Those of you who enroll in schools where classes run 8-5, how do you do it?

[shadowlightfox]

I'm looking at my tentative schedule for second year, and unlike my first year, where we on average had 2 lectures, each 2 hours, (except on days where we have OMM lecture/lab and Doctor training classes/simulation), this upcoming year it's drastically different from first year. Almost all the days each week run from 8-4:30 or 5, with an exam every two weeks. Only breather we get is no classes the day before the exam.

The way I used to run first year was I would attend every lecture rather than listen to the recording, and transcribe as much as I can from what the professor was talking about. Then when the classes ended, I'd spend the remaining portion of the day reviewing what the lecture was about and Anki'd up everything I studied, and I never fell behind on any of my lectures. I'd basically use the weekend as a second pass for everything I went over this week, and third pass during the week of the exam.

I don't think this can work second year since there are a lot more classes. I may have to start purely relying on recordings and barely attend any classes, where I may even fall behind at least a lecture or so each day (hopefully no more than that). It's going to be even a bigger challenge to incorporate prepping for boards.

Of course this is all based off of fall semester alone. I didn't check the second half of the year yet.

Is there anyone here who drastically changed their study schedule their second year from what they normally did in their first year? Anyone here who goes to a school where you have 8 hours of lecture each day that would chime in on how they handled it?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Are the lectures required attendance? If not, then watch them at 2x speed and read the powerpoint with the time you've saved.

Second year the biggest change I made was I stopped going to lecture almost entirely. Which isn't too surprising since my school was a Robbins curriculum where you do most of your learning at home and I rarely ever needed to watch lectures that didn't either just review first aid or breeze over Robbins.

My advice would be to try out how the classes are the first month and then start watching them at home instead. Being behind a few lectures honestly isn't a big deal if you've actually learned the lectures that were covered beforehand and is probably advantageous to just having sat through all of them and not actually learned even half of the material due to either zoning out or spending half of the class on the internet.

 

[shadowlightfox]

Are the lectures required attendance? If not, then watch them at 2x speed and read the powerpoint with the time you've saved.

This may sound like a weird thing to say, but I'm not sure if I could do this. When I said transcribe, I meant it literally. I literally transcribed everything that the professor says from his or her mouth. That way I got the powerpoint down and whatever he/she said down and compare them side to side.

If I watch it at 2X the speed, and then read the powerpoint with the time I saved and not transcribe everything, what if the professor said something important that wasn't in the slide and I forgot to mark it down. I'd have to rewatch that portion of the lecture and it ruins the whole purpose of the whole setup.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

So basically you put in a crap ton of effort for diminishing returns that likely are already either in your powerpoint or nicely written out in first aid? You see where I'm going with this right?

 

[SurgDoc95]

This may sound like a weird thing to say, but I'm not sure if I could do this. When I said transcribe, I meant it literally. I literally transcribed everything that the professor says from his or her mouth. That way I got the powerpoint down and whatever he/she said down and compare them side to side.

If I watch it at 2X the speed, and then read the powerpoint with the time I saved and not transcribe everything, what if the professor said something important that wasn't in the slide and I forgot to mark it down. I'd have to rewatch that portion of the lecture and it ruins the whole purpose of the whole setup.

That sounds exhausting

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Holy moly, I don't even listen to lectures. I can't imagine also going and transcribing everything. That sounds like a terrible way to study. Definitely figure something else out this year

 

[shadowlightfox]

I guess duly noted.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Holy moly, I don't even listen to lectures. I can't imagine also going and transcribing everything. That sounds like a terrible way to study. Definitely figure something else out this year

That's because you never had a terror professor who only test on what they say and not what in their lecture notes. It doesn't mean you have to transcribe everything, however you will loose a lot of points if you don't take down what they say.

 

[IslandStyle808]

I'm looking at my tentative schedule for second year, and unlike my first year, where we on average had 2 lectures, each 2 hours, (except on days where we have OMM lecture/lab and Doctor training classes/simulation), this upcoming year it's drastically different from first year. Almost all the days each week run from 8-4:30 or 5, with an exam every two weeks. Only breather we get is no classes the day before the exam.

The way I used to run first year was I would attend every lecture rather than listen to the recording, and transcribe as much as I can from what the professor was talking about. Then when the classes ended, I'd spend the remaining portion of the day reviewing what the lecture was about and Anki'd up everything I studied, and I never fell behind on any of my lectures. I'd basically use the weekend as a second pass for everything I went over this week, and third pass during the week of the exam.

