Medical school

Question
so if you're prudent and study everyday, then on average, you only have to study 6 hours per day and 10 hours on weekends?
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Followup To

Question -
I heard from people that they have to stay up till midnight each day to get everything done. Do you? Is it because you know most of the material already from college?
I just started [a state]college[got an A in chemistry!]. What courses do you suggest I take in addition to the microbiology, immunology, physiology,anatomy, and biochemistry courses you suggested before?  
I heard anatomy is very hard. Can you really get an A in that in college?
I want to do everything like you! If there is only a certain amount of credits you have to take in college, I'd rather take the courses that I'll gain most from in the long run.
Thank you for your help.
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Followup To

Question -
I was thinking of becoming a doctor and heard it took a lot of hard work and brains;I wanted to ask you from a first-hand view, what is your daily schedule in the 1rst and 2nd years[through the day:when you wake up, when lecture is from and till, what time ranges do you study in,etc.] ?How much sleep does the average student get?
I'm not really worried about after that as I heard that if you can handle the 1rst 2 years, you'll definitely be able to handle the rest,though they are still very difficult.
Thank you very much for your time.
You must be brilliant if you're in medical school!
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Followup To

Question -
HI,
are you currently in your 1rst, 2nd year of medical school.
Would you be able to share your experiences with me?


Answer -
Jeff,
I'm a 2nd year student, and what would you like to know?

Answer -
It would sure be nice if you could simply be brilliant and excel in medical school... unfortunately, it's 95% hard work, and 5% puzzle solving.
As far as what's difficult, some people find the first two years harder, and some find the second two years harder. In my case, I made sure that I had a really solid background before starting med school by taking microbiology, immunology, physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, etc. It paid off, because although I still work hard, I'm not struggling like some of my classmates who only had the minimum prerequisites (none of the classes I listed are actually required prerequisites). Classes at my school start at 8:30 and end at noon. We have small groups 2 afternoons a week, from 1 to 3:30. I generally study every day from the time class is over until 6 pm, and then from 8 to 6 on Saturdays. I like to keep myself on a set schedule, because then I'm not trying to cram right before exams.

Anyway, at your age, if you're thinking about medicine, I strongly recommend that you volunteer in a hospital AND shadow a primary care doctor, as soon as possible. The sooner you commit, the sooner you can get started on all of the things you need to do! Med schools generally look for an applicant with a MINIMUM 3.5 college GPA (the average is about 3.75), significant medical shadwing/volunteering (>100 hours), and significant research (one full semester of part time work, or else a summer of full-time work). You have three years of college to get all of that stuff done, plus, if you think you're going to apply to med school, you need to really watch your GPA-you might decide to go to a state school or take easier classes so that you can get A's.
In the spring of your 3rd college year, you have to take the MCAT, which is knowledge-based, not intelligence based like the SAT or ACT. That's also a great time to take English or other reading/writing intensive classes, to sharpen your composition skills both for the essay section of the MCAT and for writing your med school applicatin essays. Then, you'll spend your fourth year of college applying-your first applications have to be in by the end of June, and they'll keep coming through September/October. Novemer through March is interview season. You'll also want to take classes that will help you out in med school, like anatomy and physiology (but overall you need to keep your schedule light, so you can interview!)

But, it's definitely doable if medicine is really your calling. Just start early, work hard, and get a premed advisor as soon as possible!

Answer -
Jeff,
Here's the perfect premed schedule:
Freshman year: two semesters general biology, two semesters general chemistry
summer: Volunteer at a hospital or clinic full time.

Sophomore year: Two semesters organic chemistry with lab, two semesters general physics with lab, one English class in spring semester. Continue volunteering if you can, but only one half day per week (about 4 hours)
Summer: Study for the MCAT, take it in August. Continue volunteering if you can but limit to one full day per week (about 8 hours).

Junior year: Cell Biology, general physiology plus * classes. Do a research project with a professor you like. Schmooze professors who will write your recommendations-you'll need one from your research mentor, one from the doctor you volunteered with, and 2 to 3 from your science teachers, so if there are any you liked from previous years, now's a good time to email them periodic updates, take them out to lunch, anything to stay in touch with them and make sure they know you well enough to write a great letter.
Summer: Finish up your research if need be, File your AMCAS.

Senior year: Biochemistry plus * classes
Summer: Enjoy yourself, you're going to be a doctor.

* classes: anatomy, microbiology, virology, immunology, embryology, histology, pathology, etc, whatever your college offers.

Obviously following this schedule is easiest if your major is biology... but med schools also like you to take some humanities classes to be "well rounded". Medical Ethics is a great class if your undergrad school offers it.

And, I go to bed at 11 every night and wake up at 7. If someone tells you that they stay until all hours studying , what they really mean is they drank beer and played videogames from 2 pm until 10 pm, then started doing their work. There's no reason you can't get a good night's sleep every night. There's one main difference between a highly intelligent person and an average person, and it has nothing to do with IQ. An intelligent person is able to accurately predict the future consequences of current action, AND has the self-control to choose the present course of action that gives the best future result. Intelligent people don't drink too much, never smoke, always use birth control, and get their homework done before they goof off-when they see a potential problem in the future, they take steps NOW that will prevent or correct the problem.

Answer
Jeff,
6 hours per day plus 10 on weekends is enough. You can get away with less, but then you might have extra work before finals. Personally, I'd rather study all semester, and not have to do anything extra before exams. Also, most medical schools don't really grade you-they have a pass/fail system, so as long as you know you will pass, there's not too much point in working harder. (Depending on the school a passing exam score is usually 70 to 80%, at my school it's 75%.) Most schools will give High Pass or Honors to the top 20% or so, but since there's a lot of smart people in med school, trying to break into that top tier is ridiculously difficult and a big waste of time.  

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