How should I manage my busy summer?

[Samin23]

With my degree plan, I'm required to complete all of my lower-level science courses before I begin the Fall 2016 semester. Because of this, I'm required to take physics 2 over the summer in order to meet the deadline.
Also, I need to start studying for the DAT, and I've concluded that I will use DAT Bootcamp's program and study schedule to do so.
On top of this, an old friend of mine has hinted at helping me land a job at her mother's pediatric dentistry clinic as a part-time receptionist. In addition, a general dentist has extended an offer to extensively shadow him at his practice.
And last but not least, I'm trying to lose a few pounds over the long break as I rarely have time to get a solid workout routine going during the semester.

With taking physics 2, studying for the DAT, shadowing a dentist every once in a while, and trying to stay in-shape, should I think about not taking the part-time job? It would look great on apps, but I just don't think I'd have the time for it.

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[Samin23]

Do you need the job/money? If you can manage it all and still do well, it'll look fantastic to admissions committees. If you have to cut something, I'd cut the job, so long as you don't need the money.

It'd be nice to have the extra money, but I'm not in dire need of it. My interest in the job was due to the intrigue it could possibly bring to my application

 

[Sweet_Tooth]

First off, thanks for making this thread, because I'm in the same position as you, currently a sophomore (will be a rising junior as of summer '16) and I have also planned to take the DAT in late August, I also need to get in shadowing hours and volunteer hours and will also be working as an SI leader, and will also be taking some sort of accelerated spring courses (most likely biochem & some other course, I was thinking a bio course like human phys or cell bio but idk how good of an idea it would be to take two upper level bio courses in one 7 week semester? If someone could also give me some advice on summer course scheduling, I'd appreciate it)

From what I've read on these forums, 2 months of solid studying for the DAT should be more than enough so I plan on studying for that all of July and all of August, because spring courses end at the end of June anyways. My only concern is about burning out; actually going through such a schedule on a weekly basis won't be hard if you put in meticulous planning and have good time management skills, but most likely by the end of it all you will be completely drained and out of motivation, which would be a problem for me as my fall 2016 schedule is also quite hectic.

But at the same time, I feel like having such a busy schedule is actually good, because it gives you a good taste of what dental school is like, and will obviously be impressive to adcoms. And after all, we committed to be pre-dental, and obviously being a dentist is no easy matter so I think all of this stuff is 'normal' for you if you want to get into dental school, most students who get accepted are always busy working towards their dental school dreams, they don't have relaxed schedules.

So yeah, idk. I'm also a bit split between which commitments I should drop and which ones I should keep and so will continue to watch this thread

 

[Sweet_Tooth]

With my degree plan, I'm required to complete all of my lower-level science courses before I begin the Fall 2016 semester. Because of this, I'm required to take physics 2 over the summer in order to meet the deadline.
Also, I need to start studying for the DAT, and I've concluded that I will use DAT Bootcamp's program and study schedule to do so.
On top of this, an old friend of mine has hinted at helping me land a job at her mother's pediatric dentistry clinic as a part-time receptionist. In addition, a general dentist has extended an offer to extensively shadow him at his practice.
And last but not least, I'm trying to lose a few pounds over the long break as I rarely have time to get a solid workout routine going during the semester.

With taking physics 2, studying for the DAT, shadowing a dentist every once in a while, and trying to stay in-shape, should I think about not taking the part-time job? It would look great on apps, but I just don't think I'd have the time for it.

I just realized I totally forgot to respond to your original post. I think you should split your summer into parts, I'm not sure if your university offers spring courses the same way mine's does, we only have accelerated 7 week courses, so a course could be may-june or july -august; so 2 months of your time would for taking your physics course (which shouldn't be too bad hopefully if you buckle down and follow a strict study schedule) and the other 2 months for DAT. And I think it is a good idea to take the part time job, it can double as shadowing hours because you will interact with patients, interact with the dentist, and also get to see procedures if you aren't busy at your desk; I think it's good experience for getting a feel for how dental offices operate and adcoms will definitely appreciate that. If it's part time, hopefully you should be able to manage it? Maybe the shadowing can be like twice a week (mondays and wednesdays or tuesdays and thursdays? Pick the days you don't have class!) and of course idk when you're taking your DAT but that can also be incorporated. I think your schedule is at a good level of difficulty. And working out should also not to be hard to squeeze in somewhere, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday you can work out? I also wanted to be healthier this semester and honestly only have time during the weekend. It's better than nothing though right?

