Time spent studying?

[kdgb]

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Hello all, I am a new member and just wonder how many hours people spend studying? I've done some searches through past posts and seen references to constant studying (and I can only imagine!), but can you be more specific? Especially, those of you will children, what is your daily/weekly schedule like?

Thanks much. Just trying to get a realistic picture of what it's like. I need to decide if this is something I could with young children and how I might be able to manage my time!
-kdgb

 

[awk]

It really depends on the class and the amount of credit hours. I would say I study no more than 12 hrs a week at most. What you study will be more personal. You may be smarter and need to study less...or the opposite.

 

[Dianyla]

The rule of thumb that I have always been told is this:

Plan to spend least 2 hours of study time for every 1 hour you spend in class time.

This has held true for the most part. Except with Organic Chem, that's more like a 4:1 ratio for me.

 

[lilnoelle]

Are you asking premeds or med students?
As a premed, I don't know, I studied a few hours a day. I always got everything done that I needed to, but I really don't remember studying a whole lot.

As a med student, on a good day I'll put in 6 hours. Eight hours if I can spread it out. The week before the test, if I'm being a good student, I'll probably put in 10 hours a day. On Sunday I study quite a bit less (non test weeks) Maybe 2 hours on Sunday. Oh, and I have two kids (18 months and 3 1/2). They're in daycare during the week.

 

[kdgb]

Sorry, forgot to clarify premed or med school. Was curious about med school, taking a full load etc. Thanks for your responses!

 

[Haemulon]

Are you asking premeds or med students?
As a premed, I don't know, I studied a few hours a day. I always got everything done that I needed to, but I really don't remember studying a whole lot.

As a med student, on a good day I'll put in 6 hours. Eight hours if I can spread it out. The week before the test, if I'm being a good student, I'll probably put in 10 hours a day. On Sunday I study quite a bit less (non test weeks) Maybe 2 hours on Sunday. Oh, and I have two kids (18 months and 3 1/2). They're in daycare during the week.

6 hours plus lecture/lab time right? From what I have heard, actual lab class/time may take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours a day. Which makes for about a 12-16 hour day if you iclude 6 hours of study and 2 hours of breaks (lunch and dinner). That sound about right? Now if you talk about 10 hours of studying during the school week, then thats 16 to 20 hour days (only 4 hours to sleep, commute, and spend time with kids?). That sounds a bit extreme for M1 and M2. But I guess i'll find out soon enough.

 

[lilnoelle]

6 hours plus lecture/lab time right? From what I have heard, actual lab class/time may take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours a day. Which makes for about a 12-16 hour day if you iclude 6 hours of study and 2 hours of breaks (lunch and dinner). That sound about right? Now if you talk about 10 hours of studying during the school week, then thats 16 to 20 hour days (only 4 hours to sleep, commute, and spend time with kids?). That sounds a bit extreme for M1 and M2. But I guess i'll find out soon enough.

No, I'm not including lecture as an extra in the above. I don't attend lecture very often. If I do attend lecture, I probably put in an 8 hour day instead of a 6 hour day and I DO get more studying done (probably a discipline thing). I only have three hours of lecture a day though. Some schools have more lecture, so its a little different.
If I were disciplined, I should be able to get everything done while my kids are at daycare, i.e. 8-6. I'm not always that disciplined and mess around during the day. In that case, I try to study 2 hours or so in the evening. The weekend before test, I study a lot! And the week before the test I try to study as much as possible.. But the truth is I'm limited a certain amount from 6-9 pm because I'm with my kiddos and I'm limited even more by my own attention span/self discipline. If I could fix the self discipline issue I would probably be a better student, a better parent and get more sleep.