Life besides dental school

[UMDeeMan]

Ok, I understand the committment (sp?) that must be asserted while enrolled in dental school and what it takes to specialize. But answer this for me....is there time to do other things during dschool?? i read some of these posts here and it seems that the majority go to class from 8-5, then come home and study for 4-5 hours, then go to sleep only to do it all again. I truly admire those that are attending dschool and have families. But that won't be my situation (well as far as i know now), so is there time to relax, have fun, date, etc in dschool? just curious here.

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[ItsGavinC]

Here's a straight-up answer:

If you don't have ambitions of specializing right after school, and if you have a full understand that memorizing trivial details won't make you a better dentist, then you can have quite a bit of time for yourself.

Learn what you need to learn and be sure to schedule your time, and you'll be fine. Minimal studying is required to pass most dental school courses, while often the studying necessary to earn top grades and rank high in the class is unreal. In my class it's 25 hrs+ difference of studying each week.

 

[UMDeeMan]

just to clarify, you mean by "to earn top grades and rank high in the class is unreal" statement, you mean 25 hours outside of the class schedule per week??

 

[DrJeff]

The big factor is also "how do you learn?" Some people just pick up the details alot faster than others. I know in my class I was middle of the road in the amount of time I spent studying (1 to 2 hours a night 5 to 6 nights a week during non test weeks and many more hours a night in the days leading upto a test). Normal weeks I was able to goto the gym 5 days a week, go out with friends another 1-3 nights a week, and really get to know my then girlfriend(now wife).

One of my roomates my first year needed about 2 to 3 times as much study time as I did, and one of my roomates my second year needed about 1/2 to 1/3 as much study time as I did.

By now, you should have a good grasp on how you learn, and while you'll likely be spending a bit more time studying than during undergrad, most folks tend to find it proportional to what they needed in undergrad.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by UMDeeMan
just to clarify, you mean by "to earn top grades and rank high in the class is unreal" statement, you mean 25 hours outside of the class schedule per week??

The difference between just passing and being one of the top ranked students is a difference of 25 hours or more of studying outside of class each week.

Meaning, if 8 hours of studying can get you a pass, it seems as though there are always those gunning for the high grades who will need 33 hours of studying to obtain the highest grade.

Whereas some people study 2 hours a night, these other types put in 5-6 hours each night and often 7 or 8 on weekends.

 

[UNLV OMS GUNNABE]

I think Dr. Jeff is right on this one Gavin. It all depends on how you learn and how fast you can pick things up. I am doing very well and I don't spend 4-5 hours every day studying. Most saturdays I do spend a lot of time studying. Granted, this semester I am studying more because of boards and research but there is still time to mess around. I have a feeling that in general most people find dental school easier than they had anticipated and yet they like to exagerate(sp?) about how hard it is when talking to others.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by UNLV OMS WANABE
I think Dr. Jeff is right on this one Gavin.

Yep, and I agree with him completely.