I am considering applying to dental school. I was wondering how rigorous the courses and/or course load is?? And what your average day at dental school is like first, second, third, or fourth year??
Thanks!
Thanks!
How rigors is dental school????
- Thread starter elCHE
- Start date
- Joined
- May 2, 2008
- Messages
- 379
- Reaction score
- 13
It's incredible! We have a keg in the clinic and the alumni association pays for strippers during finals week. We only have professors who were in Playboy in the last four years. The only work is surviving the dentcest sessions Tuesday night. I love it here. May dental school never end. The sooner you apply, the sooner the fun starts.
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2007
- Messages
- 1,267
- Reaction score
- 1,801
Very
B
Brownstain
A honest perspective. Our D1 year we were scheduled to be @ school for 38 hours a week. Somehow that only added up to 21 credit hours by their calculations. If I'm not mistaken that meant that anything associated with lab was only worth 1/4 credit per hour. Some people study more, some less. I can honestly say for at least 2-3 hours a night monday-thursday I was doing something for the first two years. Whether it was studying, lab practice, practical prep, group projects, presentations, reading for class, etc. Friday nights and Saturdays for the most part were days off first year. I spent them purging, in more way than one, hope you got that reference. I would sometimes crack a book for a couple hours Saturday afternoon when the hangover wore off. D2 year there were some days that I may have spent 4-6hrs in pre-clinic on a Saturday, Sunday as well. Sundays were usually where I got the bulk of my cramming in, lets say 4-6 hrs of honest work on Sundays, often more. So add that all up for say example D2 year and I would give you a rough estimate. Mind you this was the absolute worst semester we had! D1 was a little more chill the first semester, picked up 2nd semester, first semester D2 year is something I don't think I could go through again. Every school has a patter of where it heats up, mine just happend to be that 1 yr span.
Remember the QR portion of the DAT? a little easier math (crappy d2 1st semester breakdown)
38hrs a week school + 8-12hrs a week study + 2-4hrs Saturday pre-clinic prep + 2 hrs study time + 2-4 hrs pre-clinic prep Sunday + 4-6 hrs hardcore cramming Sunday and you get an estimate of...56-66hrs a week job. Now if you could throw in the level of difficulty and competitiveness into a math equation. Not to mention that when it was test time, those weekends may have had 8-10 hrs of studying a day!
My typical agenda was School 8-5, eat/chill 5:00-6:30, study 6:30-9:00, tv 9:00-11ish, sleep 11-7. I would be lying if I said there weren't some all nighters in there too. Needless to say I gained a solid 10lbs. Hah, ok good luck. I would just say that in undergrad there were 1-2 nights a week I had to buckle down and study for 2 maybee 3 hrs. Just think of doing that everyday, all week long, but being in school for nearly 40hrs a week instead of the measly 22 or so counting lab hours I did in undergrad. The whole sleep till 10, class form 11-2, sleep till 3, workout, eat, videogames, till 7, study from 8-9ish and then Tv till about 1am is LONG GONE!
Remember the QR portion of the DAT? a little easier math (crappy d2 1st semester breakdown)
38hrs a week school + 8-12hrs a week study + 2-4hrs Saturday pre-clinic prep + 2 hrs study time + 2-4 hrs pre-clinic prep Sunday + 4-6 hrs hardcore cramming Sunday and you get an estimate of...56-66hrs a week job. Now if you could throw in the level of difficulty and competitiveness into a math equation. Not to mention that when it was test time, those weekends may have had 8-10 hrs of studying a day!
My typical agenda was School 8-5, eat/chill 5:00-6:30, study 6:30-9:00, tv 9:00-11ish, sleep 11-7. I would be lying if I said there weren't some all nighters in there too. Needless to say I gained a solid 10lbs. Hah, ok good luck. I would just say that in undergrad there were 1-2 nights a week I had to buckle down and study for 2 maybee 3 hrs. Just think of doing that everyday, all week long, but being in school for nearly 40hrs a week instead of the measly 22 or so counting lab hours I did in undergrad. The whole sleep till 10, class form 11-2, sleep till 3, workout, eat, videogames, till 7, study from 8-9ish and then Tv till about 1am is LONG GONE!
Last edited:
Depends. For the first two years it boils down to how proficient you are with academia and pre-clinicals. So for some people dental school is about as relaxed as undergrad and for some people it's a daily monumental struggle. For most people it's hard but manageable.
For the 3rd and 4th years your faculty and patients will play a large part in how "fun" and "smooth" your life is. But the formula for success is not as straight forward. So again for some people it's very fun and relaxing, for others it's one of the most stressful times ever.
For the 3rd and 4th years your faculty and patients will play a large part in how "fun" and "smooth" your life is. But the formula for success is not as straight forward. So again for some people it's very fun and relaxing, for others it's one of the most stressful times ever.
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2004
- Messages
- 678
- Reaction score
- 12
Really, it depends entirely on what your goals are, whether you want to specialize or not, whether you can take getting a C, etc. Brownstain's post is great. Just a wild average I'm throwing out - if you're a serious student, you'll probably spend 50-80 hours a week on everything to do with school, some weeks more, some less. It'll also depend on your school. Lots and lots of variables.
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2006
- Messages
- 327
- Reaction score
- 1
I think every dental school has their stretch of hardcore academics + pre-clinical courses. For example, I've had three clinical exams this week alone, started my morning at 7:45am and unlocked my apartment door around 11:00pm everyday this week (and this is not our hardest semester). Truthfully, there aren't enough hours in the day to get what you need done. There are those few individuals in every class that have ridiculous handskills and can pound out preps with their eyes closed and make dental school look easy, but don't count on this being you. I would prepare yourself for 2+ years of sleep deprivation, multiple exams each and every week and lab work that will make you want to cry. Enjoy!
