Hello everyone, I just finished my semester in dental school and have until August to study for boards, so about a month and a half. I don't know where to start studying and feel like I didn't learn enough or forgot everything I learned this year, especially in gross anatomy - as if I'll be learning everything for the first time. I currently have last year's version of dental decks, First Aid, and old exams. Are there any sample study schedules out there that have worked just like the one in the DAT forum? What if I only use the decks, would that be enough and how long do I need to study? Thanks so much
No idea where to start - Part I boards
- Thread starter predent94
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Generic answer is that the materials you have are plenty. Decks are supposed to reign supreme for study material, but I didn't like them. Just not my style. WAY too much info on the back of each card. Those in my class who are using them usually just set a certain amount to do each day (50 - 100 is what I've heard). Others have gone through them more quickly without reading every little detail. If you try to remember or take notes on every detail on them, it's going to be overkill and take you forever! If anything, they're a review...sort of to refresh your memory on what you covered earlier, but not necessarily enough to get you 100% ready. First Aid is awesome...it has good charts and gets to the point. But unless you like reading a book, it's good for supplementing (instead of wikipedia, I'd go there for answers sometimes because it was more to the point). Practice tests are gold. They can take a while to do IF you can understand why the answer is correct and even more, why the other answers aren't correct. If you can, try to either do a timed 400-quetion paper test or get a simulation software. Not totally necessary, but nice if you can do it.
As for time, a month and a half should do it. It's about setting daily goals and studying smart. Self discipline. Some classmates took it the week after the semester was over; it seems like most of us are taking it about now (5-6 weeks after the semester ended). Also, pass/fail is nice. Especially if you feel strong about dental anatomy; if you can do well on that, you can really bomb other sections and still pass.
