After Acceptance

[dentalicious010]

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How are you guys preparing for dental school after acceptance(s)?
Should I start studying dental anatomy? Prepare for boards? I got a place now close to the dental school I will be attending. I am still working on my financial aid stuff. How else should you prepare yourself?

 

[jeffity]

Don't study anything. You'll hear that from everyone. It's a waste of time...time you'll regret you wasted instead of just enjoying your time off. Any basic science you study will probably only benefit you for a week or less in school. Maybe only hours. And while content might be familiar, it can be presented differently and in varying depths of detail.

You can't (shouldn't) do anything for boards. Especially if your school takes it after the second year. No matter what school or level of preparation you're at, you're probably going to end up studying decks/First Aid/old exams for two weeks before you take it. Now that part I is P/F, they're not a big deal. Not something that requires that much preparation anyway. Much less than the DAT. So wait on that.

Be ready to study, especially if you've had some time off from school. What you did in undergrad might not work in dental school. There's some med student on youtube that gives some tips on studying and I'm sure there are lots of other resources (like SDN). Look into them so you have some methods to fall back on after you pee yourself after you fail your first exam. There's not time to cry; you adapt and keep chugging. You'll hear this too: school isn't that hard if you try - it's maintaing top rank that is hard. Just be ready to work.

Random thought...if you don't have an exercise routine, perhaps try to start that habit now. There's time for it. There's time for lots of stuff, actually. I think staying active can really help in many ways. If it's a habit, it'll be easier to make it happen instead of couch time.

The only thing I've suggested to those who absolutely can't sleep at night thinking they should be studying something, is dental anatomy. And this is only if you've had very little exposure to dentistry. It can be a different language and it might help a little in lecture and when jargon starts flying quickly in lab. Nothing too intense, just start to learn some terms and learn to appreciate how much is involved in each and every tooth. It's kind of crazy.

As for hand skills or waxing....forget about it.

 

[Toothshucker]

Don't study anything. You'll hear that from everyone. It's a waste of time...time you'll regret you wasted instead of just enjoying your time off. Any basic science you study will probably only benefit you for a week or less in school. Maybe only hours. And while content might be familiar, it can be presented differently and in varying depths of detail.

You can't (shouldn't) do anything for boards. Especially if your school takes it after the second year. No matter what school or level of preparation you're at, you're probably going to end up studying decks/First Aid/old exams for two weeks before you take it. Now that part I is P/F, they're not a big deal. Not something that requires that much preparation anyway. Much less than the DAT. So wait on that.

Be ready to study, especially if you've had some time off from school. What you did in undergrad might not work in dental school. There's some med student on youtube that gives some tips on studying and I'm sure there are lots of other resources (like SDN). Look into them so you have some methods to fall back on after you pee yourself after you fail your first exam. There's not time to cry; you adapt and keep chugging. You'll hear this too: school isn't that hard if you try - it's maintaing top rank that is hard. Just be ready to work.

Random thought...if you don't have an exercise routine, perhaps try to start that habit now. There's time for it. There's time for lots of stuff, actually. I think staying active can really help in many ways. If it's a habit, it'll be easier to make it happen instead of couch time.

The only thing I've suggested to those who absolutely can't sleep at night thinking they should be studying something, is dental anatomy. And this is only if you've had very little exposure to dentistry. It can be a different language and it might help a little in lecture and when jargon starts flying quickly in lab. Nothing too intense, just start to learn some terms and learn to appreciate how much is involved in each and every tooth. It's kind of crazy.

As for hand skills or waxing....forget about it.

+1

Enjoy your summer.

 

[MrLocrian]

i always wonder about this too, but since everyone keeps reiterating that studying beforehand is futile, I've spent my time working 9-5, hitting the town, running, brewing beer. ya know, the important stuff. although i did buy a $5 book on dental anatomy at a thrift store a little while ago and man..that stuff is dense.

 

[pinpoint212]

I'm preparing by not preparing 🙂

 

[dentalicious010]

Don't study anything. You'll hear that from everyone. It's a waste of time...time you'll regret you wasted instead of just enjoying your time off. Any basic science you study will probably only benefit you for a week or less in school. Maybe only hours. And while content might be familiar, it can be presented differently and in varying depths of detail.

You can't (shouldn't) do anything for boards. Especially if your school takes it after the second year. No matter what school or level of preparation you're at, you're probably going to end up studying decks/First Aid/old exams for two weeks before you take it. Now that part I is P/F, they're not a big deal. Not something that requires that much preparation anyway. Much less than the DAT. So wait on that.

Be ready to study, especially if you've had some time off from school. What you did in undergrad might not work in dental school. There's some med student on youtube that gives some tips on studying and I'm sure there are lots of other resources (like SDN). Look into them so you have some methods to fall back on after you pee yourself after you fail your first exam. There's not time to cry; you adapt and keep chugging. You'll hear this too: school isn't that hard if you try - it's maintaing top rank that is hard. Just be ready to work.

Random thought...if you don't have an exercise routine, perhaps try to start that habit now. There's time for it. There's time for lots of stuff, actually. I think staying active can really help in many ways. If it's a habit, it'll be easier to make it happen instead of couch time.

The only thing I've suggested to those who absolutely can't sleep at night thinking they should be studying something, is dental anatomy. And this is only if you've had very little exposure to dentistry. It can be a different language and it might help a little in lecture and when jargon starts flying quickly in lab. Nothing too intense, just start to learn some terms and learn to appreciate how much is involved in each and every tooth. It's kind of crazy.

As for hand skills or waxing....forget about it.

Thanks for the advice(s). I'll take my boards after first year. I'm pretty active will be competing in a triathlon event 🙂 I'm working 45+ hours per week hanging out with friends and saving some money for a trip. I still feel like I can do little more preparation.

 

[jeffity]

Thanks for the advice(s). I'll take my boards after first year. I'm pretty active will be competing in a triathlon event 🙂 I'm working 45+ hours per week hanging out with friends and saving some money for a trip. I still feel like I can do little more preparation.

Sounds like you're right on track! It's a long wait. I see the anxiety in the D1s coming in next year. It's a weird feeling post-acceptance to just 'cool your jets' after having this your #1 goal for so long with it underlying almost every move you made.