I think writing notes on white printed paper would be a bit time consuming. Its not unusual to fall behind like that, but thats just my opinion.
I had a 3.1 for the first semester and ranked 40/90 that time, so nothing insane. I never took more than 12-13 credits in college. Didn't go to class much and just watched lecture videos. If anything , I watched them too much and should have just focused more on power points and old materials.
Have an open mind and don't expect anything. I thought histo would be my easy A and biochemistry would be the death of me. Got an A in biochemistry and just scrapped by with a B in histo, getting a 68 on the first exam lol.
I did flash cards for everything but that just became a drag by second year and just started reviewing power points a few times. Just use your time effectively. Quantity doesn't always equal quality. Its a marathon, not a sprint. The material isn't difficult, its just a lot. Stay on top of it.
Whatever happens, keep your spirts up. Learn from your mistakes, don't beat yourself too much. I think the emotional weight I put on myself during the first semester made it extremely difficult for me. Just try and keep perspective about things. Dental school is more of an emotional battle than an academic battle. Then again, I had more "interesting" concerns outside of school during my time here, which made me not stress out as much as my peers about academic matters.