Now That I Am Accepted, How Should I Prepare For Dental School?

[STARCITY]

I was told that I should repost this in the dental forum.

So what do you guys think that I should do now?

I mean it would really make sense to start working at least on my hand coordination right?

Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[drhobie7]

Without question, go on vacation for as long as possible. Visit wherever you've always wanted to go. Do whatever you've always wanted to do. Don't waste your time studying or practicing hand coordination. There'll be more than enough time for that in dental school, and frankly I don't think you'll be better prepared by doing so. There really isn't much that's like dentistry.

No money for these vacations? Take out a Stafford Loan. That's what I did. Then I went to Europe for 3 months and had the time of my life. $8,000 was never better spent.

 

[STARCITY]

Without question, go on vacation for as long as possible. Visit wherever you've always wanted to go. Do whatever you've always wanted to do. Don't waste your time studying or practicing hand coordination. There'll be more than enough time for that in dental school, and frankly I don't think you'll be better prepared by doing so. There really isn't much that's like dentistry.

No money for these vacations? Take out a Stafford Loan. That's what I did. Then I went to Europe for 3 months and had the time of my life. $8,000 was never better spent.

Ok I thought you were giving good advice until I got to the second paragraph.

Take out a stafford loan for a vacation? What a joke! Surely you were not serious right?

I am really wanting to know what to do.

 

[dentalman]

You have a long four years ahead of you buddy. Hobie was serious. I went to Europe for 6 weeks on $3,000. (Or was it 4,000 ... I don't remember, but I bought a ticket for 600, rail pass for 6-800, and tried to stay in $50 hotels with my girlfriend, who I am now married to, and we backpacked, although I technically had a interchangable backpack/suitcase with wheels.) Take out a loan for that much ... that's NOTHING, considering you will never have the opportunity to do it again for a decade or two. The sad thing is, I bet you have that in the bank right now and are too afraid to use it. Seriously, there is no point in preparing early, and there is every point in doing a vacation that you will never forget. You won't remember how awesome that wax-up you practiced with is, but you will remember the Eifel tower, the Mona Lisa, and eating cheese and wine on a blanket in Paris.

Wow! It looks like I feel strongly about this. I just really feel for you. You look like you are in desparate need of a paradigm shift. Feel free to PM me.

 

[Lidopaine82]

Im not too familiar with the whole loan thing yet. So could you go into more detail about taking out a loan for a vacation?

 

[bkwash]

Im not too familiar with the whole loan thing yet. So could you go into more detail about taking out a loan for a vacation?

Yeah i was about to send one of you all a PM but posting it might be more useful...How does this work? I have already done my fafsa.

 

[ramona_k]

me too.. how would you be able to take "student loan" when you in fact have not started school yet (technically not a student yet)?

 

[STARCITY]

You have a long four years ahead of you buddy. Hobie was serious. I went to Europe for 6 weeks on $3,000. (Or was it 4,000 ... I don't remember, but I bought a ticket for 600, rail pass for 6-800, and tried to stay in $50 hotels with my girlfriend, who I am now married to, and we backpacked, although I technically had a interchangable backpack/suitcase with wheels.) Take out a loan for that much ... that's NOTHING, considering you will never have the opportunity to do it again for a decade or two. The sad thing is, I bet you have that in the bank right now and are too afraid to use it. Seriously, there is no point in preparing early, and there is every point in doing a vacation that you will never forget. You won't remember how awesome that wax-up you practiced with is, but you will remember the Eifel tower, the Mona Lisa, and eating cheese and wine on a blanket in Paris.

Wow! It looks like I feel strongly about this. I just really feel for you. You look like you are in desparate need of a paradigm shift. Feel free to PM me.

sounds like an absolute wonderful idea for real. too bad that loan money will have to go towards living expenses and tuition. That it really blows.

My school has a budget of $9,000 for living expenses. Now how in the hell can I live on $9,000 a year??? My car insurance is $1,000 and I know that the very cheapest place I can find on campus is going to be at least $700 a month.

Do they want me to steal food and gas? I just don't think that there will be money left over for a vacation.

 

[STARCITY]

me too.. how would you be able to take "student loan" when you in fact have not started school yet (technically not a student yet)?

you can't.

Maybe these guys are trolls?

 

[Rezdawg]

Dont know how to go about the student loan thing, but definitely travel if you can...sleep, rest, relax, and enjoy your time. Once school gets underway, your life is no longer under your control.

 

[drhobie7]

Alright my little toothbuds, calm yourselves. I will reveal the explanation for the Stafford Loan trick in the next few lines. Well, here's how I did it. I applied and was accepted to dental school while I was in grad school. I pulled out an extra $8,000 at the end of the Spring term right before graduation. At my school (and probably yours too) you could amend your aid request at any time in the quarter/semester to increase your aid as long as you didn't go over the maximum. Note: you can only do this while you are in school. I told my financial aid officer I needed money to hold me over until dental school started. Voila. $8,000 in my bank account and later flowing into the coffers of the European Union.