I don't think this can work second year since there are a lot more classes. I may have to start purely relying on recordings and barely attend any classes, where I may even fall behind at least a lecture or so each day (hopefully no more than that). It's going to be even a bigger challenge to incorporate prepping for boards.

Of course this is all based off of fall semester alone. I didn't check the second half of the year yet.

Is there anyone here who drastically changed their study schedule their second year from what they normally did in their first year? Anyone here who goes to a school where you have 8 hours of lecture each day that would chime in on how they handled it?

Your 2nd year schedule is almost a copy of my schedule from first year. And to be honest, I was barely surviving. I would just basically watch the lectures recorded at 2x speed, taking note of the most important parts (probably 70% of what they say). Then I would just get into the anki cards immediately. If I couldn't make cards out a set of slide, I would note it and then read up on it during the weekend.

I think the important thing is to remember to give meaning to what you learn and this will help with retention. If you remember them like factoids, you will need a lot more reviews and will be looking at a lot more useless details.

Also, note that with more lectures this means less questions per lecture hour to be tested on. So this may help in skimming down what is important from what is not.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

That's because you never had a terror professor who only test on what they say and not what in their lecture notes. It doesn't mean you have to transcribe everything, however you will loose a lot of points if you don't take down what they say.

You're right, I haven't. I pray I never do

 

[shadowlightfox]

That's because you never had a terror professor who only test on what they say and not what in their lecture notes. It doesn't mean you have to transcribe everything, however you will loose a lot of points if you don't take down what they say.

This is why I transcribe everything. I want to make sure I'm not missing a beat that would be in the exam. My mentality was it's better to do that and cover your bases as best as you can than to transcribe only certain portions here and there, and the one sentence you miss ends up being on the exam.

I've even had professors who've intentionally left their slides "incomplete" just so they can add stuff in lecture.

My second point is even though you guys are saying transcribing is a bad idea, and I'm agreeing with you guys on that of course, I don't regret doing it for cardiology and neuroscience. Mainly because our professors mainly put up pictures instead of bullet point slides and explained via those. I don't know how else I would have survived those two blocks without doing what I did.

Also, for what it's worth, it's not like I was spending an entire day transcribing. I was only doing this during lectures. So after class, I still had just as much "free time" as the guy next to me who took normal notes to get my studying done anyway. I don't feel like I lost anything outside of lectures if I was already going to do a lot of studying, less transcribing or more transcribing.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

What school do you go to?

 

[shadowlightfox]

Your 2nd year schedule is almost a copy of my schedule from first year. And to be honest, I was barely surviving. I would just basically watch the lectures recorded at 2x speed, taking note of the most important parts (probably 70% of what they say). Then I would just get into the anki cards immediately. If I couldn't make cards out a set of slide, I would note it and then read up on it during the weekend.

I think the important thing is to remember to give meaning to what you learn and this will help with retention. If you remember them like factoids, you will need a lot more reviews and will be looking at a lot more useless details.

Also, note that with more lectures this means less questions per lecture hour to be tested on. So this may help in skimming down what is important from what is not.

I appreciate your insight, but regarding the last point you made about less questions. I don't think that's the case with my school. For me, it's always a fixed number of questions per lecture no matter how many lectures we have. At least that's how it is first year, and I'm assuming it's the same case with second year.

 

[IslandStyle808]

What school do you go to?

Keeping it confidential, to afraid to say.

 

[shadowlightfox]

Keeping it confidential, to afraid to say.

I believe he was asking me that question, but yeah, same response.

 

[Medin2017]

Other than transcribing everything, how else would you make the most of lectures then?

 

[pstrick]

Keeping it confidential, to afraid to say.

I believe he was asking me that question, but yeah, same response.

Why? Is your SDN personality so abhorrent that you can't assist future medical students in picking out a school without fear of being disciplined by your institution?
What's the worst case scenario here?

 

[shadowlightfox]

Why? Is your SDN personality so abhorrent that you can't assist future medical students in picking out a school without fear of being disciplined by your institution?
What's the worst case scenario here?

You're gonna have to learn to just deal with it.

It's not about what the worst case scenario is or what my personality entails. I just don't feel comfortable giving out what my school is nonchalantly, even if it's a top ranking med school. That's just how I am.

 

[ortnakas]

Why? Is your SDN personality so abhorrent that you can't assist future medical students in picking out a school without fear of being disciplined by your institution?
What's the worst case scenario here?

I chip in in the school-specific thread and have shared info about it occasionally so it's obvious where I go, but OP is far from the only person on SDN to keep this information to themselves. Giving up your privacy isn't a requirement to post on SDN. (And for what it's worth, I plan to keep where I match private).

