questions for you med students

[asasas]

So throughout my undergrad I'm pretty stressed out from keeping my GPA at a competitive level + an insane amount of EC + work. I've heard this from 2 med students saying that life is much easier once you're in med school (as opposed to your undergrad years). I just want to know what you guys think? Does the fact that all you need is a 65% make things easier?

 

Thanks in advanc guys : )

[inspiring-curmudgeon]

Yes, it's less stressful being in a pass/fail system, but there's still a lot of material to learn. Additionally, if you're aiming for a competitive specialty you have tons of other things to do. All the med students I know also pick up various extracurriculars as well.

[ellorie]

It depends - in some ways it is definitely easier because I don't feel so much pressure in terms of my marks. I don't have to spend every single minute trying to get a 95 instead of a 90, or scraping up every little mark, so I have more time to do other things that are important to me. I like that a lot.

 

On the other hand, in undergrad there was a certain freedom to forget what you learned in a course as soon as you wrote the final exam, whereas now that we're learning for clerkship it's stressful because you have to actually retain what you learn over the long term.

 

And of course there's the worry about CaRMS and extracurriculars, but that's not much worse from how much I worried about getting into medical school in the first place.

 

On the whole I do feel somewhat more relaxed than I did in undergrad but it's certainly not a total walk in the park.

[Corie]

You're still busy but its a different feeling. First, you're settled into a professional program now and the future has become a lot more certain. Second, as you stated, its on a pass fail basis (at McGill 60%). Third, you get loads of support and help from peers - something that may be drastically different compared to undergrad.

 

However, know that the average still tends to be in the low 80s. Even with pass fail multiple choice exams (on which you can literally START studying 2 days before the exam to pass), it's a very bad feeling guessing 50% of the questions...

 

The amount of material is much more than undergrad. Hence, its a different type of "stress". In the end, I find I have much more time now to persue hobbies.

[asasas]

hey thanks for the answers guys, really appreciate it. <3

[goleafsgochris]

I went to U of T st george for undergrad, and med school was almost laughably easier for me. I would say in terms of hours of work a week (including homework, etc) med school for me was maybe 60, while undergrad was 90-100--for me, it wasnt even close. This might be specific to doing undergrad at UTSG tho

[goleafsgo]

I went to U of T st george for undergrad, and med school was almost laughably easier for me. I would say in terms of hours of work a week (including homework, etc) med school for me was maybe 60, while undergrad was 90-100--for me, it wasnt even close. This might be specific to doing undergrad at UTSG tho

 

as someone that goes to UTSG, this is realllllllly nice to hear.

[future_doc]

Life is different but not easier. The volume of material is greater and I continue to study hard. I continue with ECs & volunteering but at a reduced level. Although I don't feel stressed, there is always something to learn. And, my classmates are tremendously supportive to one another.

[NLengr]

It's harder in a way because you aren't studying for marks, you are studying for knowledge that you will be expected to know when people are sick, sometimes severely.

[lostintime]

Clerkship can be tougher than undergrad, but first 2 years were definitely easier than undergrad imo.

[tooty]

preclerkship is easier than ug but clerkship has been tougher in terms of stress and studying. but clerkship has been by far the best.