Help with burnout and lack of motivation

[Biofilm preventer]

A little background.

I am currently 23 years old right now, I started undergrad when I just turned 21, so this is my 3rd year of school. I wanted to make it as quick as possible and didn't want to waste any time because I am already on the older side, and therefore I have never really taken a break from school since I started.

My freshman year I started in a spring semester and couldn't take bio that semester because my school didn't offer it. so I took bio 1 and bio 2 that summer, and if you guys ever took summer courses you know how crazy the schedule is, especially for a difficult class.
and then I took chem 1 and 2 and a bunch of other classes that fall and spring semester, and then this past summer I took physics 1 and 2.

now I am taking orgo 1, A&P 1, Neuroscience, and writing a 25 page thesis for my bio degree.

next semester I will be taking a lighter workload only taking orgo 2 and a and p 2 but I will be doing this in order to study for the DAT and hopefully take it in June.

I never took any breaks or anything, my whole life these past 2.5 years has been school, school, school. and now I am really starting to feel it because i am so unmotivated studying. I only cram everything in right before the test. I am still getting good grades but I know that cramming is not smart.

in the beginning of the semester, before the first test, I am motivated and efficiently study by spacing everything out properly. but after the first test I barely look at the material until a week before my exam and then I cram all day and night from like 8-8. I know this is very unhealthy and will further contribute to my burnout.


The reason I do all of this is because I am VERY hard on myself. if I get a 93 on a test, and someone in my class got a 95, I am upset. it means he is either smarter than me or put in more time. and then I will try even more on the next test, and then if it happens again, lets say this time I get an 88 and others score higher, I will be so unmotivated because this time I put in a lot of time and did the absolute best that I could do and I still couldn't get a good grade, further unmotivating me. and then I feel like I am a failure and will probably not be a dentist and how can I do the DAT or dental school if I can't even get a good grade on an orgo test or a neuroscience test.


Also, which was very stupid on my part, I went ahead and purchased red red redemption 2. now all I want to do after I study for my exams is play the game lol. my weekends are not as productive as they used to be because of this silly purchase lol.

My accumulative gpa is 3.58 and my Science gpa is 3.6, which further unmotivates me.

For my science grades, I have received
A- in bio 1, A in bio 2,
A- in chem 1, B- in chem 2,
A- in both physics,
A- in micro bio,
A in immunology,

I am scared because my gpa isn't that great and I haven't even finished taking orgo 1 and 2 yet, so I am petrified for that. again, I am obviously going to study and do the best that I could, but what if I can only pull B,B- in these 2 classes?? my gpa will fall even further! and then again I will feel unmotivated because if I can't do this, how can I do dental school!

Please any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for reading.

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[coldicecream]

Never had a break from school also, so really hoping I get into a school that starts late summer.
My main advice is for you to stop comparing yourself to others. a 90 is still an A. Not saying to aim for the least, but there's no need to be competitive when at the end of the day, you both will still get the same letter grade. (Unless you have the plus/minus system then thats different.)

 

[iWantThatDMD]

Just saying, DAT bio/orgo/genChem isn't the crazy stuff you'll see in your Ugrad classes. It's more of a general overview, rather than having to know insanity.

 

[coldicecream]

For the DAT, if you go to a good college and put effort into the general science courses, then you're already 75% prepared for the test. The other 25% is confidence in your answer, reading and answering questions quickly.

 

[Biofilm preventer]

Never had a break from school also, so really hoping I get into a school that starts late summer.
My main advice is for you to stop comparing yourself to others. a 90 is still an A. Not saying to aim for the least, but there's no need to be competitive when at the end of the day, you both will still get the same letter grade. (Unless you have the plus/minus system then thats different.)

the whole thing is that I feel unintelligent and that I am putting my absolute best and sometimes not even getting that A.

 

[AppalachianDentalBoy]

Don't sweat it dude. DAT stuff is way easier than college classes. My gpa is slightly higher than yours and I crushed the DAT. Even if you don't crush it there are plenty of people with your scores who get in and become excellent dentists.

 

[Blueshirts]

the whole thing is that I feel unintelligent and that I am putting my absolute best and sometimes not even getting that A.

This is a marathon not a sprint. You are obviously capable of doing well and achieving top grades, as such you have to approach all of this like it is long term. Taking breaks here and there to collect yourself and reconnect with a reality outside of school is healthy and will help to ground yourself, and you may see better results in your work. Keep in mind that at a certain point of pushing yourself you will see diminishing returns (like you are currently experiencing), which should signal you to take a step back and relax if possible, when you return to your work you will more than likely be prepared to do your best again.

 

[Pearl E. White]

OP, I would just like to add that it is better to get into good study habits now. Cramming likely won't get you far in dental school when you're taking 20+ credit hours per semester. Here's what you should do: 1. Kick yourself in the butt for being so hard on yourself. You're doing great. 2. Take a dang break. You deserve it. You've more than earned it. 3. Get back into those good study habits. 4. Continue to take little breaks for yourself. Best of luck. I know it's all easier said than done. I'm 27 and graduating in 3 weeks. I'm currently the Queen of Procrastination.

