Finished with D1; AMA

[Incis0r]

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Hey everyone,

Just finished my first year of dental school and it feels incredible and unreal.

I grew a lot this past year - had many great experiences and some not-so-great (but important) ones.

Taking a little bit of a break over the next few days before beginning my preparation for NBDE Part 1.

So - if you have any questions about dental school or the HPSP - feel free to ask!

 

[Firik]

Great to hear that you look positively at D1
Did you have professors who had poor communication skills during a lecture or/and answering your questions? If yes, what class. Thanks!

 

[dodgy badger]

Hey everyone,

Just finished my first year of dental school and it feels incredible and unreal.

I grew a lot this past year - had many great experiences and some not-so-great (but important) ones.

Taking a little bit of a break over the next few days before beginning my preparation for NBDE Part 1.

So - if you have any questions about dental school or the HPSP - feel free to ask!

If you feel comfortable sharing I'm very curious to hear about the not great experiences that were very important - did you learn any life lessons the rest of us can apply?

Also - how did you decide between the different branches of the military (HPSP wise)?

 

[queenki]

#1 How did you make decision on which school to attend? (when applying, when interviewing, when choosing acceptance)

#2 how was your work life balance during D1? what is a routine day look like, such as you wake up what time, class starts what time, class done what time, go home what time, do study or homework (if any...) what did you do after class every day.
I just want to know how much time wise you will be " free" besides of school class time. I got 2 little kids, so I want to know how much time I can spend with them everyday.

#3 What would you say you wish you knew before you started D1?

#4 what would you say you wish you have done before D1? (To better prep D1 life)

#5 Do you need basic Chem, Ochem, bio text from college at all? (I am moving and want to get rid of it if we don't need it haha, I didn't even touch them when I preped for DAT...I just used what's available via internet and it was sufficient. I guess dental school has their own text books to buy so..)

#6 What loan did you take if any, how did you decide which loan to take, any advice to prepare for financial aspect if you could go back to 1 yr before D1 start date?

Thanks.

 

[BasicG]

Hey everyone,

Just finished my first year of dental school and it feels incredible and unreal.

I grew a lot this past year - had many great experiences and some not-so-great (but important) ones.

Taking a little bit of a break over the next few days before beginning my preparation for NBDE Part 1.

So - if you have any questions about dental school or the HPSP - feel free to ask!

For HPSP, if you applied to multiple branches, what made you choose the branch you did?

After taxes, how much of the stipend is leftover and do you have any plans with it (saving, investing, traveling, new TV, etc.)

 

[Likkriue]

Show face

 

[thenextcarnegie]

#1) How difficult was it balancing roughly 30 credits (not sure how many you had per semester) and what would you say was your most difficult classes?

#2) What advice do you have for pre-dental students that are entering their respective D1 years in August?

#3) As a D1, Is there time for extracurricular activities or is studying 24/7?

 

[baigern]

How much free time did you have to work out and try to stay active/healthy?

 

[Advance]

Why don’t you play WoW with me anymore? 🤔

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

I got 2 little kids, so I want to know how much time I can spend with them everyday.

Having young kids while in dental school is rough at times. You absolutely need to master your time management skills to best juggle school and family. Whatever you do, make sure you make time for your kids; they are only little once.

Big Hoss

 

[queenki]

Having young kids while in dental school is rough at times. You absolutely need to master your time management skills to best juggle school and family. Whatever you do, make sure you make time for your kids; they are only little once.

Big Hoss

Yes absolutely true. I will. Thanks for reminding me the core. I already lost some part of my kids' baby time by sending them to daycare since they are young...but I did my best everyday as a student mom, as a working mom...

I had my first child while I was doing my 2nd bachelor's (to take pre-reqs). Having a newborn while taking 18 credits of only science classes were tough. I exclusively breast fed her too. I pumped 3 times in between classes in the hall ways. I think I slept less than 5 hours ( very interrupted ...like 1.5 hour sleep, wake up nurse, 1 hr later, sleep 2 hours, wake up nurse, 1 hr later sleep 1.5 hrs...;( ;( ;( ) for more than half a year... got better when she was 1 yr old. Well, now they are 5 and 3! so at least I can sleep uninterrupted for 6-7 hours, and function like real human...haha.

They grow so fast, and I get saddened some times that I don't stay with them whole day. but oh well... in the long run, we all will be happy.

Thanks again for the comment!

 

[Incis0r]

Great to hear that you look positively at D1
Did you have professors who had poor communication skills during a lecture or/and answering your questions? If yes, what class. Thanks!

I'll begin by saying that we've got great and highly accomplished faculty who have to wear many hats such as research, clinic, etc.- not just teaching.
That said, yes, there were some times when I felt the communication was lacking.

One nice thing about our faculty, however, is that most of them are very open and approachable - if I had a question about something, it was extremely easy to get an in-depth explanation and clarification just by sending an e-mail.

So if something like poor communication happens to you in dental school, don't be shy about asking for a clarification.

As an example, when I did not understand what one of my professors was trying to explain, I e-mailed her. She drew a diagram on a blank piece of paper, uploaded it, and e-mailed it to me and asked me if it made sense.

If you feel comfortable sharing I'm very curious to hear about the not great experiences that were very important - did you learn any life lessons the rest of us can apply?

Also - how did you decide between the different branches of the military (HPSP wise)?

I posted earlier this year in one of the threads that one of the most important things you need to succeed in dental school is mental toughness and grit. And that is absolutely true. Dental school demands a lot, the standards are high, and you don't always have as much time as you want.

