Learning objectives are intended to be used as tools for both instructors and students. Student use of learning objectives is related to developing metacognitive skills and self-regulation of learning. Many medical institutions provide learning objectives to their pre-clerkship students, but it is unknown if or how the students use them. A questionnaire was designed to investigate current pre-clerkship medical students' perceptions of learning objectives to include definitions, degree and methods of use, and communication from instructors regarding learning objectives. Free-response data from complete and partial records (n = 279) underwent inductive thematic analysis. Quantitative data showed 98.5% of students are aware of learning objectives for their basic science courses but 59% of students do not use them. One hundred and thirty-six students indicated a perception that their instructors do not communicate about learning objectives (n = 273). Qualitative data was organized into three themes to further describe 1) the perception of communication regarding learning objectives from their instructors, 2) how these students define learning objectives, and 3) how these students use learning objectives. Interestingly, this study revealed that perceptions of learning objectives varied greatly among students within the same cohort despite the fact the conditions of their learning environments were consistent. Further research into why perceptions differ among students of the same cohort is merited.