Should you go to class or should you skip lecture and watch the video recordings?
Which one is gonna get you the best grade?
In this video, we're gonna cover the pros and cons of each and help you decide which one is best for you.
Roll the intro.
What's going on guys. Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.
Now, a lot of you have reached out to me and asked me whether or not I went to lecture or
wether I skipped and watch the video recordings and I get it, I underst-
it's a very important decision, don't get me wrong. I experimented with both over my college career.
But the assumption there is - incorrect.
So the assumption is that based on what I did you should as well.
But it depends on multiple factors not only your personality and you know, what works for you
based on your strengths and weaknesses,
but also that class and what tests you are studying for, or what you're trying to optimize for.
If you're optimizing for a high class score or a high grade in the class at the end of the quarter or semester,
that requires one strategy, whereas if you're optimizing for a high MCAT score
or high Step 1 score that requires a different strategy.
Now, I'll cover what I did a little quickly.
When I was in college, I pretty much attended lecture. There were times when I experimented especially during
second and third year with skipping lecture and watching the video recordings,
but there were a couple issues.
Number one is, the recordings weren't consistent.
So I'd say like thirty to forty percent of the time, like a massive proportion of the time,
they just didn't post properly they either weren't uploaded or they were uploaded
but the audio was funky or the video was like out of focus
and you can't see what they were writing on the board.
So it just wasn't really a sustainable option assuming I was you know optimizing for the outcome of
doing well in that class.
So as a pre-med, usually you want to have straight A's as much as possible
to have the strongest medical school applications.
So if I was optimizing for you know, high MCAT score alone and didn't really care about my class grades,
I may have had a different approach.
But I was trying to get a high class score and for a lot of those classes you needed to attend lecture
to know what they were going to be emphasizing on the test.
Now, in medical school, I definitely - well first year I usually attend the lecture,
but second year I skipped. Just like as much as I could I would skip lecture.
Except for the mandatory small group class like where they take attendance,
but lecture - big, you know hundred, two hundred people - just skip it because
I was optimizing for a high Step 1 score. So in medical school, it's usually pass/fail,
so your actual class grade isn't nearly as important. And for that reason,
It doesn't really matter if you go to class and then get those tiny little details here or there,
you just want to get good enough score.
Whereas doing well on Step 1, that can really determine your future residency match options.
So when I was skipping lecture I wasn't just like fooling around,
I was using First Aid or UWorld, these high-yield resources that are designed to
help you study most efficiently and effectively for Step 1.
All right, so that being said,
let's dive into the pros and cons of each approach and let's talk about four different categories.
So first, we're gonna go over focus. This one is kind of a draw because there are pros and cons to each approach.
So if you attend lecture, you could actually focus more because you are in an environment,
you're in a classroom and, a lot of the factors are kind of - kind of forcing you to pay attention to the lecture
there in the middle of the room.
There's you know of some slides and some visuals and other people around
you are also probably studying and staying focused. However, if a lot of people around you are rowdy or
they're all on Facebook or checking their email or on Reddit,
then you may be encouraged to not stay as focused as well.
So pros and cons there. If you are at home, there's two main benefits.
So number one is if you're too hungover from last night, then you can just wait to you know,
listen to the lecture when you're less hungover, and you can actually focus.
Another thing is that some lecturers just speak so slowly.
And in those instances, I found myself just daydreaming because they wouldn't - it would take them too long
to get to the point that by the time you - you've already figured out what they're saying,
here's waiting for them to - to finish and get on to the next thing.
So my focus would actually decrease with those lecturers. So what I would do is, you know,
watch the video recording and speed it up to 1.5, 2X, whatever it is,
and then you can actually find that sweet spot where you - you wouldn't want to go too fast
because then your comprehension decreases
and it' - it's not a race to see who can listen to the podcast the fastest.
But at the same time, you want to speed it up to the point where you can actually stay focused.
Number two, consistency. Going to lecture obviously has a huge advantage here.
You are forced to go to lecture during the scheduled times,
and if you're watching video recordings at home, then it's really easy to - to think you're gonna stay
you know, on track and - and follow the schedule, but it's very easy to fall behind.
