How many hours do you study?

ArtClassRN, ADN, RN · Dec 23, 2015

I studied almost every day. I did everything I could to read/scan material before lectures and did a more focused reading and study guide questions after.

This was very time consuming and caused a lot of stress in my personal and family life - basically due to missing things I would be doing otherwise. However, I found that to be a LOT less stressful than going into exams wondering if I was prepared.

I averaged 3 or so hours a day studying. Some times a lot more, sometimes less. I tried to take one day off a week.

I graduated from my ADN program with a 4.0 and made dang sure I make up for lost social time after I graduated. It was worth every minute.

WereBadger · Dec 23, 2015

I worked while in an accelerated LPN program, and was just fine. Taking into account the care plans that can take hours to research, studying for exams, doing some reading for class (I usually only skimmed the material, as class time and taking good notes seemed to work the best for me) -- I'd say I spent about 12 solid hours a week outside of class and clinical on school work. I do have a bachelors in another field, so getting back into the whole studying routine wasn't difficult, and I found that I could focus pretty easily. Honestly, I think getting down to it and learning your most effective personal study patterns are half the battle.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Dec 25, 2015

Base it off results. If you study 10 hours a week and earn a C..then you may need to bump it up to 30. Everyone is different. Grades are simply ways to judge your study habits and retention ability.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Dec 26, 2015

My RN school schedule was similar to yours (1 short lecture day plus 2 long clinical days)

I've never studied after clinical shifts-- except during finals week.

My 1st term, I studied after school on lecture days and the remaining week days for about 9 hrs each day. On weekends, 6-12 hrs each day. That earned me the highest scores on the exams, compared with my peers.

Term 2: I studied much less. Like 1 hr each week day and 6-12 hrs on weekend days only if I had an exam coming up. I Still passed each exam, but just barely. I was happy because many of my peers weren't even padding exams. At the end of the semester, though, when we had a cumulative final, I wished I had more of a buffer.

Next term is my final term and I plan to study more hours, Ike the way I studied for my 1st term.

I should add that for both terms, my final grade was a B. But for my 1st term, I knew I would pass and had a strong B. I.e. 89.4% final grade. But for my 2nd term, I a possible won't pass if I fail the final exam and final exam given in last week of school. I did end up with sufficient points: 86%. But the stress was horrible. I should have studied harder earlier on!

Elladora · Dec 26, 2015

I studied everyday. I averaged 2-4 hours daily, but some days were a lot less and some a lot more. I graduated with a 3.9 GPA. I found by studying a little each day I retained the information better.

Purple_roses · Dec 26, 2015

Last semester I studied every day, averaging about 4 hours per day. I studied 10-12 hours over the weekends--I would usually pick either a Friday or Sunday to devote to studying. I took my books with me everywhere I went, just in case I would have time to study. I also worked one 12 hour shift every weekend. And I still found time to relax/be with family/hang with friends--of course not nearly as much as I wanted to. But the point is that if you manage your time well, you'll have time for yourself.