How hard is medical school?

Most medical schools expect their students to study and work for around 60 to 80 hours per week. Medical school is a very hands-on process as you prepare to be able to give professional medical care to patients. It also requires an immense amount of memorization involving medical terms, procedures, diseases, and other ailments.

There are certain points in medical school where students have just about no available free time, as they need to be laser-focused on their coursework, studies, research, and exams.

Once a student enters medical school, they must also obtain exceptional grades because later they have to enter residency. Medical residencies are very competitive, so the grades students make in medical school really matter.

There is also another difficult step before applying for residency. Medical students who want to practice medicine in the U.S. need to pass a licensing exam first.

Medical graduates with an MD take the United States Medical Licensing Examination, and those with a DO take the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination. All states require a surgeon to have a license.

After obtaining either license, they can apply for residency. This consists of three to seven years of intensive hands-on training working in a hospital setting.

The over a decade-long educational and training track, the necessity for exceptional grades, and the extremely difficult examinations you face along the way make medical school extremely hard.