Studying in Groups

[CT]

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I was hoping to hear other people's thoughts on this. I've basically always studied by myself up to and so far in medical school (1st year). I've been passing my classes without too much difficulty, but a third year recently said something to me that got me thinking. She encouraged me to study with other people (and actually just suggested one in particular, so it wasn't necessarily with a large group) because she said I will get so much more out of it. She said that I would be "missing" many things and that my education would actually be "less" if I choose to go solo. So what do you all think? Sometimes I feel that when I have trouble recalling/integrating something it's more because of just how well I normally "get" things, rather than the fact that I missed something by not studying in a group.

 

[Dodge This]

I agree completely.

It's personal preference. You might get things pointed out to you that you wouldn't have seen on your own, but if you're distracted by other people it might not be worth it.

Never hurts to try, but do what works for you.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

Sometimes studying in groups wastes valuable time. So if you prefer to study alone, then do so. I can study 2 hours alone and get more out of it than if I study with a friend for 4 hours. Anatomy was probably the one class where I studied with a large group of people, but you still have to do some on your own. The rest of my classes, i study alone and then my boyfriend (also in my class) and I ask each other for help if we dont understand something or we quiz each other. I guess I'm lucky in that regard 😉.

 

[leorl]

I like to study with friends around me, but not With them, really. it works if everyone is just really quiet doing their own thing, with people asking questions if they don't understand and everyone getting a chance to hear the answer or offer input. I like people around, but i don't really like study groups and prefer to study by myself in a populous environment, if that makes any sense at all.

 

[Wednesday]

I agree with the above posters about figuring out what's right for you and using that. No reason to change things if they're working. I definitely do the bulk of my studying alone. I find that talking outloud gets things to stay in my head better (yes, I know, very strange, but my cats still love me 😉 ). After I have actually learned everything on my own, I meet with one friend from my class right before the test and we quiz each other. The amazing thing that we found was that we each took completely different things out of the endless materials that we thought were important and most of those things ended up on the tests. Studying with her saves me a lot of study time, because I can count on her to pull important facts out too. I can't imagine doing it all on my own. Of course, for this method to work, you have to find someone who you trust, who is as quick as you are and with whom you can work. Personally I would never study with a big group, but reviewing with one other person has been great for me. I wouldn't worry too much about changing your study habits because a third-year suggested it--what works for her (and any of us for that matter) may not work for you.

 

[Purifyer]

Studying with friends = gossiping for 5 hours about completely irrelevant things, and being told by the librarian to keep quiet 3 or so times.

Complete waste of time. Interestingly, alot of my classmates... how should I say this tactfully... seem to use group study as a means of having a social life.

I agree with all that's been said above, when you study alone you can actually concentrate and get some serious work done. Group study is more effective for pimping after you know all your ****e.

 

[8744]

During orientation, they bombarded us with the dire consequences of NOT studying in groups. They said that we needed to get into a study group or we'd fail.

Pure B.S.

If you're like me, and don't like studying to begin with, a study group will just prolong the boredom and agony of reviewing material.

I never study in a group, and I'm doing just fine. Am I wierd?

 

[Smoke This]

I was like the OP. When I first got to medical school, I studied alone. However, I would often overlook some little things that would bite me on the ass come exam time, and was generally less prepared than I thought I was for the exams. So, for finals, I joined a study group of about 5 other guys and it was so much more efficient to me. Sure, we sometimes got off topic and wasted some time gossiping, but together we could quiz and teach each other and together we were able to get a very solid understanding of the material. I don't think I'll ever study alone for anything important again.

 

[hotbovie]

I was a solo studier prior to med school. The summer before I started, I came acrosIs the Success types for medical students web site, and actually ordered the book. It was becuase of that site that I started studying with a group in med school. It was a small group, and it started out just once a week for gross.

It evolved, over time, and by second year is was mostly just me and one other person, who had been my gross lab partner. Sometimes someone else would join us for a sesson, or during exam crunch, but most of the time it was just two of us. That person was a lifeline for me. We had similar study styles (both of us are visual learners, and we spent a lot of time drawing diagrams and flowcharts), but different strengths and weaknesses in what we understood. When I was baffled by cardiovascular physiology, he saved my butt, patiently pounding the concepts into my head. When he got mired in endocrine, I was able to diagram it out for him in a way that made sense to him.

We wound up studying together nearly every day(we would stay at school til 5-6pm, no matter what time classes ended) even for step 1. Many times we would just be in the same space, studing indivdually, and just asking for clarification on some point or coming up with ways to remember it. Sometimes we'd quiz each other. Sometimes we would simply encourage one another. And yes, we wasted some time chatting. So what? I emerged from the experience with a much higher GPA than I would otherwise have had.

Anyway, I say try it, especially since you already have the sense that you may not be "getting" things as well as you would like. Having another's input might be just what you need!

 

[CANES2006]

Prior to medical school, I would study by myself. However, during the middle of last semester I started studying with a guy from my class. He also used to study by himself in college. We have found that we do much better on tests by studying with each other than by ourselves. We have also become each other's support system in medical school. You don't know how many times I've been so frustrated with all of the amount of studying we have to do that I have even come close to quitting. Thanks to him comforting me and giving me pep talk I have been able to calm down and continue with it all. At the same time, we have become really close friends. I'm really glad that I study with him rather than going solo. 🙂