But, like i said before, idk about how you'll feel AFTER completing such a schedule, and how that will affect your performance during the fall semester. Can anyone who has experienced such a schedule shed some light on this?

 

[stewfoo412]

It'd be nice to have the extra money, but I'm not in dire need of it. My interest in the job was due to the intrigue it could possibly bring to my application

I'd postpone studying for your DAT. I'm currently a junior at A&M and I started studying for mine in early January and am taking it this coming Friday. It felt like plenty of time. The best time to study is junior year over Christmas break and slightly into the spring semester in my opinion.
Focus on physics and all of the other commitments you wish to do this summer... good luck

 

[mrdeez]

I'd postpone studying for your DAT. I'm currently a junior at A&M and I started studying for mine in early January and am taking it this coming Friday. It felt like plenty of time. The best time to study is junior year over Christmas break and slightly into the spring semester in my opinion.
Focus on physics and all of the other commitments you wish to do this summer... good luck

Can you elaborate on what your schedule was like from Jan until now? I'm in almost exactly the same position as OP and was debating studying for the DAT over summer vs. christmas break. My summer schedule would consist of taking two classes (phys 2 and calc 3), doing research, and studying for the DAT. This lasts from beginning of may until beginning of August and then there is a two week gap between semesters to study more DAT and actually take the test. Whereas, christmas break I have 5 weeks of nothing. So basically ~4 months of light studying with 2 weeks hardcore before the test (summer) vs. 5 weeks of hardcore studying (christmas). I know someone who crushed the DAT using the first method but she is a mutant and I'm not sure I can handle the workload. What do you think?

 

[hellofuturedentists]

With my degree plan, I'm required to complete all of my lower-level science courses before I begin the Fall 2016 semester. Because of this, I'm required to take physics 2 over the summer in order to meet the deadline.
Also, I need to start studying for the DAT, and I've concluded that I will use DAT Bootcamp's program and study schedule to do so.
On top of this, an old friend of mine has hinted at helping me land a job at her mother's pediatric dentistry clinic as a part-time receptionist. In addition, a general dentist has extended an offer to extensively shadow him at his practice.
And last but not least, I'm trying to lose a few pounds over the long break as I rarely have time to get a solid workout routine going during the semester.

With taking physics 2, studying for the DAT, shadowing a dentist every once in a while, and trying to stay in-shape, should I think about not taking the part-time job? It would look great on apps, but I just don't think I'd have the time for it.

-You only need ~100 (can get by with less) hours of shadowing. See if your dentist will let you do it during winter break, spring break, some other break, 1 day a week, etc. If you stay for 4 or 5 hours each time, you can knock that out easily. Honestly no need for like 6000 shadowing hours. Or, find a dentist near where you go to college and go during your regular semester
-Could take the DAT after your junior year instead (assuming you're a sophomore right now)
-Keep the weight loss part. Exercise relieves stress. As long as you're not trying to train for a marathon, having 20-30 min a day is still a great start
-Receptionist job probably isn't hectic the entire time. You'd likely be able to bring a DAT study book or a physics book with you and read it when there's nothing to do.
It definitely seems like you'd have a lot of time to do all this. The only thing I'd be worried about is learning physics 2 and studying for the DAT at the same time, especially since physics isn't on the DAT. If the physics course lasts the whole summer, I would postpone the DAT. Otherwise, when your physics course is complete, take a couple days off, then start DAT stuff

 

[stewfoo412]

Can you elaborate on what your schedule was like from Jan until now? I'm in almost exactly the same position as OP and was debating studying for the DAT over summer vs. christmas break. My summer schedule would consist of taking two classes (phys 2 and calc 3), doing research, and studying for the DAT. This lasts from beginning of may until beginning of August and then there is a two week gap between semesters to study more DAT and actually take the test. Whereas, christmas break I have 5 weeks of nothing. So basically ~4 months of light studying with 2 weeks hardcore before the test (summer) vs. 5 weeks of hardcore studying (christmas). I know someone who crushed the DAT using the first method but she is a mutant and I'm not sure I can handle the workload. What do you think?