 

[IslandStyle808]

Why? Is your SDN personality so abhorrent that you can't assist future medical students in picking out a school without fear of being disciplined by your institution?
What's the worst case scenario here?

So if I asked you to state your first and last name on here right now would you do it? I hope you don't.

Schools value being put into a good light and will quell anyone who they know is "bad mouthing" them, even if the comment is true. I have seen people on here rejected from schools because of negative comments, even said in a professional tone.

When you are in school, you want your faculty and admins to be on your side when you are not succeeding in school (ex. failing courses, or having an illness). By casting a negative light on your school, even if its to help other medical and pre-medical students, can be deemed "being unprofessional" and when you are having academic issues, they will be less likely to be sympathetic with you and you will crash and burn alone (ex. worst case being dismissal from school).

Me giving information like this is also like putting my anonymity at risk. There are 10x as many people who read than comment, who wouldn't even want to risk putting information like this out there. However, I do it for the benefit of the SDN community.

I hope you understand the importance of anonymity.

 

[pstrick]

So if I asked you to state your first and last name on here right now would you do it? I hope you don't.

Schools value being put into a good light and will quell anyone who they know is "bad mouthing" them, even if the comment is true. I have seen people on here rejected from schools because of negative comments, even said in a professional tone.

When you are in school, you want your faculty and admins to be on your side when you are not succeeding in school (ex. failing courses, or having an illness). By casting a negative light on your school, even if its to help other medical and pre-medical students, can be deemed "being unprofessional" and when you are having academic issues, they will be less likely to be sympathetic with you and you will crash and burn alone (ex. worst case being dismissal from school).

Me giving information like this is also like putting my anonymity at risk. There are 10x as many people who read than comment, who wouldn't even want to risk putting information like this out there. However, I do it for the benefit of the SDN community.

I hope you understand the importance of anonymity.

That felt a little condescending.

You're right. I would not state my name here. My worry is that it would show up in a google search by future patients.
I am not worried about how anonymous I am. You can look at my MCAT score and which school I will be attending. I have also posted about undergrad. It would be trivial for an administrator at my school to figure out who I am.

first year, where we on average had 2 lectures, each 2 hours, (except on days where we have OMM lecture/lab and Doctor training classes/simulation),

this upcoming year it's drastically different from first year. Almost all the days each week run from 8-4:30 or 5, with an exam every two weeks. Only breather we get is no classes the day before the exam.

OP won't tell me where he goes, but somebody who goes to this school would instantly know which school he is discussing.

 

[Medin2017]

wish more people would chime in on how they do well in 8-5 schedules or any time mgmt tips instead of all this anonymity speak

 

[pstrick]

wish more people would chime in on how they do well in 8-5 schedules or any time mgmt tips instead of all this anonymity speak

Sorry. I'm finished.

 

[Medin2017]

Sorry. I'm finished.

naw you guys are good haha. Just wish a few more students could give some feedback. 8-5 schedule sounds so annoying, and I feel most of the students who do well at MD schools skip lecs and watch on 2x speed

 

[shadowlightfox]

naw you guys are good haha. Just wish a few more students could give some feedback. 8-5 schedule sounds so annoying, and I feel most of the students who do well at MD schools skip lecs and watch on 2x speed

You see. That's what I'm wondering about. What's the merit of watching things at 2X the speed? Sure you're done with the lectures sooner, but there's still a lot of information, and you can only remember so much after merely watching it. You can't exactly remember it all in one go. And if you have to watch it over because you missed some parts, it ruins the whole purpose of watching it at 2X to begin with. And there's the issue of taking notes. When you're typing a certain note because you heard it over the recording, and the professor is already at least 5 sentences ahead since the video was already fast.

However, if all the professor is doing is reading off the slides, then I don't mind at 2X the speed. Hell, I might not even listen to the lectures. But if you have a class like my cardiology or neuroscience, where they're mainly pictures, what good would 2X speed and sparse note taking would do?

Now, yes, the issue I brought up can still exist even if you watch it at normal speed, but correct me if I'm wrong, but there is a lot less moments where you're like "Huh?" when you watch it at 1X speed than at 2X speed.

Of course, I never listened to 2X in my life, and if I'm wrong, I don't mind someone educating me so and explaining to me the merits of it, and I might even adopt it myself if the arguments are compelling enough. But I prefer to listen to the ones who don't normally listen to speech 2X to begin with.

 

[shadowlightfox]

OP won't tell me where he goes, but somebody who goes to this school would instantly know which school he is discussing.

Like I said, deal with it.

Also, don't take this the wrong way, but if you have nothing to add in terms of the topic at hand, the last thing I need from you is cluttering this thread with criticisms for something I think is too trivial to derail from the original conversation.