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2006
- Messages
- 34
- Reaction score
- 0
It's tough, you put in the time, but I find you still have plenty of time to wind down. I jerked around (literally) in undergrad and made it. I'm a little more serious now, maybe even more mature, and you just have to know when it's time to study and when it's time to relax. We've had 2 people leave our program already after 1 year (one grades and one just didn't like it), but the school wanted to help them in any way.
At the end of the day, you have to put in the hours, but C=DMD at most schools so if you got in, you gotta be at least average.
At the end of the day, you have to put in the hours, but C=DMD at most schools so if you got in, you gotta be at least average.
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2006
- Messages
- 1,869
- Reaction score
- 7
First semester at VCU was fine. My husband actually said "wow, I thought there would be a lot more studying at dental school." Only really tough part was gross anatomy, which got easier as you got used to it.
The second semester... RUDE awakening... 38 credits... pretty much all the basic medical sciences crammed into one semester (physio, micro/immuno, histology, pathology etc along with periodontology, clinical skills - where we already saw a few patients, lit review and of course, the 4 hour daily labs in the afternoon - Operative.) I don't think I really had a free night unless it was Friday right after an exam. WE WERE CONSTANTLY busy. I was probably studying about 4 hrs/night (after getting home at 6).
I hear 2nd year is really hectic too...but more bc of lab work and constant exams. Anyway, we finish pathology tomorrow and then we are DONE WITH YEAR 1!!!!! WOOOHOOO!
Personally, I think it TOTALLY depends on your school... so you probably shouldn't take anyone's word in here unless you go to the school they go to.
The second semester... RUDE awakening... 38 credits... pretty much all the basic medical sciences crammed into one semester (physio, micro/immuno, histology, pathology etc along with periodontology, clinical skills - where we already saw a few patients, lit review and of course, the 4 hour daily labs in the afternoon - Operative.) I don't think I really had a free night unless it was Friday right after an exam. WE WERE CONSTANTLY busy. I was probably studying about 4 hrs/night (after getting home at 6).
I hear 2nd year is really hectic too...but more bc of lab work and constant exams. Anyway, we finish pathology tomorrow and then we are DONE WITH YEAR 1!!!!! WOOOHOOO!
Personally, I think it TOTALLY depends on your school... so you probably shouldn't take anyone's word in here unless you go to the school they go to.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2008
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 0
Agreed. The summer courses aren't so bad though, it's only during the year that you need the lubricant for your raping.
B
Brownstain
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2008
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 0
How about those schools where you need to take the 1st national board at the end of the 1st year? Specifically, like VCU school of dentistry. How is that going to change my schedule?
ss2kj
VCU School of Dentistry Class of 2012
ss2kj
VCU School of Dentistry Class of 2012
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2005
- Messages
- 866
- Reaction score
- 134
Brownstain's post is dead-on to how insane dental school is....
I just finished up 2nd year last Friday and got Boards done with 2 weeks ago. Second year was nothing more then constant work, tests and practicals. Whenever I got done with something else, there was always something else to do.
It's 2 years of nonstop work, with some semesters being slightly easier then others. But be prepared for a lot of work...
I just finished up 2nd year last Friday and got Boards done with 2 weeks ago. Second year was nothing more then constant work, tests and practicals. Whenever I got done with something else, there was always something else to do.
It's 2 years of nonstop work, with some semesters being slightly easier then others. But be prepared for a lot of work...
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2008
- Messages
- 180
- Reaction score
- 2
It's all relative....... Relative to a concentration camp it's blissful; relative to college, it blows. Having finished dental school a few years ago, I still wonder what the heck I did with all my time compared to college. The first two years it never feels like there's enough time but it seemed to ease up the last two years.
I suspect a lot of it is efficiency. If you know what to study and get your mind focused on the matter, then a 1 hr. study can easily trump 2-3 hours of aimless, tired cramming. Living a life of constant studying will numb the mind and provide little in the way of actual returns.
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2006
- Messages
- 565
- Reaction score
- 0
a few people started studying the decks throughout 2nd semester of 1st year and through pathology during the summer..but most people focused on path (6 credits) and are just using the 5 weeks after path ended (which is right now) to study and take the boards
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2006
- Messages
- 565
- Reaction score
- 0
um what were u doing posting such a long post the day before the path final...locoooooooo
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2007
- Messages
- 192
- Reaction score
- 0
I'm not in D school yet, but I remember at my Stony Brook interview the financial aid speaker laughed at the notion of working during dental school.
How about working in the school or something related to dentistry - dental assisting or hygiene?
It's hard to answer this question without being in or having gone through dental school, but honestly, is it possible to have a part-time job? Yes. Hard? Well, harder, so it really depends how hard you find dental school to begin with. There are some students in my class that hold down part-time jobs just fine. It's all up to you, if you are proficient with school, can pick up the hands-on related things quickly, and when clinic begins can more than adequately make your requirements, you definitely can have a lot of free time.
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2007
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 0
I'm sorry but I didn't quite understand what you meant when you said "and when clinic begins can more than adequately make your requirements, you definitely can have a lot of free time"...
After clinic begins, if you are ahead and/or on pace with finishing your requirements, you can potentially have a lot of free time.
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2008
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 0
It is doable (although, it may not seem like it at times). You definitely have to put in the time and work hard....just to pass sometimes.
