Advice for incoming D1s: The transition to dental school
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Starting dental school soon? Feeling nervous? Excited? Not sure what to expect? Read on for some words of wisdom from Isabel, a dental student who has already experienced firsthand the transition from undergraduate to dental school!
Undergrad vs. dental school
I think one of the most shocking discoveries for me when I started my first year of dental school was how different the actual schooling was from undergrad. I was expecting dental school to be harder than undergrad, but I was naïve to how different they were from each other. I thought that because my undergrad experience was challenging and because I worked hard and did well in undergrad, I was going to be prepared for dental school. I thought dental school would just be a little different than undergrad. Boy, was I wrong. Dental school is an entirely different species than undergrad. In undergrad, while preparing for a challenging upcoming exam, I would study for maybe a few days before the exam — I think five days was the max I would consider studying before an exam. Not to mention this studying was not 24/7 studying; it was short bursts of a few hours of studying and then relaxing. Now, in dental school, I have to start studying at LEAST a week before an exam (more realistically, ten days before an exam), simply to just touch all of the material I need to know. It is worth noting that every person and every person’s studying habits are different, so studying in dental school is very unique and personal to what works for you. But one thing that is constant is that the sheer amount of information and exams you will encounter in dental school is much greater than in any undergrad experience. That is not something I really considered before being face-to-face with it.
ENJOY YOUR TIME OFF!
I heard this a lot before transitioning to dental school, but of course I did not really understand what this meant. I like being busy and I like having things to do, so ‘taking time off’ was never really a desire of mine. It was not until I was in my last few weeks of my first year of dental school that I truly understood what this means. Dental school is hard — it is extremely challenging, and it is a long marathon. By the end of it, you will be begging for more breaks and more time to just relax and do nothing. So the best way to prepare for this is to relish when you do have time off. Spend the time you have before starting to enjoy things you do for pleasure. Do the little things I promise you will no longer have significant time to do once starting (like pleasure reading, traveling, hobbies, etc.). Spend quality time with loved ones and family members you are moving away from. Just enjoy the stillness of the moments when you have nothing to do — they will be short-lived, and when you get overwhelmed at some point in school, hopefully you can look back and smile at the time you had to relax.
Be grateful for the knowledge and experience you are gaining
Although this is less of a tip for students still in summer that have yet to start dental school than it is for those already in their first years, I think this is a very important concept to carry into the beginning of your dental school journey. Like I mentioned previously, dental school is challenging. It will push you and stretch you to limits you may have not known you can endure yet. But approaching every challenge or obstacle you face in your journey with an open mind and a grateful outlook that you are pursuing your dream and you will make a difference in the world helped me tremendously while beginning dental school. This kind of approach allowed me to enjoy and breathe in times of challenge rather than wishing it was over already. It is extremely important that you do not forget the larger reasons that you are here in dental school; this will let you grow and thrive in your time rather than just get by.
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