder to zone out or surf the internet during class.

 

[neurogeek]

You've got some great advice in this post. I'm also an auditory learner. As said before, do what works for you. Don't worry about a big change in study habits. You'll know when you aren't getting anything from the class - then you may need to do some reading.

 

[nirvana23]

Originally posted by Panda Bear
Oh, and sit up front. That way it will be harder to zone out or surf the internet during class.

This brings up another question.



Should I have a laptop for class?



Thanks for the advice, everyone.

 

[Weil-Felix]

Nirvana,

I think that those who told you to do what has always worked for you in the past are giving you sound advice. Too many people tried to give me too much unsolicited advice about how to study during my first and second year, and I found that the only thing that worked for me was what I had been doing all along!

Also, there was a guy in my class who basically just showed up and really concentrated hard DURING class, and barely cracked a book outside of class (according to his roommate). I'm not sure if he was getting all honors or anything, but (again, according to his roomie), he did pretty well.

And as far as the laptop for class goes....it's helpful to own a laptop, but don't bring it to class to take notes or anything, because the clicking as you furiously type will most likely annoy the heck out of your classmates. (Just my $.02)

 

[Brewster]

Originally posted by nirvana23
Should I have a laptop for class?

I found the best method of note taking (for me) to be underlying key portions of the syllabus during class and adding additional notes in the margins. This way, all the information was in one place when it came time to study for the exam.

 

[mpp]

Laptops in our class seem to be acceptable, tolerated and popular. People take notes directly on their personal version of the same powerpoint slides that the professor is talking about...so it sort of is similar to taking notes directly on the sylllabus.

 

[md03]

egad, I can't imagine being able to type accurately and fast enough to take notes on a laptop during class. And where do you plug in (battery life aint' that great)

As far as the original question...I suspect that an auditory learner would do better going to class. I'm visual and wish I had gone to class less. It might depend on the leture, or the class, or if the exams test on stuff covered in class vs irrelveant trivia in the syllabus (like my school did)

You might try selective skipping earlier in an exam cycle. Then you could assess whether you feel you are lost from not going to class and give yourself time to catch up before an exam.

Generally, though, I'm sure you know there is no way to tell for sure without trying it.

 

[Doc Ivy]

Originally posted by flindophile
I find that none of the material in med school is difficult. All the material is relatively easy, the problem is the HUGE volume of stuff to learn.

I really think this is the key...I haven't started medschool yet but my dad who went through all of this 25 years ago has been warning me about this since high school.
Your preclinical years aren't hard, just really voluminous...so whatever you do, just do it consistently, don't let the stuff get away from you, cuz it will be really hard to catch up if you procrastinate. I think that's where a lot of really smart people go wrong. The material isn't hard, but if you haven't cemented it into memory, or haven't made time to look at it, it won't come to you on exam day.

 

[lattimer13]

Originally posted by phar
Nirvana(one of my teenage heros...not you though 😉 ) I am not in medical school yet and can't really give you an advice.

In my opinion, college(party time!!!) classes are easy compared to medical school classes. So, you need to change your study habbits.

how can you say this if you're not in med school yet?🙄 🙄