I'd personally benefit more from 5 weeks of hardcore studying. It doesn't hurt to start studying ASAP but you have to be realistic and committed when you do. The hardest part of studying for the DAT for me was just committing to studying for it in the first place. Mentally, it was a huge initial hurdle.

 

[JLT223]

Make sure you can handle physics on top of the DAT, especially during summer when you're NOT going to want to be inside studying. The receptionist job is probably the last thing I'd do on top of the above; just get your shadowing hours in.

 

[stewfoo412]

^ this. I also took both physics' over the summer at a CC and had planned on studying for my DAT. But it just wasn't very plausible because my motivation was low from class, friends, shadowing, etc. There's no harm in holding off until Christmas break.

 

[Samin23]

I think my biggest worry about postponing the DAT until Christmas break is that DAT Bootcamp is a 10-week program, and Christmas break is only a few weeks. @stewfoo412 How were you able to study for the DAT while also handling a full-time course load (assuming you took more than 12 hours)? I want to take physics 2 through a community college, so I'm hoping the course doesn't last the entire summer (and might be a bit easier than at A&M). If that's the case, I believe I would have enough time to finish DAT Bootcamp's 10-week program and take the exam at the end of August.

 

[JLT223]

I think my biggest worry about postponing the DAT until Christmas break is that DAT Bootcamp is a 10-week program, and Christmas break is only a few weeks. @stewfoo412 How were you able to study for the DAT while also handling a full-time course load (assuming you took more than 12 hours)? I want to take physics 2 through a community college, so I'm hoping the course doesn't last the entire summer (and might be a bit easier than at A&M). If that's the case, I believe I would have enough time to finish DAT Bootcamp's 10-week program and take the exam at the end of August.

You're 99% likely to not follow the ten week program exactly as written. Just remember that. If you study effectively 6-7 weeks is more than enough before you begin to burnout.

 

[Scumbag_Steve]

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[stewfoo412]

I think my biggest worry about postponing the DAT until Christmas break is that DAT Bootcamp is a 10-week program, and Christmas break is only a few weeks. @stewfoo412 How were you able to study for the DAT while also handling a full-time course load (assuming you took more than 12 hours)? I want to take physics 2 through a community college, so I'm hoping the course doesn't last the entire summer (and might be a bit easier than at A&M). If that's the case, I believe I would have enough time to finish DAT Bootcamp's 10-week program and take the exam at the end of August.

I'm in Biochem and 3 BIMS science electives at the moment which is 13 hours. I actually didn't really study over christmas break until january. It was hard because my gf was in town, and I don't see her much. But from January 4th through now I've been studying my ass off. Basically, I've made a point out of not drinking, partying, or really socializing much haha. I basically just study and workout in my free time. It can be done. You just have to commit basically two months of your life to nothing but school and DAT. Your friends will be there after you're done.

 

[clutchfans]

Watch us get bodied by the spurs or warriors in the playoffs. #RedNation #Pursuit #ClutchCity

 

[stewfoo412]

Watch us get bodied by the spurs or warriors in the playoffs. #RedNation #Pursuit #ClutchCity

we won't even make the playoffs bro.

 

[clutchfans]

we won't even make the playoffs bro.

I don't know about that, Mavs are playing pretty poorly right now.

 

[Samin23]

I don't know about that, Mavs are playing pretty poorly right now.

If we don't make the playoffs, I can sleep well at night that the Mavs are playing worse than us

 

[clutchfans]

If we don't make the playoffs, I can sleep well at night that the Mavs are playing worse than us

very true too

 

[fogorvostan]

I studied for the DAT, wrote my thesis for graduate school, interned full-time, and still had time for myself last summer. It's only a few months.

 

[mrdeez]

I studied for the DAT, wrote my thesis for graduate school, interned full-time, and still had time for myself last summer. It's only a few months.

Illuminati Confirmed.