 

[2TH MVR]

Just relax. As you get closer and closer to the reality of being a dentist ..... all your hard work will be more focused and meaningful. We've all been there. Not all of us were perfect students. I was far from perfect. You don't have to be perfect at everything to be a dentist. Do your best. Eat well and exercise. Give your brain some down time and then you will be energized for your classes.

 

[Biofilm preventer]

Just relax. As you get closer and closer to the reality of being a dentist ..... all your hard work will be more focused and meaningful. We've all been there. Not all of us were perfect students. I was far from perfect. You don't have to be perfect at everything to be a dentist. Do your best. Eat well and exercise. Give your brain some down time and then you will be energized for your classes.

sometimes, my best only comes out be average or below average and that gets me extremely unmotivated.

 

[macsak]

A little background.

I am currently 23 years old right now, I started undergrad when I just turned 21, so this is my 3rd year of school. I wanted to make it as quick as possible and didn't want to waste any time because I am already on the older side, and therefore I have never really taken a break from school since I started.

My freshman year I started in a spring semester and couldn't take bio that semester because my school didn't offer it. so I took bio 1 and bio 2 that summer, and if you guys ever took summer courses you know how crazy the schedule is, especially for a difficult class.
and then I took chem 1 and 2 and a bunch of other classes that fall and spring semester, and then this past summer I took physics 1 and 2.

now I am taking orgo 1, A&P 1, Neuroscience, and writing a 25 page thesis for my bio degree.

next semester I will be taking a lighter workload only taking orgo 2 and a and p 2 but I will be doing this in order to study for the DAT and hopefully take it in June.

I never took any breaks or anything, my whole life these past 2.5 years has been school, school, school. and now I am really starting to feel it because i am so unmotivated studying. I only cram everything in right before the test. I am still getting good grades but I know that cramming is not smart.

in the beginning of the semester, before the first test, I am motivated and efficiently study by spacing everything out properly. but after the first test I barely look at the material until a week before my exam and then I cram all day and night from like 8-8. I know this is very unhealthy and will further contribute to my burnout.


The reason I do all of this is because I am VERY hard on myself. if I get a 93 on a test, and someone in my class got a 95, I am upset. it means he is either smarter than me or put in more time. and then I will try even more on the next test, and then if it happens again, lets say this time I get an 88 and others score higher, I will be so unmotivated because this time I put in a lot of time and did the absolute best that I could do and I still couldn't get a good grade, further unmotivating me. and then I feel like I am a failure and will probably not be a dentist and how can I do the DAT or dental school if I can't even get a good grade on an orgo test or a neuroscience test.


Also, which was very stupid on my part, I went ahead and purchased red red redemption 2. now all I want to do after I study for my exams is play the game lol. my weekends are not as productive as they used to be because of this silly purchase lol.

My accumulative gpa is 3.58 and my Science gpa is 3.6, which further unmotivates me.

For my science grades, I have received
A- in bio 1, A in bio 2,
A- in chem 1, B- in chem 2,
A- in both physics,
A- in micro bio,
A in immunology,

I am scared because my gpa isn't that great and I haven't even finished taking orgo 1 and 2 yet, so I am petrified for that. again, I am obviously going to study and do the best that I could, but what if I can only pull B,B- in these 2 classes?? my gpa will fall even further! and then again I will feel unmotivated because if I can't do this, how can I do dental school!

Please any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for reading.

first of all, your gpa is fine
my advice would be to take a break and examine your motivation
in dental school, the material comes that much quicker and the quality of your classmates is that much higher
so issues like these will be even more magnified in dental school
obviously you are smart enough to handle the material, you just need to work on your study habits and outlook
and lose the video games...

 

[coldicecream]

oh and also, AADSAS calculates your GPA with and WITHOUT the +/- system.
So you're good! Do the best you can in orgo and get a good score on the DAT.
Remember, school isn't everything. Don't let it consume you and have your GPA be your defining factor.

 

[rk1229]

what's motivation......... I thought everyone in undergrad is unmotivated and just crams for hours the night before tests...... and those wild kids who score 100% on every test, I've heard a swift roundhouse kick helps them stop being annoyingly smart....

jokes aside, it's all so much easier when your perspective changes. Being in undergrad, taking hard classes, striving to become a dentist, is all a choice. No one is forced to do this. I think it's pretty cool we get the chance to do these hard things. Gratitude will get you through the tough times. Your grades are good, and you'll kill the DAT. Cut yourself some slack. Or don't, and enjoy the process and know you're ahead of most people because you have high expectations of yourself. It's a fun ride. My two cents.

p.s. I have wayyyyy too much caffeine in my system right now because I have two exams, two quizzes, two presentations, and a group project this week. I just lol at it all.

Okay I'm done, later hahah

 

[garlick_]

Go snap your red red redemption 2 game disk in half.

 

[Life of Pablo]

You're just being too hard on yourself. Your GPA is solid and as long as you decently on the DAT, you should get in somewhere. Once you go to dental school, you'll further realize how smart everyone is, so try to learn not to compare yourself to others. Easier said than done, I know.

 

[Biofilm preventer]

Go snap your red red redemption 2 game disk in half.

I DOWNLOADED IT AHHHHHH