But yeah, I really would appreciate more people chiming in on how they handle such a busy schedule. I fear worst case scenario this may hamper studying for boards or even getting good grades on exams.

 

[Medin2017]

You see. That's what I'm wondering about. What's the merit of watching things at 2X the speed? Sure you're done with the lectures sooner, but there's still a lot of information, and you can only remember so much after merely watching it. You can't exactly remember it all in one go. And if you have to watch it over because you missed some parts, it ruins the whole purpose of watching it at 2X to begin with. And there's the issue of taking notes. When you're typing a certain note because you heard it over the recording, and the professor is already at least 5 sentences ahead since the video was already fast.

Of course if all the professor is doing is reading off the slides, then I don't mind at 2X the speed. Hell, I might not even listen to the lectures. But if you have a class like my cardiology or neuroscience, where they're mainly pictures, what good would 2X speed and sparse note taking would do?

Now, yes, the issue I brought up can still exist even if you watch it at normal speed, but correct me if I'm wrong, but there is a lot less moments where you're like "Huh?" when you watch it at 1X speed than at 2X speed.

From what I've read, it's so you can take notes fast, rewind if you missed something, pause if you wanna look up extra info about a topic you didn't get. Whereas lectures you sit there and if you miss a sentence good luck b/c it could be on the test. Also speakers take breaths, think, etc. while they lecture so often times you can watch on at least 1.5x speed and still comprehend things as if they were speaking normally. You can't rewind a lecturer if you miss things too, so even when they speak normally you could potentially miss info.

 

[ortnakas]

But yeah, I really would appreciate more people chiming in on how they handle such a busy schedule. I fear worst case scenario this may hamper studying for boards or even getting good grades on exams.

Can't help with the 8-5 bit, but I think you're going to have to come up with something more efficient than transcribing entire lectures. Maybe make yourself outlines of just the high points?

My pre-clinical was PBL so I can't speak to what it's like to watch in-school lectures at 2X speed, but I watched Pathoma and Sketchy at 1.5X and now do the same for OnlineMedEd and it works well for me. I don't transcribe, but I can take notes at that spit with only rare pauses.

 

[shadowlightfox]

My pre-clinical was PBL so I can't speak to what it's like to watch in-school lectures at 2X speed, but I watched Pathoma and Sketchy at 1.5X and now do the same for OnlineMedEd and it works well for me. I don't transcribe, but I can take notes at that spit with only rare pauses.

Do you type or handwrite when taking notes?

What I was thinking was I would stick to my transcribing part, but instead of attending classes, I listen online, and rather than study it all after class, just digest and understand what I transcribed for that particular slide before I move on to the next slide.

 

[IslandStyle808]

That felt a little condescending.

You're right. I would not state my name here. My worry is that it would show up in a google search by future patients.
I am not worried about how anonymous I am. You can look at my MCAT score and which school I will be attending. I have also posted about undergrad. It would be trivial for an administrator at my school to figure out who I am.

Never meant to be condescending, my apologies if it came off like that. It's to deliver a shock factor, before getting to the meat of what I meant to say.

For some of us, we are more blunt about the good and bad of our schools and anything about medical education. We all try to be helpful in our own way, some of us will be blunt about our schools other will try to reveal as little as possible. When you have 50 to 300k on the line, this fear of repercussions is far greater in medical school than during our pre-medical years where the debt isn't as great.

When you start applying to medical school, you will understand this fear more. You will wonder if what you have stated has stepped on any toes, even if you didn't mean too. Perception dominates medicine and so you want to minimize any bad perception of you whether it be from faculty, administration, or even your patients.

 

[IslandStyle808]

You see. That's what I'm wondering about. What's the merit of watching things at 2X the speed? Sure you're done with the lectures sooner, but there's still a lot of information, and you can only remember so much after merely watching it. You can't exactly remember it all in one go. And if you have to watch it over because you missed some parts, it ruins the whole purpose of watching it at 2X to begin with. And there's the issue of taking notes. When you're typing a certain note because you heard it over the recording, and the professor is already at least 5 sentences ahead since the video was already fast.

However, if all the professor is doing is reading off the slides, then I don't mind at 2X the speed and getting the meat in a time eff. Hell, I might not even listen to the lectures. But if you have a class like my cardiology or neuroscience, where they're mainly pictures, what good would 2X speed and sparse note taking would do?

Now, yes, the issue I brought up can still exist even if you watch it at normal speed, but correct me if I'm wrong, but there is a lot less moments where you're like "Huh?" when you watch it at 1X speed than at 2X speed.

