Hey guys, so I have truly developed a passion for dentistry and I have been a dental assistant for 4 and a half years. I KNOW for a fact that I want to be a dentist, I need help in my schooling aspect, as in how in the world can I improve my GPA; I have 2 years until I get my bachelors in Bio. Any of you have any time or recommendations of how to basically get good grades?
1. Talk to professors about what material they like to test (all of the professors I've had test only what is covered in class notes, so that is helpful because I know where to focus my time- class powerpoints instead of the textbook. This also saves me $$ since I no longer purchase textbooks- I just go to the library occasionally when I need to look something up or borrow from a friend)
2. Go to office hours/e-mail your professor with any questions you have. Side-note: TAs can be hit or miss. One of my science professors told me to just skip the TAs since they give inaccurate information, and I ran everything by him. In fact, as a general rule, it's much better to get everything critical directly from the professor than from the TAs.
3. Active learning beats passive learning. Get Anki or make paper flashcards. Convert the material you're trying to learn into a question form. For example, instead of memorizing that "there are 4 types of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars, and molars," phrase it as a question on a flashcard with the answer on the opposite side: "How many different types of teeth are there, and name each type"
4. Have an efficient administrative system- I use iCal. It only takes me 10 seconds to find out when my next exam is, what my study schedule is for the day, etc. Build your own system to make things more organized.
5. Don't compromise on sleep, ever. You do not need to pull an all-nighter to get a 4.0.
6. Make time for friends- relaxing/de-stressing boosts your motivation and destroys burnout.
7. Accept failures. The
growth mindset is your best tool when learning from failures.
8. Work out. Exercise is fun, amazing, and is a huge confidence boost as well.
9. Eat well. Lots of sugars = sugar crashes. It's impossible to study when feeling tired/sleepy. Instead, opt for healthy food- protein, apple, etc.
