The phrase “be prepared” is the motto of the Boy Scouts, and it should also be the motto that every exam taker lives by. The major exams that most dental schools will require you to take will ask you to demonstrate your knowledge of a wide assortment of topics; in fact, most of the major exams that you will have to take before, in, or after dental school will require you to recall and apply nearly all of the information that you have learned up to this point, including from high school and college, as well as from dental school. It is, therefore, important for you to prepare yourself for the immense amount of information that these exams may cover. Here are some of the ways that you can prepare for these exams more effectively.

One of the ways that you can make your exam preparations more effective is to find a study method that suits your type of learning. Everyone learns in a different way; some learn more effectively when they hear the information, while others learn more effectively when they see or write down the information. You need to know how you learn in order to prepare for a test because some study methods are better suited for individuals who are auditory, visual, or tactile learners.

Another way that you can make your exam preparations more effective is to start your preparations for each exam as early as possible. Most dental schools will require you to complete a number of different exams, and you won’t be able to learn all of the material that you need to know for these exams in a single night.

Practice Tests

You’ve probably already realized that preparation is essential if you hope to do well on a major exam, but you may still be wondering, “How do I prepare?” There are a number of ways that you can prepare for a test, but one of the preparation tools that many use is a practice test. A practice test is a collection of questions that assess your knowledge of the topics on a major exam. Many dental schools use practice tests to prepare their students for the National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) because of the vast array of benefits that these practice tests can offer. Some practice tests are more helpful than others, however, and you may want to know a few things about practice tests before you choose one.

• First, a good practice test will include questions for all of the major topics that you will see on the actual exam. A practice test is supposed to help you get an idea of what you understand and what you don’t understand, and you won’t be able to tell whether or not you have a firm understanding of a particular topic if your practice test doesn’t cover all of the topics.
• Second, it is important to remember that the questions on a good practice test will be set up in the same way as they are on the actual exam. A practice test is supposed to help you get a feel for what the actual exam is like, and you won’t be able to tell what the actual exam is like if you’re taking a practice test that is nothing like the exam. For example, if you’re preparing for an exam like the DAT or the NBDE, you should look for a practice test that has multiple-choice questions like these tests do; a practice test with fill-in-the-blank questions or short-answer questions isn’t going to be as helpful.
• Third, a good practice test will require you to answer a fair number of questions, even if it doesn’t necessarily include the same number of questions as the actual exam. A good practice test has to allow you to answer a lot of questions in a relatively short period of time for you to truly assess your knowledge of all of the topics that are covered, for you to practice the time management techniques that you need to pass the exam, and for you to practice the anxiety-control techniques that you may need to handle the stress associated with the exam. A practice test with ten questions is not going to give you a feel for an exam with hundreds of questions, but a practice test that offers one question for every three or four questions on the actual exam may be able to help you practice all of the necessary test-taking skills.

Studying Tips

Studying is an essential component of the preparation process for any exam. In fact, it doesn’t matter whether you’re taking the DAT, the GRE, or the NBDE: You have to study in order to do well. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to study for every exam, and at some point you may find yourself in a situation where you simply cannot figure out how you’re going to study the necessary material. If you find yourself in a situation where you have no idea how to approach the material, there are a few simple study tips that may be able to help.

• First, if there is too much information for you to cover in one sitting, try to break the information down into a group of topics and subtopics. Most dental schools will ask you to complete a series of comprehensive exams in order to enter the school and/or to complete your education, and each of these exams may cover an enormous amount of information. To pass each of these exams, you have to review a large number of different topics; the best way to do so, in many cases, is to study the information one topic at a time.
  Preparing for TestsThe phrase “be prepared” is the motto of the Boy Scouts, and it should also be the motto that every exam taker lives by. The major exams that most dental schools will require you to take will ask you to demonstrate your knowledge of a wide assortment of topics; in fact, most of the major exams that you will have to take before, in, or after dental school will require you to recall and apply nearly all of the information that you have learned up to this point, including from high school and college, as well as from dental school. It is, therefore, important for you to prepare yourself for the immense amount of information that these exams may cover. Here are some of the ways that you can prepare for these exams more effectively.

