What you should read the summer before dental school!

Now that is a vacation!

"What should I read the summer before dental school?" I am not sure why I get asked this question all of the time but it is probably because pre-dental students hear how much work dental school is and they want to get the "edge" on the class.

What should a pre-dental student read before dental school? I would read any and all instructions sent to you by the dental school you were accepted by, especially information sent to you by the financial aid office. I would also read the contract for your new house, or apartment.

I would NOT read anything pertaining to your upcoming classes! First off, each teacher is very diverse in the way that they teach and test. It is difficult to study for a subject without any kind of direction. Secondly, the amount of material covered in a few weeks will be more than you will want to cover during your summer break (Check my post out about material on a single test and see for yourself ). The class will be caught up with you in no time. The only difference is that you are now going over a fourth of the material, for your first test, for a second time and they are going over it for the first time with memories of the best summer vacation ever!

Does this mean you shouldn't do anything. No, like I said make sure you have all your paperwork turned in, immunizations done, housing set up and anything else you need to do before you get too busy. I would also recommend getting yourself organized. Figure out your schedule and contact an upper classman or two that can give you some advice (someone at the school should be able to hook you up if your class does not have a Facebook group). Maybe he/she will even give you some notes on a thumb drive that you can download and get organized. I wouldn't spend a lot of time on this but maybe just a few hours.

Spend as much time as you can golfing, water skiing, wake boarding, relaxing, and having fun as possible. There is going to be time for some fun in dental school but not quite to the extent of a summer vacation.