thank you UMB students, you guys are so helpful, could you answer another question for me please?
could you break down a typical school day? how long do classes typically go for? where/when do you study? how many hours of studying per week do you feel are necessary to sufficiently prepare yourself for midterms/quizzes/finals?
thank you again guys, i look forward to meeting all of you in june/august!😀
If you are on the Baltimore campus and you DO go to class, then a typical first year day starts out at 9 a.m. and goes till about noon (give or take an hour). If you have labs, it's in the afternoon. If you have exams, they are at 7:30 a.m. Then you have all your organizations which have meetings, commitments, part time work if you so choose, etc. etc. etc. So you definitely can have a full day even if you only have two or three hours of class.
You study whenever you feel like; most people find a place that suits them. Some people like the lecture halls, others like to find a coffee shop; others attend review sessions, while some people prefer isolated studying. Since I'm a pretty techy person, I like to study in my room since I can use my dual-monitor to study effectively. But of course, that's just me and I"m probably really dorky anyway.
The amount of studying varies from person to person. Some people only cram before the exam, and manage to do just fine, while others can study for days on end and still not do well. It depends on the individual. However, from my experience, if you have had a strong background in the material, you can probably get away with about 8 to 10 hours of studying per exam. It's really up to you. Pharmacy school isn't easy though, so don't think that just because the schedule is light that you will get a break, because you don't. Between the school work, your extra curriculars, and having fun with your classmates...it adds up. You will find yourself out of time to study, so be careful =)
As for me, I try to attend class every day, but there are some weeks with two or three exams in a row where I feel that I can't afford to miss out on the extra hours of studying. Second year is supposedly 10 to 20 times worse than first year, but I"ll let you know once i get there =P First year is definitely manageable though, and it's mainly a year to get everyone on the same page. I find myself doing decently in my classes given the amount of time i study, but it can vary from person to person. There is a limit to how much you can study; I don't believe that studying any longer would have allowed me to do any better on any of my exams, so don't feel you have to sacrifice your commitments to focus exclusively on school.
I'll leave the typical Shady Grove day to a Shady Grove classmate =)
