Things I should keep in mind at college

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Tran6

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Hi folks,

I'm new to these forums and this is my first post haha. I have recently graduated and will attend college in the fall. I am very interested in dentistry. I just want to ask you guys who have been through the college experience some tips. What are some things I should do in college in order to prepare myself for a career in dentistry? What are some of the "pitfalls" I should look out for and avoid?

Thank you guys so much
 
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things to do: develop good study habits early, you won't change them later. get good grades. don't get so wrapped up in grades that you don't meet people and have fun, you only go to college once (probably) and it's pretty great. go shadow a dentist sometime - make sure this is what you want to do. i had no idea what i wanted to do when i started college, and it won't hurt you to keep your eyes open to what's out there.

things to avoid: getting bad grades. std's.
 
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Yeah, definitely develop good study habits early. Make grades your priority, but get involved in something on campus (clubs, charity work, intramural sports). As long as you don't overload yourself, it will give you a good break, and ultimately "recharge" you for academic work. Start building a good relationship with your science professors/pre-dental advisors right away. Stop by their office and talk to them. They like when students show interest, and you'll have great LORs down the road. In classes, ASK FOR HELP. You might feel stupid, but trust me, you'll feel much worse when you get your exams back if you don't. Surround yourself with motivated people. Your friends and their study habits/social habits can really affect you. If you hang out with party animal English majors who laugh at you for carrying your anatomy notes everywhere, chances are you'll be less motivated to study. Shadow a dentist at some point, aim for around 100 hours. Summers work well for this. Some might say it's overkill, but start familiarizing yourself with the DAT now. Get a prep book and go over the bio and chem sections as you're taking those classes. And start looking over the PAT section. Nothing hardcore, but it will make last minute prepping much easier if you've already seen it all. I guess as an overall, work hard, have fun, and try to enjoy the whole experience. Best of luck!
 
Your first semester counts towards your GPA just as much as your last, so set yourself up well for success in the future right away.

If you chose to drink, drink only drink on Fridays and Saturdays. Drinking during the week might be fun...but your grades will suffer.

Don't waste your summers working as a waiter/waitress or wal-mart or some other job that won't really set you up for future success. Find a job at a dental office, as a nurse aid, researching something, etc.

Lastly, what I found to be nice was taking a summer class or two each year to make your course load during the year more manageable and to guarantee you will graduate in 4 years.

Good luck!
 
Tran6 said:
Hi folks,

I'm new to these forums and this is my first post haha. I have recently graduated and will attend college in the fall. I am very interested in dentistry. I just want to ask you guys who have been through the college experience some tips. What are some things I should do in college in order to prepare myself for a career in dentistry? What are some of the "pitfalls" I should look out for and avoid?

Thank you guys so much
Click to expand...

Relevance from most important first
#1) GPA GPA GPA GPA GPA GPA GPA
#2) get some general dentistry shadowing. 50-100 total hours is a good idea. Do these during your breaks (summer session / winter break / etc)
#3) get involved with community. do some volunteering activities. You only do this if you are out of school (summer session) AND you have good control of your grades. Never jeopardize your grades for the sakes of volunteering.

Before you ask "what GPA I should aim for"... the obvious "the higher the better", but generally 3.5 with overall and science is competitive for today's standards.
 
I've just finished my second year as an undergrad.

Do's:
Go to the library
Keep up with schoolwork
Start studying early
Find a lab or somewhere to get experience in your field
Make connections with professors and people in high places - You would be surprised how willing professionals are to talk to undergraduates looking for advice

Dont's:
Party throughout the week
Cram for tests
 
Just relax. And try/do your best. If a test or class doesn't work out, it's not the end of the world. Have fun, it's a sweet and bumpy ride!
 
All I can say is:

You can do whatever you want as long as you have good GPA, shadow a dentist, get to know the professor, volunteer, and get involved with pre-dental club if there is one.

But important thing is your grades (GPA). It is possible to do more of volunteering or get involved in pre-dental club or do research but it is more difficult to fix the mistake of bad GPA. So make sure to have at least 3.5 GPA and develop good time management to study and it can lead to very good results.

Good luck!!!
 
don't cram or study all night...GET A HIGH GPA, GO TO CLASS aka DONT SKIP class. College is a lot different than HS. Have FUN. Congrats on graduating.
 
The biggest adjustment in college is simply figuring out how much you need to study. I never studied in high school, so it took a while for me to understand the difficulty level of college. I'd find that I overstudied for most of my tests first semester, but you'll figure it out.

Have a good time though. Don't go in with the impression that a science major takes away your entitlement to parties or fun. Plenty of people manage good GPAs and have a good social life.
 
Don't be that guy who makes a thread in four years about deciding which post-bac option is best for you.


Just do it right the first time.
 
1) GPA! one bad semester can bring the GPA down a lot... and it's almost impossible to raise it back... trust me... i know from personal experience
2) get involved in volunteer, clubs, etc. early (first two years?)
3) shadowing (second year?)
4) start thinking about recommendation letter and go to office hours (second and third years?)
 
Try to get high GPA. First semester/year especially IMO.

Your first semester even a slight mess up can devastate your GPA and make it feel really hard to recover from. Every semester you do good you get more room to mess up.

