Field Guide · For medical students

A month-by-month plan from your subject list.

Field Guide, Plan your study (medical students), part 1. A month-by-month plan from your subjects and real hours, tested on free ChatGPT, with the catch.

4 Nov 2026 · 4 min read · sources read up to 2 Nov 2026

Nine months to the university exam, four subjects, and postings every morning. A plan in your head says "more time for the hard ones", then November turns into March. This is part 1 of the Field Guide series on planning your study as a medical student: one job, tested on a real screen, with the catch said plainly.

The job, and what to type

Your own subjects, your own hours. The list below is a sample, made up for this demo: subject names only, nothing from inside a subject. Type your own in its place.

Make me a month-by-month study plan for my MBBS university exam.
- The exam is at the end of July. I start now, in November.
- My subjects, with how sure I feel about each (1 = weak, 3 = strong): Pathology 1, Pharmacology 1, Microbiology 2, Forensic Medicine 3.
- I have postings every morning, Monday to Saturday. I can study 2 hours a day Monday to Saturday and 5 hours on Sunday: 17 hours a week.
- Give the weak subjects more time, and show the hours for each subject in each month.
- Keep July for revision only. No new subject started in July.
- Plan at subject level only. No topic lists.
- If it doesn't fit, tell me instead of squeezing it in.

Why these lines

The 1 to 3 rating is the line that matters: it tells the AI which subjects scare you, so it knows where the extra hours go. Your real hours (2 a day around postings, 5 on Sunday) stop it planning a week you don't have. "July for revision only" keeps the last month from turning into new reading. "Subject level only" keeps the answer short enough to check, and keeps it a plan, not a syllabus. And "tell me if it doesn't fit" gives it permission to say no, instead of squeezing everything in.

How it was tested

One run on 3 November 2026, on free ChatGPT in a web browser, signed in to a personal demo account. The chat was a temporary chat set to Unpersonalized, which does not use memory, custom instructions or plugins ^[2]. The five checks were written down and saved before the prompt was sent.

1. All 4 subjects are in the plan, and no subject is added.
2. The 2 weak subjects each get more hours than Microbiology, and Forensic Medicine gets the fewest.
3. No month goes over 17 hours a week, adding up the hours it shows, and its own totals match its numbers.
4. July is revision only: nothing started new in July.
5. Subject level only: no topic lists inside any subject.

What came back

A month-by-month plan was on screen in under a minute: a share for each subject (32% each for Pathology and Pharmacology, 24% for Microbiology, 12% for Forensic Medicine), a table of hours for every subject in every month from November to July, what each stretch of months is for, the 17-hour week day by day, and a section headed "Will everything fit?".

All five checks passed. Every month's row adds up, and the columns add up to 210, 210, 158 and 79 hours, 657 in all. Against 17 hours a week, checked by hand: November from the 3rd is four weeks, 68 hours, and gets 68. The 31-day months allow about 75.3 hours and get 75. April and June allow about 72.9 and get 73, a tenth of an hour over, which is rounding. July is marked "Revision only", with new coverage finished by June 30. No subject has a topic list.

The catch

Nothing failed, but the plan only knows one thing for sure: your hours. It doesn't know your syllabus, or how much of each subject is already done. The answer said so itself, in bold: "I cannot confirm that the entire MBBS syllabus fits into it without knowing how much of each subject you have already completed and how extensive your university syllabus is."

It also named a checkpoint: the end of April. If you are behind on coverage by then, re-plan, rather than hoping May and June will absorb it. Put the end of April in your calendar today.

Not one of the checks, but worth knowing: the split is the same every month, 32, 32, 24 and 12 percent. The weak subjects get more time, but they don't come first. If you want the hardest subject front-loaded, ask for that by name.

The stamp

Works · 3 Nov 2026 · free ChatGPT, in a browser · 5 of 5 checks passed. The hours add up, the weak subjects get the most time, and July stays clear for revision. Whether the syllabus fits is yours to check, at the end of April. One run is one run: try it with your own subjects and see what yours does.

