first year in UT med - awful or manageable?

[Guest try2dstress]

Hi all,

I have a question for those who are already in UT for med school. I've heard that U of T's program can be *very* rigorous, especially in first year when you have class 8 hours a day at least. I remember hearing someone say that while he was at U of T meds he felt like a professional test taker and sometimes lost perspective in terms of 'why' he was taking all these tests. I'm not sure what year in the program he was talking about specifically.

I was wondering if you guys could expand on your experiences at U of T, if it's really tough to get everything done or if you still have time for outside commitments? Any insight on what it's like to be a U of T med student and if it gets better/worse depending on the year of the program would be appreciated!

Thanks

[Guest UTMed07]

<quote>I was wondering if you guys could expand on your experiences at U of T, if it's really tough to get everything done or if you still have time for outside commitments?</quote>I didn't total the time. Any case, it wasn't 8 hours of class/day. Things are manageable and there is time to do other things... as you might imagine if there are so many different clubs/activities. The second year is generally considered to be easier by most-- especially the first part (Pathobiology of Disease). In third year things get more busy... you spend a lot of time in hospital and generally don't have time for many things outside of school. Fourth year... I've heard is easier-- but I wouldn't know 'til next year.

[Guest peachy]

There are a handful of days with 7 hours of lecture total in the year; three hours a day of lecture is more typical. The full day is often scheduled, but usually half the time is in labs, tutorials, PBL, clinical skills, etc. So that part is not nearly as bad as people think. There are schedules available on the medical education website if you're curious.

[Guest studentz]

It depends. Right now, for MNU, there is a ridiculous amount of scheduled "self-study" time. If you actually studied during that time, you wouldn't have to do any work outside of normal business hours except for near the exams. The Daffydil people managed to practice for full days on both days of every weekend in February and then for several more full days in the week leading up to the event.

 

If you get out of class, go home and sit in front of the TV for four hours, then try to cook dinner, eat etc. you might find yourself in a bit of trouble trying to get your work in. Otherwise, it's doable with time to spare for other activities.

 

For Brain and Behaviour, we apparently have most Friday afternoons off and some Tuesday mornings as well.