Of course, I never listened to 2X in my life, and if I'm wrong, I don't mind someone educating me so and explaining to me the merits of it, and I might even adopt it myself if the arguments are compelling enough. But I prefer to listen to the ones who don't normally listen to speech 2X to begin with.

I can actually answer this question. You are not exactly getting it done twice as fast, what you are doing is speeding through all the fluff and getting to the meat of the conversation. However, the actual note taking can be just as long as going to class or doing the writing at 1x speed. In the end, you are taking just as long as if you were in class. However, the big caveat of this is as mentioned above, you can pause and rewind if you miss or don't understand a point. Now if you were in lecture and you missed a point or don't understand something, it can totally ruin your comprehension of the rest of the lecture. Thus, you end up watching a lot of the lecture again. So now going to lecture becomes a time sink. This is why being able to watch the lecture at the speed and timing you want is extremely helpful.

Overall, I believe it has been a time saver for those 8-5 lectures, even if the dropped attendance has upset some of our faculty members.

 

[shadowlightfox]

Interestingly enough (or should I say, bad for myself), when I transcribe, I lose track of what the professor is saying and I type stuffs. And it's only after the class is over when I read what I typed. Guess I need to do it differently this year.

 

[wubalubadubdub]

I'll be an entering MS1 so my schedule in the beginning will look like this

Weekdays:

5:30am-6am: Do a 10 minute workout and drink some coffee (just to wake up and get the day started)

6am-7am: Study current Anki cards/review previous day lectures

7am-7:40am: Get ready, eat breakfast, etc. I live less than 3 minutes from campus, so I can leave a little late than usual

8am-12p: Lectures. Maybe spend the first 10 minutes of class previewing current day's lectures.

12p-1p: Lunch. Study current Anki cards and/or previous lectures

1p-4/5p: Labs*

5p-6p: Workout (have a quiet rowing machine and some weights and stuff at apartment)

6p-9p: Make new Anki cards for current days lectures. Review Anki cards. Review lectures. Etc.

9p-10:30p: Watch Netflix until bed.

Weekends:

Spend 8-10 hours/day reviewing Anki cards and making sure I understand concepts/details. Workout. Etc. Pretty much day will be starting around 8am and involve reviewing lectures at 2x speed and Anki cards.

*Note: My school has built in time off during labs (we're split in groups that get 1-3 hours off) and has half days every Friday (I'm free after 12p). So this time I can use to make Anki cards for the current days lectures. Essentially after lunch, I'm going to stop reviewing the previous day lectures and focus on the current day's lectures. So time spent making cards in the evening can be devoted mainly for reviewing instead.

Also, during exam weeks, I plan to spend any extra time (working out, Netflix, etc) devoted towards studying. Weekends before the exam (our exams are on Mondays) I'll do some practice questions and stuff. Non-exam weeks, I can spend Fridays and weekends for any plans to hang out with friends and stuff.

I also meal prep on Sundays, so that saves me time as well.

 

[AFNI_User]

I'm at CUSOM, we have a schedule very similiar to the one you're describing. First quarter I paid attention in class, took notes, went home, reviewed lectures, made anki cards, and tried to do them; I was exhausted.

Second quarter? I made my anki cards for a given lecture in that class, and paid a bit of attention to things the lecturer hinted on. By the time I was out of class I had my anki decks complete; and I would then take 2-3hours to essentially memorize all of the day's 4 lectures. By the end of second year I started splitting deck creation with friends and would be able to leave the 4 lectures, having nearly everything to memorized. And for reference this was good enough for top 5% of class; 250+ step1.

A big mistake is people often take to long to make the flashcards, but lack the time to review them. I'd also say use A snipping tool application, and image occlusion if anki if you go that route.

 

[Medin2017]

I'm at CUSOM, we have a schedule very similiar to the one you're describing. First quarter I paid attention in class, took notes, went home, reviewed lectures, made anki cards, and tried to do them; I was exhausted.

Second quarter? I made my anki cards for a given lecture in that class, and paid a bit of attention to things the lecturer hinted on. By the time I was out of class I had my anki decks complete; and I would then take 2-3hours to essentially memorize all of the day's 4 lectures. By the end of second year I started splitting deck creation with friends and would be able to leave the 4 lectures, having nearly everything to memorized. And for reference this was good enough for top 5% of class; 250+ step1.

A big mistake is people often take to long to make the flashcards, but lack the time to review them. I'd also say use A snipping tool application, and image occlusion if anki if you go that route.