Furthermore, you get times of discouraging news. As an example, there were Saturdays in the winter when I went to the simlab and bombed all of my Class I preps. Just terrible work. It's hard at times like that.

But one of my favorite instructors in school taught us an important lesson that shows how much grit matters. He called a student over and showed the student a $100 bill; asked the student if she wanted it. She said yes. Then, he crumpled it up and showed it to her and asked if she wanted it. She said yes again. Then he dropped it to the floor and stomped on it and asked her if she wanted it; she said yes.

What's the point he was making? The $100 bill didn't lose its value. Even though it got crumpled or stomped on. The same goes for us. Dental school will be demanding, there will always be things to improve, but do not ever ever lose sight of your value and do not give up.

Regarding the military, I applied USAF and Navy. I did not apply Army. The Air Force was ready to commission me months before the Navy was, so I took the offer.

#1 How did you make decision on which school to attend? (when applying, when interviewing, when choosing acceptance)

#2 how was your work life balance during D1? what is a routine day look like, such as you wake up what time, class starts what time, class done what time, go home what time, do study or homework (if any...) what did you do after class every day.
I just want to know how much time wise you will be " free" besides of school class time. I got 2 little kids, so I want to know how much time I can spend with them everyday.

#3 What would you say you wish you knew before you started D1?

#4 what would you say you wish you have done before D1? (To better prep D1 life)

#5 Do you need basic Chem, Ochem, bio text from college at all? (I am moving and want to get rid of it if we don't need it haha, I didn't even touch them when I preped for DAT...I just used what's available via internet and it was sufficient. I guess dental school has their own text books to buy so..)

#6 What loan did you take if any, how did you decide which loan to take, any advice to prepare for financial aspect if you could go back to 1 yr before D1 start date?

Thanks.

1) I chose the school to attend based on the class size (some of the schools I was accepted to had really big classes and I did not want that). I also chose it based on location - I wanted to have the ability to enjoy my surroundings.

2) It varied term to term. A general schedule for me is 4:30 am wake up, study, go to school around 8am, classes/lab/simlab until 1pm or 5pm depending on the day, come back, hang out, relax. No studying in the evenings for me.

You can definitely make time for your kids if you try.

3) I would tell myself to relax, take a deep breath, and not stress the small stuff. To accept that everything won't go as perfectly as I want it to, and that this is fine. What matters is the learning experience, and that I am getting better everyday. I could not cut a Class I (very basic and simple prep) back in January, and yet now it is so easy for me to do a Class II (harder prep).

4) Nothing - honestly, I came into D1 off an 8 month gap with 2 months of international travel in there since I graduated early. I was rested. I didn't pre-study or anything like that. I wouldn't change anything about it.

5) Yep so the concepts will come back up in dental school, but you do not need your notes from those courses. Instructors will provide you with their own powerpoints and may go into different depth on each indiviudal topic than what you were exposed to in undergrad.

6) no loan - I am on a military scholarship so my education is paid for through the military. In exchange, I will serve them as a dentist upon graduation.

For HPSP, if you applied to multiple branches, what made you choose the branch you did?

After taxes, how much of the stipend is leftover and do you have any plans with it (saving, investing, traveling, new TV, etc.)

I chose the Air Force based on the fact that they were willing to commission me way before the Navy was. Furthermore, they were extremely professional, the recruiter worked very hard on my application, and I thought I would be a good fit with the branch based on my aspiration to be career military (AF has the highest officer retention rate).

If you average out the entire year's income (including the 45-day Active Duty Pay + food/housing allowance), I would say I get ~$2,000/month after taxes. Yes, I do have money left over and I have separate accounts set up for investing as well as traveling. I auto-contribute a fixed amount monthly to each account.

#1) How difficult was it balancing roughly 30 credits (not sure how many you had per semester) and what would you say was your most difficult classes?

#2) What advice do you have for pre-dental students that are entering their respective D1 years in August?

#3) As a D1, Is there time for extracurricular activities or is studying 24/7?

1) Not hard at all. I wouldn't go by the credits honestly. We had a lot and yes, I had to work, but it was not overwhelming. It's very very doable. Most difficult class would be Anatomy because I spent hours in there trying to dissect the structures and identify them, and it was a completely new skillset for me.

2) Just do your best, relax, pay attention to your operative/restorative faculty because that knowledge is golden. Take your time in lab - don't rush. If you make a mistake and have to redo it, be happy you're getting to learn something. Get tutors - I've gotten tutors for free through my school and they are such an amazing resource.

3) Plenty of time for extracurricular activities! My favorite one is watching Amazon Prime.

How much free time did you have to work out and try to stay active/healthy?

It varies term to term, and week to week even based on the rhythm of exams. I'd say a good average is 2.5 hours a day on weekdays and 5-6 hours/day on weekends.

Why don’t you play WoW with me anymore? 🤔

You went over to the Horde. We are no longer friends.

 

[JazzHands32]

Does Maryland give you scholarship money on top of your HPSP (do they bill the military first then pay you any scholarship directly), or do they deduct the scholarship from your tuition then the military pays a lower cost of attendance?

 

[Incis0r]

Does Maryland give you scholarship money on top of your HPSP (do they bill the military first then pay you any scholarship directly), or do they deduct the scholarship from your tuition then the military pays a lower cost of attendance?

This is something you would have to speak with their financial aid about.

I was awarded scholarship money by my school (Pitt), but had to forfeit that scholarship when they learned I was receiving the HPSP.