Some of you will say that's an irresponsible use of money. Well, you're wrong. The fact is that sum of money was more valuable to me back then than it ever will be. I was able to have more fun and experiences on $8,000 than I could have on $40,000 after residency. On 2.7% interest, that's a good deal. Furthermore, the value of having 3 continuous months of vacation time cannot be quantified. This will surely never happen again in my professional life.

There you have it. Now go and explore.

 

[chinchaz]

Alright my little toothbuds, calm yourselves. I will reveal the explanation for the Stafford Loan trick in the next few lines. Well, here's how I did it. I applied and was accepted to dental school while I was in grad school. I pulled out an extra $8,000 at the end of the Spring term right before graduation. At my school (and probably yours too) you could amend your aid request at any time in the quarter/semester to increase your aid as long as you didn't go over the maximum. Note: you can only do this while you are in school. I told my financial aid officer I needed money to hold me over until dental school started. Voila. $8,000 in my bank account and later flowing into the coffers of the European Union.

Some of you will say that's an irresponsible use of money. Well, you're wrong. The fact is that sum of money was more valuable to me back then than it ever will be. I was able to have more fun and experiences on $8,000 than I could have on $40,000 after residency. On 2.7% interest, that's a good deal. Furthermore, the value of having 3 continuous months of vacation time cannot be quantified. This will surely never happen again in my professional life.

There you have it. Now go and explore.

It is important to take as much time for yourself as possible. However, I would try to stay as much in the mindset of studying even you dont study. It is super hard to start studying again if you are totally out of it.

 

[dentalman]

Other option - again - perhaps irresponsible - credit card on an introductory rate at 0% interest over 9 months or so. (Usually 3% fee for cash advance). Then when you get financial aid eat ramen noodles until you can pay it off. Don't go overboard, though. The stafford loan will postpone payments. I must admit, however, that most of my money was saved up from some side jobs through college.

Think about it this other way - paying for rent for two months - $1400 - that pays for airfare and railpass. I had the luxury of living with my parents that summer as well.

My main point is that it was such a wonderful experience for me, I would gladly do it again in a heartbeat, and go into even more debt if I had to. Now, feel free to do whatever you want. Another option is to do research, and you might even get paid. I would recommend doing that the next summer. I'm sticking to my view on seeing the world. It's all a matter of priorities. You say you can't, but if you looked for a way, you can.

 

[drhobie7]

Other option - again - perhaps irresponsible - credit card on an introductory rate at 0% interest over 9 months or so. (Usually 3% fee for cash advance). Then when you get financial aid eat ramen noodles until you can pay it off. Don't go overboard, though. The stafford loan will postpone payments. I must admit, however, that most of my money was saved up from some side jobs through college.

Think about it this other way - paying for rent for two months - $1400 - that pays for airfare and railpass. I had the luxury of living with my parents that summer as well.

My main point is that it was such a wonderful experience for me, I would gladly do it again in a heartbeat, and go into even more debt if I had to. Now, feel free to do whatever you want. Another option is to do research, and you might even get paid. I would recommend doing that the next summer. I'm sticking to my view on seeing the world. It's all a matter of priorities. You say you can't, but if you looked for a way, you can.

BOOYAH! Very clever. However, probably not for those endowed without will power. I agree. While staying in the studying mode is a valid point and probably important for some, I reaffirm my position towards balls to the wall globetrekking right up to first day of class.

 

[STARCITY]

just dont see how i could take a 8000 vacation.

my loans are just going to be sooooooo high anyways. i am going to have to get private loans too.

the loans side of gettin into dental school really sucks.

 

[Lidopaine82]

Ha, im deffinately going to look into that. sound fun

 

[Biogirl361]

visit with family and friends... watch a lot of tv... do whatever you like to do, or sit around and do absolutely nothing. The most important thing is to avoid work and other stressful activities and do NOT think about school in any way.

 

[beezies]

My ideal summer before dental school would be spent being a beach bum. I'm just worried that if I quit my job I could get screwed not having benefits. Any thoughts on that?

 

[Sprgrover]

Without question, go on vacation for as long as possible. Visit wherever you've always wanted to go. Do whatever you've always wanted to do. Don't waste your time studying or practicing hand coordination. There'll be more than enough time for that in dental school, and frankly I don't think you'll be better prepared by doing so. There really isn't much that's like dentistry.

No money for these vacations? Take out a Stafford Loan. That's what I did. Then I went to Europe for 3 months and had the time of my life. $8,000 was never better spent.

