1st & 2nd year students

[max4good]

Hey gang

I've been told that the first 2 years are the toughest in dental school. For a pre-dent student who is soon to face organic chem in the near future, how difficult are the classes (and typically what kind of classes are you taking?) compared to undergrad classes in your personal opinion? Also, I've heard that if your 1st or 2nd year grades are less than average or worse, you may be released from the program by the school (NYU for example). Feedbacks please because I am very determine to spend majority of my time getting through the upper division science courses at CSULB (post-bac) and I just want to know what is expected once I get pass through first stage by entering a dental school. Thanks

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[crazy_sherm]

I guess it really depends on where you went to undergrad and where you end up dental school. Personally, I find the difficulty of the material in dental school way easier than the concepts I had to learn in undergrad. However, you have about a 3rd of the time to learn the same subjects, and you are taking about twice the workload in units. The real hard part is balancing all the preclin classes on top of the didactic stuff and making sure everything gets done on time. I find it more of a challenge in time managment than actual brain gymnastics.

 

[BallDontLie]

I was kinda wondering about something along the same lines...How much material is covered in a single class compared to an undergrad science course? So is it tough just because you are taking around 25 credits and are pressed for time...or is it that AND because each class covers more material than in undergrad. I dunno this is confusing or not, but essentially my question is this - undergrad biochem vs dental school biochem - which one covers more material? or is it about the same...and dental school biochem just sucks worse cuz you have so much other stuff to take care of at the same time?

 

[mr_gestapito]

I was kinda wondering about something along the same lines...How much material is covered in a single class compared to an undergrad science course? So is it tough just because you are taking around 25 credits and are pressed for time...or is it that AND because each class covers more material than in undergrad. I dunno this is confusing or not, but essentially my question is this - undergrad biochem vs dental school biochem - which one covers more material? or is it about the same...and dental school biochem just sucks worse cuz you have so much other stuff to take care of at the same time?

It's all relative to where you did your undergrad. I took biochem at Arizona State and and it helped me on the first exam at Temple but not much after, but some University of Utah students in my class said that biochem at Utah was much more in depth and difficult. For the most part, and this is dependent on your undergrad course load, it is not the difficulty of the courses as much as the sheer number of courses. It is absolutely an issue of time management, and how quickly you grasp what you are being taught in pre-clinic.

 

[edkNARF]

I guess it really depends on where you went to undergrad and where you end up dental school. Personally, I find the difficulty of the material in dental school way easier than the concepts I had to learn in undergrad. However, you have about a 3rd of the time to learn the same subjects, and you are taking about twice the workload in units. The real hard part is balancing all the preclin classes on top of the didactic stuff and making sure everything gets done on time. I find it more of a challenge in time managment than actual brain gymnastics.

I could not agree more. When you get to dental school you will realize that learning the Kreb's cycle can be cake when compared to learning how to wax up a tooth, or drill a cavity prep. I find learning the manual skills required for dentistry to me much harder than learning any didactic material. I would suggest the OP also consider getting a job in a dental lab. You may find that having some "real dental experience," is much more helpful than any undegrad science class. That is just my 2 cents...

 

[Dr. Steve Brule]

From my experience the classes we've taken so far have been much less in depth than in undergrad, the only thing is you have way more of them, but all in all im doing better than i did in undergrad and really only studying a little bit more (which isn't saying much) and this whole thing about nyu kicking you out is such crap, as long as you pass your classes you have nothing to worry about, you would really have put in a lot of effort in order to fail enough classes to get the boot from the school, in which case you're probably better off

 

[divertete]

I was kinda wondering about something along the same lines...How much material is covered in a single class compared to an undergrad science course? So is it tough just because you are taking around 25 credits and are pressed for time...or is it that AND because each class covers more material than in undergrad. I dunno this is confusing or not, but essentially my question is this - undergrad biochem vs dental school biochem - which one covers more material? or is it about the same...and dental school biochem just sucks worse cuz you have so much other stuff to take care of at the same time?

At my school biochem covers the same material that I had in undergrad (we even use the same book) but in half the time... oh yeah and the professors cared about us half as much! Really, we learned to just focus on the stuff that matters. Cutting a really excellent crow prep? Important, and worth spending some time every day practicing. Learning metabolic pathways? Not important and only worth studying for the two days before the test. I doubt that anyone studied more than a few days ahead of time, and while most people didn't get the scores they would have liked, (high B's/low A's mostly) nobody failed.

It's all about balance and prioritizing. Figure out what material you need to carry with you throughout your education/career. For the rest of it, figure out what you really need to get out of the course, learn that well, and then just make sure you pass!

 

[lgreen_aci]

So I have a questions then as it applies to my situation.

I take a normal corse load (14 max allowed at my school, I typically take 12 credits fall and spring, and 2-6 winter semester (trimester system)), work part-time, and live at home. My mom is a single parent and I have to help take care of two younger sister while she works full time. My grades are not that great right now (under 3.0 gpa) and I should be able to get them up to a 3.1-3.3 by the end of next year, but will probably have to quit my job to do so. The thing is, it is not that I can't do the work, it is just that I a lot of things going on and it isn't always easy to find time to really study as much as I need to.

