Which med school will allow you to sleep more?

[tgerwuds]

Which med school will allow you to sleep more?

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[sacrament]

Any school that doesn't have mandatory attendance the first two years. During one span I slept in for six months straight.

 

[Samoa]

Which med school will allow you to sleep more?

Finally, an intelligent question about how to choose between med schools!

 

[Rogue_Leader]

I think OSU tops out this catagory. The first semester is regularly scheduled classes and stuff. But for the rest of the first year, and all of second year, you can choose which path you want to take. You can either continue to take regular classes, or you can take the self directed path. All the course material is online and you can study at your own pace without having to attend any classes. The way they grade you is that they give you a time period in which you have to take certain exams. The professors have regular office hours that you can go to if you have trouble with the material. It seems like a really good system for people who hate class but are still motivated and hard working, and for students with families where it's very convenient to not have to attend classes. The real question should be which school lets you sleep the most during the 3rd year.

 

[pbn2au]

I think OSU tops out this catagory...

Quite possibly the best thing I've heard all day.

 

[azzarah]

Hopkins has 8 am classes everyday during first year, but you get all the notes ahead of time and all the lectures are video-taped and you can watch them online. Also for most labs, all the material is online so you don't have to go. The only thing you have to attend is discussion (only for certain courses like for physician and society and psychiatry) and exams.

 

[ericdamiansean]

haha...medical school = lack of sleep

If you are getting too much sleep, it's either you are darn smart or something's not right

 

[Wrigleyville]

Whichever one is closest to where you sleep.

 

[azzarah]

haha...medical school = lack of sleep

If you are getting too much sleep, it's either you are darn smart or something's not right

True, true. I went to almost all of my classes last year but I managed to get around 8-9 hrs of sleep per night on average (counting weekends when I usually catch up on sleep)....one saturday I slept for 17 hours. I had such a bad headache when I woke up though!

 

[flighterdoc]

Which med school will allow you to sleep more?

All of them - just donate yourself to their cadaver program, and you can sleep all you want.

 

[japhy]

c'mon, the first two years of medical school are not that hard. i have never spent so many days powder skiing so many days until i went to med school. now 3rd and 4th year, that's another story...

 

[azzarah]

c'mon, the first two years of medical school are not that hard. i have never spent so many days powder skiing so many days until i went to med school. now 3rd and 4th year, that's another story...

You're kidding, right?

 

[sacrament]

You're kidding, right?

No, he's not. For the first two years, I could have slept as much as I wanted. I could have slept 12 hours a day. I could have slept 16 hours a day. Some insane gunners study for like 12 hours every day; you cannot make me believe that's actually necessary. I studied for maybe 2-3 hours a day and did very well. It's a lot of stuff to memorize but you get used to it.

Memorizing a bunch of s*** isn't "hard". It isn't "work." Not in the same sense that doing math problems is work. You don't use your brain much the first two years, you just read something over and over again and then suddenly you've memorized it. Not too bad.

 

[rah223]

I agree. It's not that your 1st 2 years are hard. They're just boring. Memorizing 1 fact after another just gets old. That being said, I've had plenty of time to sleep. I only have class until 12 most days, and I've become a big fan of the nap.

 

[azzarah]

Well, I guess everyone is different. I thought math was a breeze in college but anatomy totally kicked my a$$. Yes, memorizing a bunch of **** is much harder for me than solving a differential equation and med school sure does feel like a challenge to me.

It's funny how you find med school easy but boring--I find it tough but fascinating. I guess maybe I am a "gunner." But this also makes me wonder if there is a difference in the amount of work you are expected to do @ different med schools.

 

[Rod Farva]

Any school without mandatory attendance. Traditional curriculum programs with lectures that involve the entire class at once are key.... this means you don't have to go. Get the syllabus, get a review book for the course, and you will be golden. If you want to sleep in, stay away from a PBL curriculum... PBL = you have to be there. I'd say in my first two years, I went to less than 50 lectures total (most of those in the first two weeks of M1).... given that we would have 4-6 per day for two years, that's a lot of missed class time, and I still did well in my classes. Figure out what works for you, and if you don't need to go to class, don't go.... you'll be a much happier person.

As far as years 3/4, all bets are off.... I don't know of any school with any rotations that consistently start at noon and end at four, unfortunately. This has been a real shock to my system for the past month, but if you think I am re-evaluating my choice to not attend lectures in years 1/2, you would be mistaken.

 

[edmadison]

Any school that doesn't have mandatory attendance the first two years. During one span I slept in for six months straight.

Are you kidding? I went to almost all of my first two year lectures even though they weren't required. I got some of my best sleep there!

Ed

 

[care bear]

No, he's not. For the first two years, I could have slept as much as I wanted. I could have slept 12 hours a day. I could have slept 16 hours a day. Some insane gunners study for like 12 hours every day; you cannot make me believe that's actually necessary. I studied for maybe 2-3 hours a day and did very well. It's a lot of stuff to memorize but you get used to it.