I second this. There really isn't a lot that you can do to prepare for dental school, other than get a bunch of R&R under your belt as certainly won't get much of that over the next four years.

 

[cool fillings]

I'm going to have to agree with the advice to relax. All the basic science classes tend to test on details and you're only going to get the specific details in your classes and will likely forget anything you learn over the summer anyway...a bit of a waste of time. As for the hands-on stuff, pretty much everyone stinks at their first wax-up, prep, restoration, etc...you'll practice in school and will get it soon enough. The best way to prep for school is to show up not burnt out and as refreshed as possible.

As for traveling, you could always try to find a job working at a camp or something in another country (you could even perhaps work at a ski resort in Australia!)...you'd probably have to get on it ASAP, but working abroad could help out the financial aspect some. Good luck!

 

[ramona_k]

I'm going to travel abroad before school start but I dont see why you guys are saying we're not gonna have time for vacation once in dental school. Dont we get a 2 weeks christmas break after finals? I think you can also use that time to travel.

 

[Mustt Mustt]

I am going on a 3 month vacation in India and enjoy myslef. this will be my longest trip and I know that I won't have time for months to travel in India after finishing or during dental school. To me travelling is more relaxing than anything. I recommend something that you won't be able to do once in D school. In D schools people do get few weeks off a year but not months. This is the last time you have months off so do something nice with it.

 

[STARCITY]

I am going on a 3 month vacation in India and enjoy myslef. this will be my longest trip and I know that I won't have time for months to travel in India after finishing or during dental school. To me travelling is more relaxing than anything. I recommend something that you won't be able to do once in D school. In D schools people do get few weeks off a year but not months. This is the last time you have months off so do something nice with it.

guess others are more lucky than me. i have to worry bout $$$ for living.

 

[Mustt Mustt]

guess others are more lucky than me. i have to worry bout $$$ for living.

It depends on your situation but everyone has to worry about making a living(unless parents are providing for them), atleast I do. I am single guy with no responsibility. I worked in undergrad to save money to use later and I think now is the time to use it. This whole time in Inida will cost me about 5K including everything. When I start D school I will start with big 0 but I think I will be happy that I made the decision to travel.

 

[ou_jay]

If you can't afford Europe then do something cheaper. You could explore our wonderful national park system. There are hundreds of beutiful places to camp for FREE. All you need to do is pay for gas and food and possibly a little camping gear.

Here is some advice someone gave me before I went to dental school. I didn't believe it at the time, but they were right. Dental school is harder than you think it will be. I know you think it is going to be really hard, but trust me it is harder.

Don't worry about preparing. There is not much to do at this point because dental school is not like anything else.

Also, run for class president because most people will be too afraid and you will be likely to win. It takes extra time, but it is also very rewarding and excellent leadership experience.

 

[ramona_k]

If you can't afford Europe then do something cheaper. You could explore our wonderful national park system. There are hundreds of beutiful places to camp for FREE. All you need to do is pay for gas and food and possibly a little camping gear.

Here is some advice someone gave me before I went to dental school. I didn't believe it at the time, but they were right. Dental school is harder than you think it will be. I know you think it is going to be really hard, but trust me it is harder.

Don't worry about preparing. There is not much to do at this point because dental school is not like anything else.

Also, run for class president because most people will be too afraid and you will be likely to win. It takes extra time, but it is also very warding and excellent leadership experience.

could you elaborate on how exactly do you run for the class president? Is it different for every school? thanks,

 

[bloodygums]

I don't have any money, but I'm going to beg borrow or steal it. I'm going on vacation this summer! Though I've never really done that much travelling. Does anyone have advice on how to spend about 3 months in Europe?

 

[Rezdawg]

could you elaborate on how exactly do you run for the class president? Is it different for every school? thanks,

At my school, the kids that are interested in running for office submit their names. At the end of one of our classes, they go up in front of class and give a brief speech (2-3 min). We do a paper vote after the candidates are introduced. An hour later, we get an email with the names of our class reps.

 

[dentalman]

I don't have any money, but I'm going to beg borrow or steal it. I'm going on vacation this summer! Though I've never really done that much travelling. Does anyone have advice on how to spend about 3 months in Europe?

I spent 6 weeks, so you will be able to cover more ground - and stay in places longer. I got a rail pass. But you should sit down and estimate whether that would be worth it to you. If you are there 3 months, you may not be using the train as often, and it might not be cost effective. I was on the train every few days so it did make sense. I had a general plan but it was still pretty flexible. Plane rides are also relatively cheap - something I would consider if I did it again. Hostels are usually cheaper if you are by yourself, but be cautious of safety issues. Often times you have to share a room with ten strangers, so don't do anything that you don't feel comfortable with.

I also really enjoyed "Rick Steve's" books. Each one was well worth it.