How many hours a day do you spend studying in med school

hi nevian,

there's really not a numerical answer to that question. every day and every week will be different. also years 1&2 will be different from years 3&4. there will never be enough hours for everything you want to do in your personal or educational areas. and just about everyone struggles with keeping a good balance with those.

generally, you get up in the morning and go to class. you'll probably have classes from 9am - 3pm most weekdays. of course, there are huge variations throughout the year.

there may be 30 minute or an hour breaks between some of the classes. so you either go somewhere to study. or get coffee and chat. or make personal calls, etc.

once classes are over you study more, sometimes at your apartment, sometimes in the library, or other places. almost everyone gets into several study groups. so you may study psychology with one group, then go study biochemistry with another group, etc.

weekends you study more. usually while simultaneously doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc.

the amount of textbook reading that is assigned every class is enormous. in fact, i would be surprised if any student has ever read everything assigned. you have to pick and choose what you're going to emphasize in your own education.

some people focus more on studying the notes from lectures.

sometimes you have to learn in different ways, such as with dissecting cadavers, or reading x-rays, for instance.

a word about going to class. not everyone goes to class. classes are taped so that if you're sick or out of town, for instance, you have an opportunity to view them at a later time.

tests. lots and lots of them. maybe 2 per week. so as soon as you finish cramming for the Cell Biology test you're then cramming for the Physiology test.

blowing off steam. this is a must. remember that everyone who goes to medical school was once the high school valedictorian, or national merit scholar, or magna cum laude, etc. that all changes in medical school. you start getting grades that are Bs and Cs, sometimes Ds. that's hard to swallow.

some people will get together for sports like basketball, tennis, racquetball, etc. others will do aerobics or weightlifting together. some will go clubbing. some get together for family-style events. others de-stress on their own. sure, these all take time away from studying but they are essential nonetheless.

i'm not even going to get into discussing the clinical years, years 3&4.

i will tell you this one clear memory i have from medical school. one sunday morning i somehow acquired the newspaper and read it. it literally had been years since i had sat blissfully reading something non-medical.

i have a lot of respect for the married folks in our class whose marriages survived those four years. to succeed you have to make a decision to neglect, to some degree, just about everything else in your life. i missed a lot of funerals, weddings, thanksgivings, christmases, etc.

i'm going to recommend to you something that i wish someone had told me about when i was your age. when i was a sophomore in college my grades were so-so and i knew something had to change if i was going to go to medical school. i read a book called something like How to Make Straight A's. it taught me how to study, how to take notes, who to study with, how to take tests, etc, etc. there truly are proven techniques to help you learn better. go your local library or bookstore to find a similar book. it'll make your journey much easier.

hope this helps.

good luck!