Name: YOU'RE STUDYING WRONG - Here's Why
Uploaded: 2020-08-09T19:40:42.000Z
Duration: 11 min 5 s
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Transition words & phrases

If you're not getting the grades you want in school, you may think it's because you're not putting in enough effort.

After all, working harder should yield better results, right?

Adverbs of manner

For many students, the issue isn't actually a lack of effort.

Rather, it's the way most pre-med and medical students study that is highly ineffective

We'll separate fact from fiction, explore the scientific research, and give you actionable

As an MCAT and USMLE tutor, I've seen first-hand how impactful it can be for a student to make

the switch from commonly-used, ineffective study methods to evidence-based, effective

Ultimately, you've probably heard others suggest

a variety of study methods, some of which are contradictory to one another.

For that reason, it's important to practice some judgment and critical thinking of your

First, is the information I'm receiving backed by evidence?

That being said, not all evidence is created equal, and I've even gone over how you can

assess the strength of a research study in a previous video.

Additionally, not every question you have has been addressed with sound scientific research.

So if your question isn't adequately addressed by the scientific research, you'll need

Which bring us to the second point: credentials.

I don't mean the person needs a PhD or an MD after their name, although that certainly

If the person giving advice wasn't able to achieve the results themselves that they

are promising you, then where is their authority on the matter?

I personally scored in the 99.9th percentile on my MCAT, or the 100th percentile for the

statistically illiterate, and I hit the high 260s on my USMLE.

And third, what is the potential upside and downside from following the advice?

I'm unlikely to eat mysterious foods or take radical supplements because there is

potentially a large downside with relatively limited upside.

However, I'm more willing to experiment with my own study methods or productivity

strategies since the downside would be relatively limited.

That being said, I wouldn't start a new sleep routine just one week before my MCAT,

In investing, we call this phenomenon asymmetric risk – you want to take risks when the potential

upside or gain is significantly larger than the potential downside or loss.

Knowing that, let's dive into the five most common mistakes students make while studying.

The first mistake is misunderstanding the utility and balance of comprehension and memorization.

Recently, there seems to be an attack on memorization, with the idea that comprehension and understanding

This is idiotic advice that does more harm than good.

Like most things in life, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

In certain subjects, particularly medicine, memorization actually becomes increasingly

Comprehension and memorization are not an either-or proposition.

You need to use both in harmony to ultimately get the best grades and be the best doctor.

On one end of the spectrum, you have students who try to create flashcards and memorize

These students need to focus more on creating a mental scaffolding of comprehension before

On the other end of the spectrum, self proclaimed study experts say memorizing is bad and not

to use flashcards, pushing a silly agenda that by simply understanding the concepts

deeply, you'll never have to memorize a fact again.

That's a load of bull honkey and more marketing ploy than substance.

Sure, in cardiology, having an understanding of pressure-volume loops and basic fluid dynamics

is foundational, and trying to memorize these relationships rather than understand them

This is why so many students find cardiology particularly challenging – it's heavy

On the other end of the spectrum, anatomy is heavy on memorization.

Understanding the relation and functions of different body parts helps in memorizing important

information, but at the end of the day, using a mnemonic device to memorize the branches

of the external carotid will take you much farther than simply trying to understand it.

Prior to starting plastic surgery residency, I spent a year teaching anatomy to first and

I also spent considerable time tutoring students for both USMLE Step 1 and Step 2.

I found that different students require different approaches, as do different subjects.

For anatomy, students benefited most from learning memory tricks and mnemonics.

Comprehension could only take them so far.

For students struggling with renal or cardiology, we had to focus more on comprehension, as

memorizing facts without a solid foundation has little utility.

I've covered additional details in how to balance memorization and comprehension in

Now I'm guilty of this next one. Back in college, I often studied by re-reading my notes, which is terribly inefficient.

By re-reading notes or re-listening to a lecture, you're spending most of the time hearing

That time would be better spent (1) applying your new knowledge with spaced repetition

to improve memory consolidation, (2) challenging the newfound knowledge with practice questions,

or (3) learning about it from a different angle to address inconsistencies or holes

Don't worry about making sure you heard every single last word.

You can still set the curve and have top marks if you miss a small detail here or there.

For the MCAT and USMLE, students often brag about how many “passes” they've done

through their prep books, such as First Aid.

There's nothing wrong with referencing the text when you see a gap in your knowledge,

but reading the whole thing cover to cover multiple times is a perfect example of the

This next mistake is a perfect summation of the previous two.

Students have pride in how rapidly they listened to a lecture recording or podcast.

I personally rarely went over 1.5 or 1.7x for lecture recordings, but I had many friends

But guess who was getting better scores in class, on the MCAT, and on the USMLE?

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YOU'RE STUDYING WRONG - Here's Why

ultimately

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