I know every semesters GPA is equally important, just how I looked at it.
 
I agree with everyone else. GPA is very important but don't let that be your only focus. Dental schools want well-rounded students nowadays it seems like, so do things that interest you. AVOID ALL-NIGHTERS. Making it through a night without sleep and getting an A on an exam (it's possible, but the odds are against you) is NOT an accomplishment! Surround yourself with the right people (advisors, professors and a good group of friends). Your friends will help keep you grounded and remind you that it's okay to have fun 🙂
 
get a right group of friends. Not the ones that tell you "**** that test, lets go drink, you gonna do fine, just cram it and get a B".
 
You're at a good place though. I wish I started my undergrad knowing I wanted to do dentistry, my gpa would've been so much higher my first 2 years. If this is what you really want, you will be fine and your grades will follow.
 
Dusk said:
You're at a good place though. I wish I started my undergrad knowing I wanted to do dentistry, my gpa would've been so much higher my first 2 years. If this is what you really want, you will be fine and your grades will follow.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, if I had a goal in mind my first 4 years I would not be doing a post-bacc now.
 
Dusk said:
You're at a good place though. I wish I started my undergrad knowing I wanted to do dentistry, my gpa would've been so much higher my first 2 years. If this is what you really want, you will be fine and your grades will follow.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. I want to say to OP that don't take prereqs unless you know you really want to do pre-health (not just dentistry). Just not take classes b/c other classmates of your age are taking. You have to know grades are permanent record. It's ok to start prereq in your junior year or what not. Just make sure you are mature and have good study habit that can save your GPA.
seunglim87 said:
👍 once you get out of college you gon have to spend money to get laid
Click to expand...
WAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT? giggity 😀
 
Hey,

I think everyone has given powerful points here. Lots of good help, GPA is probably the most important. But I would add that you should pick a major you enjoy. Even if you are hanging around english majors all day, I say it is worth it.

Because if you pick one you enjoy, college will be way better and your grades will show it.

I wrote an aritcle on my website (in signature) about how to prepare for dental school in college, it might help you. Best of luck.
 
1. take O-Chem seriously. Too many people go into it with this horrible fear, expecting it to be the end of the world, so they settle for B's or BC's because its such a "hard class." Yeah, it's hard, but it's SO doable. Commit to it and you can get an A, and an A in O-Chem looks badass.

2. Start volunteering and shadowing first year!!!!!!!!!! You will run out of time before you know it. Do it now.

3. Study abroad somewhere interesting. You owe it to yourself to take a semester of your Junior year for something not science-y or pre-dent related. Not only will it be the best few months of your life, but it will make you stand out on an application and look unique and well-rounded. (While abroad I also volunteered in a school and shadowed a dentist, so you can make this work for your dent apps and resume too)

4. TAKE THE DAT THE SUMMER AFTER YOUR SOPHOMORE YEAR!! This will totally take the stress out of that awful situation where you're trying to study and apply at the same time...GROSS. And you will be fresh out of O-Chem.

5. Have fun and HAVE A LIFE. I have a "no homework on Friday afternoons or Saturdays" rule. Go hard on your studies during the week so you can let loose on the weekends. You'll need it.
 
wow thanks guys! I hope i am prepared to take the science courses, I heard they are very hard haha

when you say volunteering, do you mean something related to dentistry or can I volunteer at a hospital or something else?
 
Don't take on too much your first semester. I would only take one science class your first semester and a max of 15-16 hours. There is nothing wrong with taking 12-14 hours while you adjust to college life and develop good study habits.
 
Tran6 said:
wow thanks guys! I hope i am prepared to take the science courses, I heard they are very hard haha

when you say volunteering, do you mean something related to dentistry or can I volunteer at a hospital or something else?
Click to expand...

Just volunteer in any way you want. Your university will have plenty of programs to do this most likely. Habitat for Humanity, volunteer at an animal shelter, volunteer at a local nursing home, etc. etc.

And I'm not trying to rock the boat, but are you certain dentistry is what you absolutely want to do? I simply ask because there are a lot of options out there, and I know just coming out of high school, I didn't even know what all of those options were. I guess I'd say go into college with an open mind as well. I know that if I had more than 4 years, I would have taken a lot of other classes to see what some other fields would be like. Unfortunately, finances didn't allow that.

As far as science classes, they can be challenging. People will start telling you immediately that Organic Chemistry is impossible, and I have no idea why. It was barely harder than general chemistry in my opinion. The upper level/grad level sciences are where it really starts to pick up, but by then, if you have kept up with your GPA, you don't have to fret too much.
 
Be proactive! There are internships/programs specifically for the first two years of undergrad (as well as the latter two years). For example, SMDEP only takes freshmen and sophomores. The apps open up in November, which is 3-4 months after entering college. So you should build relationships with professors early. This also helps getting research positions within labs. I would also record lectures. People will think you are a geek/nerd/whatever...but towards test time people were asking me for the recordings.
 
And try to avoid SDN. Too much time spent here will turn your brain into mush.
 
All of the above.

One thing I didn't see is if you enjoy a class a lot, considering being a teaching assistant for that class. Great leadership experience!
 
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