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Hey friends,
I saw a thread in the Dental forum where practicing dentists/dental students gave tips to the C/O 2020. Credit to @swindoll for creating the original thread (https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/tips-for-class-of-2020.1173860/#post-18390350)
I wanted to share that advice here so it could have more visibility. This is golden advice that these students gave, and it should be read by every student.
I'll tag/give credit to the author of each post.
@bing12 :
#1 advice: travel while you have the time. time becomes more valuable as you are farther along the process of life.
- spend time to get to know your classmates when school starts. having a support group is more valuable than spending 24-7 studying. Also, you may get great study guides/info for exams through that. great ROI
@wildzodiac :
Take the summer to relax. If you are employed full time during the summer, consider taking a few weeks off prior to the semester starting. It may be the last time you have that opportunity for quite some time.
@PointEstimate :
Invest in something that will help you stay reasonably comfortable while studying. For example: if you like studying at home, maybe invest in a good/comfortable/ergonomic desk chair and external monitor to hook your laptop to. If you like studying in the library, comfortable noise-blocking headphones.
@THS :
If you think you may want to specialize in the future, keep those grades as high as you can. Get involved in student government and other groups at school. Take time to do research during the school year or summer. Shadow the residents to get an idea of each specialty. You will have to put in A LOT of work for this. Keep in mind that everyone wants to specialize when they start out, and this desire doesn't last much longer than the first semester. Only the very (and I mean VERY) determined will get there.
If you know you don't want to specialize, congratulations! Dental school is going to be a breeze! Settle for Bs and your dental school experience will be much more enjoyable than the gunners.
@LaughingGas :
Forget hand-note taking, make all your notes electronics.
Lab/projects: get them done ASAP, but don't work when everybody is working on the project (if 10 people are waiting to use a machine, you are wasting your time).
Get good connections with upperclassmen: they will give you tips on improving handskills, may introduce you to a faculties in case you are interested in specialties; may hand out notes that are well made.
Get a good bed, live close to school.
Exercise regularly (at least 3 times a week). Even if you think you are busy with school. Trust me on this. 30 min work out is better than none.
Stay out of drama, go under the radar and graduate.
@Kittenz :
Study smarter not harder. Talk to many upperclassmen to find out what's actually useful and what's not.
@Faux :
Travel. Go on a cruise or something.
Lots of sex
@Frychicken :
D2 chiming in. I'll second the notion to lay low, avoid drama with classmate and faculty, and pick your battles carefully.
Other than that, enjoy the ride! In 10 years time, this experience will be as trivial as high school.
@krispybiscuits2017:
Start practicing crown preps early, otherwise by the time you are good at them the fixed pros class is over and you'll still get a bad grade.
@WilliamC93:
GET INVOLVED!
Classes and course load really isn't quite as terrible as you may have heard in undergrad. Is there still a lot of work? Heck yeah but its really manageable. I have found dental school to be of the best time of my life because I've been really involved in school events, volunteering, doing things outside of class with classmates, and joining clubs such as ASDA and the local 'fraternity.' There are plenty of classmates stressing out over everything and stay in there little personal bubble, but I've noticed that all of the students who make an effort to do other things than school are 10x happier and doing just as well scholastically than the ones who stress out and lose sleep staying up until 3AM studying.
DON'T LET DENTAL SCHOOL DEFINE YOU
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PS: ASDA is my #1 recommended way to get involved in the school. I'm only half-way through my first year and I've already spent a week in Seattle and Dallas for ASDA districts and nationals and had a time of my life at both. You meet dental students from all over the country and attain invaluable info from conferences and speeches that they don't teach you in dental school.
@2thsaver :
Some good advice here. But another point worth mentioning is try not to let others stress you out. You are in a class full of bright individuals. Do your own thing and stick with study habits that work for you. Some people will study for five nights to get an A, where others only need to study for one night. As for myself, I cram, but I'm pretty good at it. So at the beginning when I heard people talking about studying every night, it got to me a little and stressed me out. It made me question my abilities to cover the amount of material in the time I was giving myself. But now when I hear people stressing about a test the following week, I just tune it out. I continue to do what works for me and I'm very satisfied with my grades.
Another thing. In pre-clinic when working on projects, don't let the work speed of others affect you. I always feel behind in lab because people around me get things done much faster. But after discussing practical grades, I usually do better than them. So just do you and go in on weekends to practice if you feel you need it to gain some confidence. Confidence means a lot in dentistry.
@fogorvostan :
This may come out as totally cliche, but I think this is also important:
One of our classmates passed away this year and although not everyone got to know him well in his short time with us, I think his passing really defined how we interact with each other as a class.
For that reason, I feel that it's important to remember to care about and be kind to your classmates. You guys are going to spend a lot of time together over the next four years and while you will feel like a family, it's also easy to get frustrated with one another at times. Remembering that you are each other's support system is so crucial.
Look out for each other. If you see someone struggling in sim and you're ahead of them, ask how you can help. If you make a great study guide for an exam, share it so others can benefit too. If you notice that someone isn't in class and they usually are, send them a text or give them a call to make sure everything is okay. Branch out from your social circle and say hello to a classmate that you don't usually talk to. Smile to people as you pass by going to class. Be remembered as the person who is enjoyable to be around. It's going to make everything so much easier.