Memorizing a bunch of s*** isn't "hard". It isn't "work." Not in the same sense that doing math problems is work. You don't use your brain much the first two years, you just read something over and over again and then suddenly you've memorized it. Not too bad.

ok.. .everyone is not as good at memorizing as you! i am terrible at remembering things!!
i don't have any idea why they make the MCAT a test for getting into medical school, btw. for an appropriate test for medical school, they should have us all memorize and recite the entire Constitution, or something a litte more akin to the type of thinking that is expected.

on that note. . any tips for a girl who is a terrible memorizer; forgets what she did 2 seconds ago? how do you increase your retention?
i think i'm pretty good conceptually and analytically, but when it comes to memorizing, i am lost. just lost.

 

[sacrament]

ok.. .everyone is not as good at memorizing as you! i am terrible at remembering things!!
i don't have any idea why they make the MCAT a test for getting into medical school, btw. for an appropriate test for medical school, they should have us all memorize and recite the entire Constitution, or something a litte more akin to the type of thinking that is expected.

on that note. . any tips for a girl who is a terrible memorizer; forgets what she did 2 seconds ago? how do you increase your retention?
i think i'm pretty good conceptually and analytically, but when it comes to memorizing, i am lost. just lost.

I read something over and over and over. Then I read the next "factoid" I'm supposed to memorize, over and over and over... then I try to remember what the first factoid was. If I get it right, I move on to factoid three, and I read it over and over and over, then I try to remember what factoids one and two were. I never move forward unless I'm satisfied that I remember all previous factoids. If at any point I forget a factoid, I go back and read it like ten times and then move on and try again during the next cycle. If I repeatedly cannot remember a certain factoid during this process, I write it down on a seperate piece of paper entitled "Things I Apparently Just Can't Remember" which is what I cram in the hours before an exam. Since using this method will make you regurgitate the earlier factoids more times than the later factoids, the next time I study I will start at the end of whatever section I'm reading and work backwards. This way you literally know the material "forwards and backwards."
This is boring. That's the problem with the first two years of med school: it's isn't hard, it's just f-ing boring. It's so boring that, I've noticed, people will sort of study half-assed and not perform the hardcore repetitions, because it's boring. But be strong!

 

[Idiopathic]

I read something over and over and over. Then I read the next "factoid" I'm supposed to memorize, over and over and over... then I try to remember what the first factoid was. If I get it right, I move on to factoid three, and I read it over and over and over, then I try to remember what factoids one and two were. I never move forward unless I'm satisfied that I remember all previous factoids. If at any point I forget a factoid, I go back and read it like ten times and then move on and try again during the next cycle. If I repeatedly cannot remember a certain factoid during this process, I write it down on a seperate piece of paper entitled "Things I Apparently Just Can't Remember" which is what I cram in the hours before an exam. Since using this method will make you regurgitate the earlier factoids more times than the later factoids, the next time I study I will start at the end of whatever section I'm reading and work backwards. This way you literally know the material "forwards and backwards."
This is boring. That's the problem with the first two years of med school: it's isn't hard, it's just f-ing boring. It's so boring that, I've noticed, people will sort of study half-assed and not perform the hardcore repetitions, because it's boring. But be strong!

This is about the truest thing on this thread so far...except for the one about your med school being close to where you sleep. That would help too.

 

[Samoa]

Good Lord, sac! I'd shoot myself in less than a week if I tried that.

 

[ericdamiansean]

All of them - just donate yourself to their cadaver program, and you can sleep all you want.

haha..tat's really funny man!!

 

[human_barcode]

Are you kidding? I went to almost all of my first two year lectures even though they weren't required. I got some of my best sleep there!

Ed

i dont know how you do without classes. i guess i am at PBL school. even though it doesnt feel like it. go to class, its like studying without putting in too much effort.

 

[tgerwuds]

i dont know how you do without classes. i guess i am at PBL school. even though it doesnt feel like it. go to class, its like studying without putting in too much effort.

what school?

 

[ericdamiansean]

i dont know how you do without classes. i guess i am at PBL school. even though it doesnt feel like it. go to class, its like studying without putting in too much effort.

We're hybrid. I know that PBL schools seem to give you alot of time, but when you compare how much you learn with the traditional schools, that's gona jolt you wide awake from your slumber

 

[jwin]

it's not just about whether or not class is required, but how much class the school has. while it may be true that everyone has to learn the same basic info to take the boards, i find that more class just means more detail which means more work whether or not you go to class. bottom line: pick the school with classes from 8-12 rather than 8-4 because it is a lot easier for them to give you more work when they are giving you 8 hours of lecture that you are responsible for each day (even if attendance is not required)

 

[madtowngirl]

I usually went to class (traditional whole class class). I'd sleep if it was boring, or make flashcards or do the crossword if I just couldn't sleep. I like the combination of auditory and visual learning, although when it gets down to studying the learn it factoid by factoid method is the only way to go. Plus class is sort of social; if I didn't go then I'd miss out on the latest high-schoolish gossip.