Yea this is what I did back when I went to class for undergrad (some masters level histo class) and it worked the times I went. Guess I'll continue this. You didn't have many profs that would just speak and test you on some random thing they said in class I assume?

 

[wubalubadubdub]

I'm at CUSOM, we have a schedule very similiar to the one you're describing. First quarter I paid attention in class, took notes, went home, reviewed lectures, made anki cards, and tried to do them; I was exhausted.

Second quarter? I made my anki cards for a given lecture in that class, and paid a bit of attention to things the lecturer hinted on. By the time I was out of class I had my anki decks complete; and I would then take 2-3hours to essentially memorize all of the day's 4 lectures. By the end of second year I started splitting deck creation with friends and would be able to leave the 4 lectures, having nearly everything to memorized. And for reference this was good enough for top 5% of class; 250+ step1.

A big mistake is people often take to long to make the flashcards, but lack the time to review them. I'd also say use A snipping tool application, and image occlusion if anki if you go that route.

I'll be attending CUSOM, so thanks a lot for the tip! Doing cards in class was something that I didn't even think about!

 

[shadowlightfox]

If I may ask, how did you manage to make anki cards in the middle of classes? I understood you paid attention, but it takes some time to input those cards and by the time you're done inputting them, the professor will have most likely gone way further into the lecture. Don't you also have to decide what kinds of questions you want to make for your cards, etc?

I'm like too busy focusing on the material at hand, digesting and comprehending what the professor is saying in class before determining what is "anki-able" for my cards.

 

[AFNI_User]

If I may ask, how did you manage to make anki cards in the middle of classes? I understood you paid attention, but it takes some time to input those cards and by the time you're done inputting them, the professor will have most likely gone way further into the lecture. Don't you also have to decide what kinds of questions you want to make for your cards, etc?

I'm like too busy focusing on the material at hand, digesting and comprehending what the professor is saying in class before determining what is "anki-able" for my cards.

Throughout your studies you'll start to understand what's relevant, and testable information and what is not. Also once you've made thousands of flashcards you become very proficient at creating them. I also believe that less is more. A "Cloze Deletion" card takes about 5 seconds to create. I don't make overly obtuse flashcards. I do agree with you though, at first it takes a lot more mental horsepower to understand what the material is, and comprehend and digest it on your own terms, but it gets easier.

 

[Giovanotto]

I'll be an entering MS1 so my schedule in the beginning will look like this

Weekdays:

5:30am-6am: Do a 10 minute workout and drink some coffee (just to wake up and get the day started)

6am-7am: Study current Anki cards/review previous day lectures

7am-7:40am: Get ready, eat breakfast, etc. I live less than 3 minutes from campus, so I can leave a little late than usual

8am-12p: Lectures. Maybe spend the first 10 minutes of class previewing current day's lectures.

12p-1p: Lunch. Study current Anki cards and/or previous lectures

1p-4/5p: Labs*

5p-6p: Workout (have a quiet rowing machine and some weights and stuff at apartment)

6p-9p: Make new Anki cards for current days lectures. Review Anki cards. Review lectures. Etc.

9p-10:30p: Watch Netflix until bed.

Weekends:

Spend 8-10 hours/day reviewing Anki cards and making sure I understand concepts/details. Workout. Etc. Pretty much day will be starting around 8am and involve reviewing lectures at 2x speed and Anki cards.

*Note: My school has built in time off during labs (we're split in groups that get 1-3 hours off) and has half days every Friday (I'm free after 12p). So this time I can use to make Anki cards for the current days lectures. Essentially after lunch, I'm going to stop reviewing the previous day lectures and focus on the current day's lectures. So time spent making cards in the evening can be devoted mainly for reviewing instead.

Also, during exam weeks, I plan to spend any extra time (working out, Netflix, etc) devoted towards studying. Weekends before the exam (our exams are on Mondays) I'll do some practice questions and stuff. Non-exam weeks, I can spend Fridays and weekends for any plans to hang out with friends and stuff.

I also meal prep on Sundays, so that saves me time as well.

Holy ****, you're going to have a really bad time with a schedule like that...

 

[Medin2017]

Holy ****, you're going to have a really bad time with a schedule like that...

Foot fetish seems to be acing all his tests on a schedule similar if not harder

 

[Giovanotto]

Foot fetish seems to be acing all his tests on a schedule similar if not harder

Good for him? You can keep doing-away with time for yourself, but eventually and probably, you'll have to make time for sickness.

 

[wubalubadubdub]

Holy ****, you're going to have a really bad time with a schedule like that...

Well there's time built in for breaks (about 5 hours of break/non-med school related stuff on non-exam weeks.)

Plus, there's time to workout and get up to 7-8 hours of sleep.