I saw a thread in the Dental forum where practicing dentists/dental students gave tips to the C/O 2020. Credit to @swindoll for creating the original thread (https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/tips-for-class-of-2020.1173860/#post-18390350)
I wanted to share that advice here so it could have more visibility. This is golden advice that these students gave, and it should be read by every student.
I'll tag/give credit to the author of each post.
@bing12 :
#1 advice: travel while you have the time. time becomes more valuable as you are farther along the process of life.
- spend time to get to know your classmates when school starts. having a support group is more valuable than spending 24-7 studying. Also, you may get great study guides/info for exams through that. great ROI
@wildzodiac :
Take the summer to relax. If you are employed full time during the summer, consider taking a few weeks off prior to the semester starting. It may be the last time you have that opportunity for quite some time.
@PointEstimate :
Invest in something that will help you stay reasonably comfortable while studying. For example: if you like studying at home, maybe invest in a good/comfortable/ergonomic desk chair and external monitor to hook your laptop to. If you like studying in the library, comfortable noise-blocking headphones.
@THS :
If you think you may want to specialize in the future, keep those grades as high as you can. Get involved in student government and other groups at school. Take time to do research during the school year or summer. Shadow the residents to get an idea of each specialty. You will have to put in A LOT of work for this. Keep in mind that everyone wants to specialize when they start out, and this desire doesn't last much longer than the first semester. Only the very (and I mean VERY) determined will get there.
If you know you don't want to specialize, congratulations! Dental school is going to be a breeze! Settle for Bs and your dental school experience will be much more enjoyable than the gunners.
@LaughingGas :
Forget hand-note taking, make all your notes electronics.
Lab/projects: get them done ASAP, but don't work when everybody is working on the project (if 10 people are waiting to use a machine, you are wasting your time).
Get good connections with upperclassmen: they will give you tips on improving handskills, may introduce you to a faculties in case you are interested in specialties; may hand out notes that are well made.
Get a good bed, live close to school.
Exercise regularly (at least 3 times a week). Even if you think you are busy with school. Trust me on this. 30 min work out is better than none.
Stay out of drama, go under the radar and graduate.
@Kittenz :
Study smarter not harder. Talk to many upperclassmen to find out what's actually useful and what's not.
@Faux :
Travel. Go on a cruise or something.
Lots of sex
@Frychicken :
D2 chiming in. I'll second the notion to lay low, avoid drama with classmate and faculty, and pick your battles carefully.
Other than that, enjoy the ride! In 10 years time, this experience will be as trivial as high school.
@krispybiscuits2017:
Start practicing crown preps early, otherwise by the time you are good at them the fixed pros class is over and you'll still get a bad grade.
@WilliamC93:
GET INVOLVED!
Classes and course load really isn't quite as terrible as you may have heard in undergrad. Is there still a lot of work? Heck yeah but its really manageable. I have found dental school to be of the best time of my life because I've been really involved in school events, volunteering, doing things outside of class with classmates, and joining clubs such as ASDA and the local 'fraternity.' There are plenty of classmates stressing out over everything and stay in there little personal bubble, but I've noticed that all of the students who make an effort to do other things than school are 10x happier and doing just as well scholastically than the ones who stress out and lose sleep staying up until 3AM studying.
DON'T LET DENTAL SCHOOL DEFINE YOU
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PS: ASDA is my #1 recommended way to get involved in the school. I'm only half-way through my first year and I've already spent a week in Seattle and Dallas for ASDA districts and nationals and had a time of my life at both. You meet dental students from all over the country and attain invaluable info from conferences and speeches that they don't teach you in dental school.
@2thsaver :
Some good advice here. But another point worth mentioning is try not to let others stress you out. You are in a class full of bright individuals. Do your own thing and stick with study habits that work for you. Some people will study for five nights to get an A, where others only need to study for one night. As for myself, I cram, but I'm pretty good at it. So at the beginning when I heard people talking about studying every night, it got to me a little and stressed me out. It made me question my abilities to cover the amount of material in the time I was giving myself. But now when I hear people stressing about a test the following week, I just tune it out. I continue to do what works for me and I'm very satisfied with my grades.
Another thing. In pre-clinic when working on projects, don't let the work speed of others affect you. I always feel behind in lab because people around me get things done much faster. But after discussing practical grades, I usually do better than them. So just do you and go in on weekends to practice if you feel you need it to gain some confidence. Confidence means a lot in dentistry.
@fogorvostan :
This may come out as totally cliche, but I think this is also important:
One of our classmates passed away this year and although not everyone got to know him well in his short time with us, I think his passing really defined how we interact with each other as a class.
For that reason, I feel that it's important to remember to care about and be kind to your classmates. You guys are going to spend a lot of time together over the next four years and while you will feel like a family, it's also easy to get frustrated with one another at times. Remembering that you are each other's support system is so crucial.
Look out for each other. If you see someone struggling in sim and you're ahead of them, ask how you can help. If you make a great study guide for an exam, share it so others can benefit too. If you notice that someone isn't in class and they usually are, send them a text or give them a call to make sure everything is okay. Branch out from your social circle and say hello to a classmate that you don't usually talk to. Smile to people as you pass by going to class. Be remembered as the person who is enjoyable to be around. It's going to make everything so much easier.
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