Any Advice you would give yourself in 1st Year/2nd Year

[premedschool]

Hello Premed101 members,

I have recently finished my first year at UBC, and I am currently seeking any advice from people who have already went through all the process. 

To start off, I ended up with 93% average (Term 1) and 86% (Term 2) and currently have an average of 89%. I have started studying for the Canadian DAT for either November/February. 

1) Would taking DAT during my second year be too soon? My understanding is that most dental school takes the highest score. 

2) I already have a 150+ hour shadowing experience at General Dentist's office. Is there any other extracurricular activities to get involved?

3) Any advice you would give yourself during 1-2 Year at University

4) Does anyone have any information regarding Australian Dental School entry for Canadian students?

5) Every Tips or Advices is appreciated.

Thank you

[JarBlues]

I think reading the DMD FAQ for ubc would help you greatly since I assume you'd want to get into UBC. UBC is extremely good for IP applicants since if you get an interview it's basically a 50% chance to get in (i.e. you just need to be above the 50th percentile).

http://www.dentistry.ubc.ca/dmd/dmd-faq/

[mp99]

You are in a very strong position , keep it up, and build on it so you can translate it to other years . I wouldn't worry about Australia for now. If you are curiOus I believe you can go on a website called oztrekk and subscribe to an email list that keeps you up to date about admissions processes for Canadian applicants to Australia.

Honestly unless you need to get the DAT out of the way I would just focus on GPA for now . Most schools Don't weight ECs that much so do things that will either let you just grow as an individual or things  that you like that help you destress 

things I would have told myself :

1) don't place my entire self worth on my ability to get into dentistry. I didn't get in this year and I took it pretty hard initially 

 

2) although dentistry is cool , I wish I didn't have tunnel vision for it and kept an open mind to other careers and built resume accordingly 

 

[hopefuldentist22]

OzTrekk is really good for inquiries on applying to Australia, they come out to a lot of Universities too and I think they come to the Vancouver area a lot, so check them out! I took my DAT in my second year and although I liked taking it to get a feel for the testing environment, I wish I would have taken it later. Second year at my University was very challenging and trying to balance studying for the DAT was very difficult. I would highly suggest you study for it in the summer going into third year and write it in November (if you are writing the Canadian DAT), that way you have more time to actually study. For EC's, it doesn't play a big factor but it can help! Most applicants are going to have pre-dental clubs or something along those areas, but I guess if you want to stand out join a club that is different or play intramurals, just do something that interests you essentially! As for advice I would give myself: 

1) Focus on your undergrad now - try not to stress to much about Dental school. Your GPA is your first priority right now, so study hard. Figure out your best ways to study, talk to your profs, and take classes you can excel at. Remember undergrad is NOW - Dental school is 4 years away. 

2) Take care of yourself - I definitely overworked myself and caused myself to be under high stress 24/7 which was so bad for my overall health. Take breaks, hang out with friends and family, watch some netflix, hit the gym, or do whatever to just destress every day. Your body will thank you!  

[cleanup]

With regards to #3:

Chill. Don't stress.