And of course, weekends on non exam weeks run from 8am-6pm for non exam weeks and 8am-10pm for exam weeks.

My studying will also include taking 5 minute breaks, so it's not just straight up 3+ hours of sitting and staring at a computer screen. I might even incorporate the Pomodoro technique into the schedule.

Also,Fridays are half-days. So for non-exam weeks, that means very light studying. (Maybe from 3pm-6pm) and during exam weeks that'll probably be from 2pm-10pm.

Honestly, this is the only way to fit in enough time to study, workout, eat healthy, and get 7+ hours a sleep a night.

Otherwise I'd be stressing out about trying to fit in a workout and getting that extra hour of sleep.

 

[Giovanotto]

Well there's time built in for breaks (about 5 hours of break/non-med school related stuff on non-exam weeks.)

Plus, there's time to workout and get up to 7-8 hours of sleep.

And of course, weekends on non exam weeks run from 8am-6pm for non exam weeks and 8am-10pm for exam weeks.

My studying will also include taking 5 minute breaks, so it's not just straight up 3+ hours of sitting and staring at a computer screen. I might even incorporate the Pomodoro technique into the schedule.

Also,Fridays are half-days. So for non-exam weeks, that means very light studying. (Maybe from 3pm-6pm) and during exam weeks that'll probably be from 2pm-10pm.

Honestly, this is the only way to fit in enough time to study, workout, eat healthy, and get 7+ hours a sleep a night.

Otherwise I'd be stressing out about trying to fit in a workout and getting that extra hour of sleep.

Unfortunately, and as you'll find out, it's impossible to schedule life in the way you're trying to. I could list tens of things that you do in a day (should do?) or in a week, that you aren't including. God forbid you have a toothache, get mono or chlamydia (you sly dog), get a girlfriend that is a handful (*cough, cough*), lose a parent, have loud neighbors, your computer dies, your car breaks down, ad infinitum.

Ever heard of grocery shopping? Nose hair trimming/Grooming? Cleaning your house (don't be a dirty son of a gun)? Servicing your car? Socializing on the daily? Calling your parents? Stuff takes times, man.

Also, are you a female and/or squirrel? I don't see dinnertime anywhere on your schedule.

 

[wubalubadubdub]

Unfortunately, and as you'll find out, it's impossible to schedule life in the way you're trying to. I could list tens of things that you do in a day (should do?) or in a week, that you aren't including. God forbid you have a toothache, get mono or chlamydia (you sly dog), get a girlfriend that is a handful (*cough, cough*), lose a parent, have loud neighbors, your computer dies, your car breaks down, ad infinitum.

Ever heard of grocery shopping? Nose hair trimming/Grooming? Cleaning your house (don't be a dirty son of a gun)? Servicing your car? Socializing on the daily? Calling your parents? Stuff takes times, man.

Also, are you a female and/or squirrel? I don't see dinnertime anywhere on your schedule.

Well those things can happen anytime (getting sick, broken laptop, etc) but having a general schedule is important to have a routine. I mean using that logic, we should all just sit around waiting to get sick/die instead of actually being productive. I mean what's the point of even opening a medical textbook and sitting down to study if I'm gonna get sick before I finish it. Also, that time off isn't just for Netflix, it also includes talking with parents and socializing with a friend at a local coffee shop. Non-exam weekends run from 8am-6pm so that means plenty of time before and after to do stuff like hang out with friends, watch a movie, etc.

Also, I meal prep now. Since all my meals are ready to go, that saves time. I meal prep on Sundays (just stuff some seasoned beef/chicken into a slow cooker, with a side of veggies) and I have that for lunch and dinner. So I can eat and study at the same time. That's how I did it in my last two years in college.

Trust me, this schedule is pretty lenient.

 

[Giovanotto]

Well those things can happen anytime (getting sick, broken laptop, etc) but having a general schedule is important to have a routine. I mean using that logic, we should all just sit around waiting to get sick/die instead of actually being productive. I mean what's the point of even opening a medical textbook and sitting down to study if I'm gonna get sick before I finish it. Also, that time off isn't just for Netflix, it also includes talking with parents and socializing with a friend at a local coffee shop. Non-exam weekends run from 8am-6pm so that means plenty of time before and after to do stuff like hang out with friends, watch a movie, etc.

Also, I meal prep now. Since all my meals are ready to go, that saves time. I meal prep on Sundays (just stuff some seasoned beef/chicken into a slow cooker, with a side of veggies) and I have that for lunch and dinner. So I can eat and study at the same time. That's how I did it in my last two years in college.
.

