Trouble getting motivated

[BMWg84]

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Lately I've been overwhelming myself so frequently with work and school that I haven't had time to concentrate on applying to dental school. I'm going into my junior year of undergrad, and my gpa is at 3.4 (which I feel is not competitive enough). I just got back from studying abroad in an international art program in Florence, Italy, which is supporting my dual major in art (& bs in biology). I run an online business and am forced to dedicate a lot of time to that. Then, when school starts I have a few clubs and groups that I am obligated to contribute a lot of my time to. I haven't begun interning or working in a dental office.. (and I can't unless I drop all extra curricular stuff which I'm not going to do). Last semester I took a Kaplan DAT prep course and just wasn't able to dedicate much time to doing the homework or prep for the tests. And it just depressed me further because the other guys in my class seemed to be much more confident, and know 100x more stuff than me. My kaplan test scores were not as high as I wanted, except for my perceptual ability - which was actually really good.

I've had my eyes set on Dentistry since senior year in highschool almost 4 years ago, and I have a job waiting for me once I graduate from Dental school. At this point I feel like the walls are closing in on me and I need to make some quick decisions. I'm 20, and feel lost. I've even tried motivating myself by watching inspirational movies like October Sky, and the Rocky series 🙂.

Has anyone else experiences this? If so, help!!

 

[hockeydentist]

October sky and rocky videos, thats your problem right there! Stop watching those horrible movies. Rudy is a much better choice of a movie.

Prioritize what's important to you. Rereading your post, I come across that you're stuck on running a business rather than working hard on your predental stuff (DAT, shadowing, etcc....) Which leads me to another point do you really want to go into dentistry?

Stop worrying about what the other guy is doing and work on your self. Your GPA is great and if you couple that with a solid DAT score and some extracurriculars related to dentistry you should have no problems.

good luck!

 

[grmaster1]

Rudy is a much better choice of a movie.

What's next, you're gonna tell him to watch Miracle?

+1 on everything else you wrote...


Chris, cute Bimmers...

 

[Flipper405]

I guess one thing I would say is that you don't actually have to work for a dental office... just finding even a little bit of time to go observe the dentist every once and a while will add up.

Good luck!

 

[BMWg84]

Prioritize what's important to you. Rereading your post, I come across that you're stuck on running a business rather than working hard on your predental stuff (DAT, shadowing, etcc....) Which leads me to another point do you really want to go into dentistry?

Thanks for the advice! You're definitely right about what you said above. I hear the same thing everytime I tell someone what career field I want to go into: "You know.. dentists have the highest rate of suicide.." & "I hope you're not just doing it for the money" 😛 haha I take a lot of things to heart and that may be one of the few factors that scares me away. There's gotta be a reason why so many are commiting suicide - b/c it's definitely not a coincidence. Also, I fear that if I work in a dental office I'll find a reason why I shouldn't go into dentistry after dedicating 4+ years of my life preparing for, and focusing on dental school. This may sound really dumb, but I just pray that it's not going to happen. I also hate working for other people (due to past experiences with idiot employers), which is why I want to start my own practice. I guess I need to just intern and see how it really is. If this is not the path i should go, I guess I'll need to do some soul searching.

Chris, cute Bimmers...

Thanks, those are 2 of my biggest distractions right now.. Right next to finding a girlfriend 😉

 

[jay228]

Lately I've been overwhelming myself so frequently with work and school that I haven't had time to concentrate on applying to dental school. I'm going into my junior year of undergrad, and my gpa is at 3.4 (which I feel is not competitive enough). I just got back from studying abroad in an international art program in Florence, Italy, which is supporting my dual major in art (& bs in biology). I run an online business and am forced to dedicate a lot of time to that. Then, when school starts I have a few clubs and groups that I am obligated to contribute a lot of my time to. I haven't begun interning or working in a dental office.. (and I can't unless I drop all extra curricular stuff which I'm not going to do). Last semester I took a Kaplan DAT prep course and just wasn't able to dedicate much time to doing the homework or prep for the tests. And it just depressed me further because the other guys in my class seemed to be much more confident, and know 100x more stuff than me. My kaplan test scores were not as high as I wanted, except for my perceptual ability - which was actually really good.

I've had my eyes set on Dentistry since senior year in highschool almost 4 years ago, and I have a job waiting for me once I graduate from Dental school. At this point I feel like the walls are closing in on me and I need to make some quick decisions. I'm 20, and feel lost. I've even tried motivating myself by watching inspirational movies like October Sky, and the Rocky series 🙂.

Has anyone else experiences this? If so, help!!

i went through this, just gotta prioritize and drop stuff... oh, kaplan PAT: worthless... everyone scores a few points on the real thing below their kaplan score... but often a fw points higher on the other categories

 

[Dental Mom]

I'm a mom of 2. I too feel overwhelmed. My job as a mom is 24/7 never ends.

But I have learned to set priorities. Those clubs are not so important right now? Maybe--maybe not? You have too much on your plate 😱

Always find time for yourself and be well & balanced. That way you can see things more clear.

Change things around. I have a family to take care of. I have an elementary school to volunteer to, religious meetings weekly, go to school, do my homework, take my son to piano and tennis, volunteer at my other son's preschool, be there for my parents who always need my help, and still stay close to my husband.

It can be done. Always remember that there are single moms and dads doing everything alone with small children & going to med or dental school.

You have to learn how to balanced life.

In my opinion, as much as it hurts you should for 1 semester stop the clubs or slow down a lot.

I see signs around campus for dental club and their free pizza, soda and salsa dancing afterwards....I can't never attend one of those 🙁 I always have to run home to take care of my family. And you always have to work.

Shadow a dentist soon to get excited about it again. Keep your eyes on the goal and nothing else.

I agree, your GPA is great & you have quite a different background than the average student.

You are going to do great! Don't give up! We all have stressful times. This will pass....

Just my 2 cents 🙂

 

[Sprgrover]

BMW-

First off, I hope you enjoyed your time in Florence. I've missed a couple of trains out of SMN and have had to spend the night there at cut-throat rates - but I digress. As others have mentioned, the key to your situation is to prioritize the various elements and items in your life and weeding out distractions as well. If dentistry is indeed your career goal then earning the best grades possible should be a top priority of yours. If you have a lot of extracurricular activities and side ventures vying for your attention then I suggest that you drop some of them and sideline the others so that you can dedicate more of you energy towards school. It's rough having to shrink or euthanize your social life, but placed in the context of what and where you would like to be 10, 20 years down the road, the sacrifice is usually then well worth it. Best of luck!

 

[Lostinbul]

If dentistry is really what you want to do, then consider dropping some of the other less important activities such as clubs and such for shadowing a dentist. Most schools want to see that you've been exposed to the world of dentistry!