Before you use it

For revising only. Never in an exam, and for marked work, follow your college's AI rules. ChatGPT is for ages 13 and over, or the minimum age in your country, and under 18 needs a parent's or guardian's permission ^[1].

The raw answer, word for word

Taken word for word from the page. The page shows the shares as bars and the hours as tables; here each share and each table row is written on one line, with the parts split by a dot or a bar, bold is plain, nothing else changed. Screenshots are kept with the test log.

MBBS University Exam Study Plan: November–July

Your available study time is 17 hours per week, with morning postings Monday to Saturday. The plan below protects your study time, gives Pathology and Pharmacology the largest share, and keeps July strictly for revision.

I’m treating November as starting now, on November 3, and July as your exam month.

1. Your study-hour allocation

Pathology · Weak — highest priority · 32%
Pharmacology · Weak — highest priority · 32%
Microbiology · Moderate confidence · 24%
Forensic Medicine · Strong — maintenance and revision · 12%
Weekly study budget · 17 hours

This allocation gives the two weakest subjects nearly two-thirds of your study time without abandoning Microbiology or letting Forensic Medicine become rusty.

2. Month-by-month study plan

All hours are planned study hours outside your morning postings. The monthly totals are based on your 17-hour weekly limit and the remaining calendar days.

Month | Pathology | Pharmacology | Microbiology | Forensic Medicine | Total
November | 22 h | 22 h | 16 h | 8 h | 68 h
December | 24 h | 24 h | 18 h | 9 h | 75 h
January | 24 h | 24 h | 18 h | 9 h | 75 h
February | 22 h | 22 h | 16 h | 8 h | 68 h
March | 24 h | 24 h | 18 h | 9 h | 75 h
April | 23 h | 23 h | 18 h | 9 h | 73 h
May | 24 h | 24 h | 18 h | 9 h | 75 h
June | 23 h | 23 h | 18 h | 9 h | 73 h
July | 24 h | 24 h | 18 h | 9 h | 75 h
Total | 210 h | 210 h | 158 h | 79 h | 657 h

Monthly totals may shift slightly depending on where your study weeks fall. The plan averages 17 hours per week; it does not require you to exceed that limit.

3. What each month is for

Nov–Dec
Establish your foundation
Begin working through Pathology and Pharmacology as your main priorities. Build steady progress in Microbiology and maintain Forensic Medicine.

Jan–Feb
Continue coverage and check progress
Keep the weak subjects dominant. Assess your confidence in all four subjects and identify whether any subject needs a larger share of the remaining study time.

Mar–Apr
Consolidate and close gaps
Continue subject coverage and strengthen retention. Use your progress so far to determine whether you are on track to finish the required syllabus by the end of June.

May–Jun
Finish planned coverage
Prioritize completing the syllabus and consolidating what you have studied. Aim to have all new subject coverage finished by June 30.

July
Revision only
Revise all four subjects using your existing study material and notes. Practise recall and exam-style questions. Do not start a new subject or new syllabus coverage in July.

4. A weekly structure that fits your postings

Use the same basic pattern each week so that your schedule is sustainable.

Day | Study time
Monday | 2 hours
Tuesday | 2 hours
Wednesday | 2 hours
Thursday | 2 hours
Friday | 2 hours
Saturday | 2 hours
Sunday | 5 hours
Weekly total | 17 hours

You can divide these hours among subjects according to the monthly table rather than assigning a fixed subject to every weekday. This allows you to adjust around tiring posting days while protecting the overall allocation.

5. Will everything fit?

Your plan provides 657 hours from November 3 through July 31, including 582 hours before July and 75 hours reserved for July revision.

That is a clear, capacity-respecting schedule. However, I cannot confirm that the entire MBBS syllabus fits into it without knowing how much of each subject you have already completed and how extensive your university syllabus is. I would not squeeze unfinished syllabus coverage into July to make the plan appear complete.

The key checkpoint is the end of April: if you are substantially behind on coverage, reassess the remaining workload then rather than assuming May and June will absorb everything.

Next in the series, part 2: a week plan that survives postings and duties.