Ignoring the non-bolded since you're obviously taking what I said to an extreme (and you'd be surprise how often some of those things happen and how little you have control over certain aspects of your life).

Study and eat at the same time? I'd rather be eating with a gun to my head. FYI: If your schedule was even close to being realistic, meaning, what was expected of me in years 1&2, I'd have dropped out week 1. No way in hell I'm giving up some of the things you're suggesting to be a physician.

All in all, just be realistic with yourself and take care of yourself.

 

[DO2015CA]

Well those things can happen anytime (getting sick, broken laptop, etc) but having a general schedule is important to have a routine. I mean using that logic, we should all just sit around waiting to get sick/die instead of actually being productive. I mean what's the point of even opening a medical textbook and sitting down to study if I'm gonna get sick before I finish it. Also, that time off isn't just for Netflix, it also includes talking with parents and socializing with a friend at a local coffee shop. Non-exam weekends run from 8am-6pm so that means plenty of time before and after to do stuff like hang out with friends, watch a movie, etc.

Also, I meal prep now. Since all my meals are ready to go, that saves time. I meal prep on Sundays (just stuff some seasoned beef/chicken into a slow cooker, with a side of veggies) and I have that for lunch and dinner. So I can eat and study at the same time. That's how I did it in my last two years in college.

Trust me, this schedule is pretty lenient.

Lol no it's not. It's a recipe for burn out. The first two years aren't that hard that you need to be like that. I go to a school that required mando attendance. Schedules are useless because people jam pack them so much that it's not humanly possible to accomplish. You'll find out. @Giovanotto is trying to be realistic. Take the advice from people that have travelled through the gauntlet. You mention foot fetish's being worse. He's also a self proclaiming neurotic. You will hate life

Your schedule is good for the first month so you have a safety blanket while you learn to drink from the firehose. But it's not sustainable.

 

[Giovanotto]

Lol no it's not. It's a recipe for burn out. The first two years aren't that hard that you need to be like that. I go to a school that required mando attendance. Schedules are useless because people jam pack them so much that it's not humanly possible to accomplish. You'll find out. @Giovanotto is trying to be realistic. Take the advice from people that have travelled through the gauntlet. You mention foot fetish's being worse. He's also a self proclaiming neurotic. You will hate life

Your schedule is good for the first month so you have a safety blanket while you learn to drink from the firehose. But it's not sustainable.

What's funny is that I had the opposite approach: "Let me see if I can do this while maintaining a normal life and if I don't make it, I don't make it". It was a sort-of compatibility test for me between me and medicine. Obviously a flawed test, because I'm assuming second year will get worse, and potentially years 3&4.

 

[DO2015CA]

Idk your curriculum but in a system base curriculum, year 2 is infinity better. You don't have all the time sink labs such as anatomy and histo. OMM becomes your only sink. Plus you also learn how to study more efficiently. I thought I figured it out first year but about halfway through 3rd semester everything started clicking. I and most in my class studied a fraction of the time we did in 1st year to get similar grades.

 

[ortnakas]

Foot fetish seems to be acing all his tests on a schedule similar if not harder

Foot Fetish is doing well but also should not be taken as an example of how to do med school-- the vast majority would crash and burn at some point with that kind of schedule (and jury is still out on if it'll happen to him/her one of these days).

Plus, having a "real life" outside of med school whenever possible is normal and healthy. Do as well as you can, obviously, but there's nothing wrong with liking/wanting to exercise or watch Game of Thrones or have a beer or do your laundry.

 

[wubalubadubdub]

I understand where you guys are coming from (considering I'll be starting medical school and you guys have already been through some of it.)

The way I see it is I can always change my schedule, but for me personally I just need something to get started so I don't get overwhelmed in the beginning (which is what I mentioned when I initially put my schedule.) I'd rather have a generalized schedule in the beginning of school rather than trying to figure out how I can fit in working out and sleeping and if it's okay to do something on the weekend.

Maybe a month in, I realize I don't really need to study that hard for a class and I can spend more time doing other things. But also, this schedule has time off. Non-exam weeks I'm free on weekends and on exam weeks I'm not. Plenty of time to socialize and stuff, otherwise, I'd be studying like 8+ hours a day without working out or having time to talk to family.

Honestly, my point is just having some sort of a schedule to get started and then changing things as I go along rather than feeling overwhelmed with timing in the beginning.

But yeah, I understand what y'all are trying to say with trying to control every single aspect of med school with a rigid schedule. I know for a fact the way I studied in my freshman year was not how I imagined I would be studying in my senior year and still doing well. And I'm sure once I'm through a block I'll be changing my schedule again.