So let's say my grades come up in an interview...what do I do? Explain this out? I have to say explaining my grades is the part I am most scared of. How can I let the ad com know that I am capable of doing the work despite what I have shown on my UG record? There are not d'schools where I live so I will have to move out of state, and I know I will do academically better at d'school because I will be away from my family (in which my sisters will be old enough by then to take care of themself).

Are they just going to think I am being a wuss and don't know how to manage my time? Or am I just worring too much over nothing?

thanks

 

[wigglytooth]

So I have a questions then as it applies to my situation.

I take a normal corse load (14 max allowed at my school, I typically take 12 credits fall and spring, and 2-6 winter semester (trimester system)), work part-time, and live at home. My mom is a single parent and I have to help take care of two younger sister while she works full time. My grades are not that great right now (under 3.0 gpa) and I should be able to get them up to a 3.1-3.3 by the end of next year, but will probably have to quit my job to do so. The thing is, it is not that I can't do the work, it is just that I a lot of things going on and it isn't always easy to find time to really study as much as I need to.

So let's say my grades come up in an interview...what do I do? Explain this out? I have to say explaining my grades is the part I am most scared of. How can I let the ad com know that I am capable of doing the work despite what I have shown on my UG record? There are not d'schools where I live so I will have to move out of state, and I know I will do academically better at d'school because I will be away from my family (in which my sisters will be old enough by then to take care of themself).

Are they just going to think I am being a wuss and don't know how to manage my time? Or am I just worring too much over nothing?

thanks

I don't know what exactly you can do in the realm of showing you can do the work without incredibly boosting your grades. BUT we had a NYU adcom from their MD/PHD program talk to us at my school, and he said that if you have any personal issues (such as bad grades as per a personal issue), they should be addressed in you letter of recommendation. Sit down with a science professor you know well and explain to him/her your situation. Hopefully you would have come to them for help/questions and they would already know you are curious and willing to learn the material. If not, it's up to you to let this attitude shine off you when you meet with them. It gets harder to get this type of recommendation as you are less familar with a professor, but you may get lucky and find one that really would sympathize with you. I always go for the older female professors at my school 'cause they're easier for me to approach, and *do* have that grandmotherly auora around them (not to mention a kick-ass life resume--much respect for the women in science).

If you aren't lucky with a science professor, though, branch out to an academic/major advisor, other professors, or a dentist you've shadowed in order to speak about your issue on your behalf. I'm not so sure if you should try to get this type of recommendation from every person you ask, but it wouldn't hurt you to simply mention your situation. If the recommender has known you for a long time, chances are they already know you have priorities with your family.

The adcom also said that you can mention your issue in your PS, but you run the risk of sounding whiney. To that end, I suggest mentioning it, but use your dedication to your family as a positive, character building force, rather than a grade killing one. It doesn't look too good to say "I coulda had a 4.0" ...the question that always follows, no matter the situation, is, "Ok, so where is the 4.0?" It's so tough to make the hypothetical claim. It's impossible to know if you did all you could grade-wise if a person doesn't really know you--they would always assume that you could have done something more.

On another note, I'm applying for the class of 2012 too! Good luck with everything!

 

[MALOKINMARTIN]

The awesome part of your situation is that you have a great story. I don’t know if you are white, but for me (a white male) poverty and hard times were my only “diversity cards”. You need one these days. I say that if they bring this up during an interview (they will) it’s a bonus! Explain that your poor mother and sister desperately needed your help and LAY IT ON THICK! That’s what they want to hear. Many people get into dental school by being able to “Flip” bad parts of their application to their advantage.

P.s. I’d worry about the DAT more than grades.

 

[lgreen_aci]

Yep, white male here.

Glad to hear from someone in a similar situation who was succesful!

Did you mention anything about that in your personal statement or did you aviod it (I'm assuming you avoided it, to not bring attention to it, unless they brought it up during the invterview?)

Thanks.

 

[Sprgrover]

I guess it really depends on where you went to undergrad and where you end up dental school. Personally, I find the difficulty of the material in dental school way easier than the concepts I had to learn in undergrad. However, you have about a 3rd of the time to learn the same subjects, and you are taking about twice the workload in units. The real hard part is balancing all the preclin classes on top of the didactic stuff and making sure everything gets done on time. I find it more of a challenge in time managment than actual brain gymnastics.

I agree. It's not so much the quality of the material as it is the quantity of it. Unlike undergrad, in which you could (more or less) put off studying for a course for a couple of weeks and go out and have a life outside of school, in dental school you can't put anything off and you really have to learn how to juggle the material and learn and memorize quickly.

 

[rocknightmare]

I agree. It's not so much the quality of the material as it is the quantity of it. Unlike undergrad, in which you could (more or less) put off studying for a course for a couple of weeks and go out and have a life outside of school, in dental school you can't put anything off and you really have to learn how to juggle the material and learn and memorize quickly.

you really think that sprgrover?? you can't study for the exam 2-3 days before??