 

[Samoa]

I have to confess, the real reason I like the non-required attendance is not so that I can sleep more, but so that I can choose how to spend my time most productively. I am a closet gunner--the worst kind--in that I rarely let on that I am doing anything other than goofing off when I skip. But I routinely will overbook myself, and sacrifice class attendance to other projects. So if I'm required to go to class, it cuts down on the total number of things I can get done in a day. Except that I like to be into a lot of different things, so I will just cut class and take the lower grade. So in a non-attendance-required atmosphere, I can do my thing and as long as I put in the time studying (at whatever hour of the day I have free time) my grades don't suffer.

(note: this only applies to actual classroom courses. I have a completely different approach to clinical responsibilities--although even there I prefer to be judged whether I got it done in a timely fashion and not whether I punched a clock at the appointed time.)

 

[Carb Addict]

(note: this only applies to actual classroom courses. I have a completely different approach to clinical responsibilities--although even there I prefer to be judged whether I got it done in a timely fashion and not whether I punched a clock at the appointed time.)

omg...i totally agree. i hated being micromanaged in former jobs regarding exactly how many minutes was considered "late."

(only one more day of nights on L&D - )

 

[johncunningham]

I almost never reply to this forum, but this one got me...

I went to school in Philly. I, like probably 10 percent of my class, never ever went to lecture. On graduation day there were people that came up to me and were like " dude you're in our class?". Anyhow, here's the thing that worked for me. 9am-noon read the notes. Noon-1, eat lunch, chill with the TV. 1-3or 4, read the syllabus/review books. I almost never worked in the evening, and only included weekends in the week before exams. It went fairly smoothly, and kept me pretty happy. Third year is a drag any way you slice it. The first half if fourth year is also pretty hard, especially if you do away electives and try to be a super star. The second half of fourth year was a joke.
Pick a school that suits you. live close to it, ideally within a two minute walk, and don't ever try to compare yourself to the guy sitting next to you. he might be a thousand times smarter or dumber, may have a phD in biochem when you have never seen it beore, and might be completely full of **** when he says things like " dude, I never study", or "I study 12 hours a day, every day" Everyone will find what works for them.

 

[daisygirl]

I read something over and over and over. Then I read the next "factoid" I'm supposed to memorize, over and over and over... then I try to remember what the first factoid was. If I get it right, I move on to factoid three, and I read it over and over and over, then I try to remember what factoids one and two were. I never move forward unless I'm satisfied that I remember all previous factoids. If at any point I forget a factoid, I go back and read it like ten times and then move on and try again during the next cycle. If I repeatedly cannot remember a certain factoid during this process, I write it down on a seperate piece of paper entitled "Things I Apparently Just Can't Remember" which is what I cram in the hours before an exam. Since using this method will make you regurgitate the earlier factoids more times than the later factoids, the next time I study I will start at the end of whatever section I'm reading and work backwards. This way you literally know the material "forwards and backwards."
This is boring. That's the problem with the first two years of med school: it's isn't hard, it's just f-ing boring. It's so boring that, I've noticed, people will sort of study half-assed and not perform the hardcore repetitions, because it's boring. But be strong!

This describes the majority of my life for the past two years. It is so true that it is scary.

 

[Lara]

I *hated* 8AM classes and often ended up skipping (anatomy being a major exception). Now that I'm on clinical rotations, starting that late is a luxury. Crazy...

 

[MD2b06]

Requiring mandatory attendance during the first two years is cruel and unusual punishment. Some schools go 8-5 with mandatory attendance! My school is 8-12 with optional attendance, and I figure I went to maybe 10% of the lectures for second year. The lectures just could not compete with extra sleep. There were many classes where I just showed up for the review. Bottom Line: Everyone learns differently. Having the option of not going to class is crucial. Plus, a lil extra sleep never hurt anyone. Get as much sleep as you possibly can the first 2 years, b/c when 3rd year rolls around, you'll be waking up before 4 am so you can be in the hospital by 5 to pre-round on certain rotations. Sleep will be a precious commodity.

 

[cali99boy]

No, he's not. For the first two years, I could have slept as much as I wanted. I could have slept 12 hours a day. I could have slept 16 hours a day. Some insane gunners study for like 12 hours every day; you cannot make me believe that's actually necessary. I studied for maybe 2-3 hours a day and did very well. It's a lot of stuff to memorize but you get used to it.

Memorizing a bunch of s*** isn't "hard". It isn't "work." Not in the same sense that doing math problems is work. You don't use your brain much the first two years, you just read something over and over again and then suddenly you've memorized it. Not too bad.

Oh man, I wish we can switch places. I can't memorize worth crap. I can solve stuff though. I'm better at solving equations like Math and Physic problems than brute memorization. Do you have any tips for memorizing? I keep forgetting everything