You get sidetracked, you kinda just don't feel like doing it today next thing you know,
you're one week, sometimes even two weeks behind and that's not a good position to be in.
Number three, time.
And this is gonna be really applicable to you. If you're a very busy person.
Maybe you're juggling a lot of extracurriculars, maybe you're also studying for the MCAT,
maybe you're just really pushed for time. There are a couple things to keep in mind.
Generally speaking, watching the video recording is gonna be more time-efficient
than attending lecture in person.
So if you do attend lecture in person, it is self constrained to that 60 or 90 or 120 minutes,
whatever the lecture length is and you do have the small cost of having to walk to and from class.
But hopefully, that's enjoyable you get a little bit of fresh air you get a little bit of exercise,
maybe you socialize a little bit. So it's not all negative.
It's not just about the time there could be some benefits there.
Whereas if you were to just watch the video recordings, you can speed up the lecture. You can go at 1.3, 1.5, 1.7,
whatever speed it is that actually decreases the total time it takes to go through that lecture.
Even after usually pausing and rewinding and things like that.
However, there are a small group of students
who focus a little bit too much on every word the professor says and they'll you know
they'll pause every 10 - 20 seconds and then take their notes and they're obsessing over every single word,
which is not necessary and those students will then take that one hour lecture and make it an hour and a half.
Which is a waste of time and your time would be better spent elsewhere.
And number four is comprehension.
This one is also a toss-up. If you go in class, there are two benefits to your comprehension.
Number one is you can just raise your hand and ask the professor,
and then number two you can ask the students to your left and your right if they are also paying attention.
If instead, you watch the lecture recording you can always pause and rewind and
alternatively, you can also just google something really quickly while it's paused.
So in terms of the comprehension benefits, it's kind of a toss-up.
Now that being said,
how do you decide for yourself whether or not you should be skipping or attending lecture?
First of all how reliable are the recordings? If the recordings are important for you to get a good -
you know - class grade and they're not always gonna work like maybe the audio is broken
or maybe you can't see the whiteboard things like that,
then you probably want to err on the side of attending lecture.
Number two is discipline and this one requires a lot of honesty on your part.
If you are less disciplined, then you should probably be going to lecture,
otherwise, you are going to fall behind.
If you are more disciplined then more often than not, there are actually more benefits to
skipping lecture and watching the video recordings instead.
And third what kind of test or outcome are you optimizing for?
So if you're a pre-med for example,
you probably want to optimize for getting the best class grade you can.
And in that case, you're gonna kind of you know slide the scale a little bit over to attending lecture.
Whereas if you're trying to optimize for the MCAT or for Step 1,
then you want to slide that scale a little bit over to the other side of skipping lecture because
standardized tests don't really rely as heavily on you attending class and understanding every detail.
They rely more on you getting those - those core foundational concepts down and you usually
get that from other high yield resources, whether that's other books or online videos things like that.
Now be wary of confirmation bias.
So maybe you prefer one over the other and it's totally human and totally natural.
It's a bias that we all face where we will then kind of seek out facts or stories or reasons
why that way is better and it's not actually being objective.
We - we are - our bias is coloring our perception and making us think that "oh this really is the best way".
So just because you used to attend lecture doesn't mean it will always continue to be the best option,
and also note that it may just take a few attempts for you to understand what's best for you.
And when you first try a new study routine or a new study strategy,
that very first time it's not going to feel super natural,
It may take a couple times for you get into the groove and then really get the maximal benefits.
Now that being said if you are going to self-experiment do it intelligently.
So if you are struggling with organic chemistry, don't try a radical new study approach for organic chemistry.
Maybe you want to save this new study approach for some other class that's a little bit easier.
That you know you can do well and have a little bit of a buffer in case things don't work out for you.
Anyways guys, I hope you found that video useful. If you liked it make sure you press that like button
because it keeps the YouTube gods happy. Sends our video over to other students who may also benefit.
As always, thanks so much for watching,
much love to you all and I will see you guys in that next one.