One of the ways that you can make your exam preparations more effective is to find a study method that suits your type of learning. Everyone learns in a different way; some learn more effectively when they hear the information, while others learn more effectively when they see or write down the information. You need to know how you learn in order to prepare for a test because some study methods are better suited for individuals who are auditory, visual, or tactile learners.

Another way that you can make your exam preparations more effective is to start your preparations for each exam as early as possible. Most dental schools will require you to complete a number of different exams, and you won’t be able to learn all of the material that you need to know for these exams in a single night.

Practice Tests

You’ve probably already realized that preparation is essential if you hope to do well on a major exam, but you may still be wondering, “How do I prepare?” There are a number of ways that you can prepare for a test, but one of the preparation tools that many use is a practice test. A practice test is a collection of questions that assess your knowledge of the topics on a major exam. Many dental schools use practice tests to prepare their students for the National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) because of the vast array of benefits that these practice tests can offer. Some practice tests are more helpful than others, however, and you may want to know a few things about practice tests before you choose one.

• First, a good practice test will include questions for all of the major topics that you will see on the actual exam. A practice test is supposed to help you get an idea of what you understand and what you don’t understand, and you won’t be able to tell whether or not you have a firm understanding of a particular topic if your practice test doesn’t cover all of the topics.
• Second, it is important to remember that the questions on a good practice test will be set up in the same way as they are on the actual exam. A practice test is supposed to help you get a feel for what the actual exam is like, and you won’t be able to tell what the actual exam is like if you’re taking a practice test that is nothing like the exam. For example, if you’re preparing for an exam like the DAT or the NBDE, you should look for a practice test that has multiple-choice questions like these tests do; a practice test with fill-in-the-blank questions or short-answer questions isn’t going to be as helpful.
• Third, a good practice test will require you to answer a fair number of questions, even if it doesn’t necessarily include the same number of questions as the actual exam. A good practice test has to allow you to answer a lot of questions in a relatively short period of time for you to truly assess your knowledge of all of the topics that are covered, for you to practice the time management techniques that you need to pass the exam, and for you to practice the anxiety-control techniques that you may need to handle the stress associated with the exam. A practice test with ten questions is not going to give you a feel for an exam with hundreds of questions, but a practice test that offers one question for every three or four questions on the actual exam may be able to help you practice all of the necessary test-taking skills.

Studying Tips

Studying is an essential component of the preparation process for any exam. In fact, it doesn’t matter whether you’re taking the DAT, the GRE, or the NBDE: You have to study in order to do well. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to study for every exam, and at some point you may find yourself in a situation where you simply cannot figure out how you’re going to study the necessary material. If you find yourself in a situation where you have no idea how to approach the material, there are a few simple study tips that may be able to help.

• First, if there is too much information for you to cover in one sitting, try to break the information down into a group of topics and subtopics. Most dental schools will ask you to complete a series of comprehensive exams in order to enter the school and/or to complete your education, and each of these exams may cover an enormous amount of information. To pass each of these exams, you have to review a large number of different topics; the best way to do so, in many cases, is to study the information one topic at a time.
• Second, if you are studying the material for an exam and are having difficulty with a particular topic, try to approach the material for that topic in a different way. In other words, if you’ve read over all of the material and you understand everything that the exam covers except for one specific topic, try to read the information that is related to that topic aloud or write down some of the information that you have read about that topic in your own words. This combination of different learning techniques allows you to look at the material in several different ways and makes it easier for you to figure out the information that you don’t understand.
• Third, if you are studying for a particular exam and are having trouble with the material, you may want to try to find some study aids for that exam. Audio recordings, books, flashcards, practice questions, and other similar study aids may help you study the material and explain the material that you do not understand.
• Fourth, if you are having trouble focusing on the material that you are attempting to study, try to find a way to eliminate some of the things that may be impairing your ability to concentrate. For example, if your dorm room is louder than a rock concert, you may want to try to find somewhere else to study. An individual surrounded by loud noises, bright lights, and activities that are more entertaining than his or her studies will always have more trouble studying than an individual in a quiet, well-lit location. In fact, you should not only try to eliminate the environmental distractions, but also try to eliminate the physical distractions such as fatigue, hunger, and stress that may be impairing your ability to concentrate. If you’ve been studying for a while and haven’t eaten anything, for example, you should try to relax for a little bit by taking a walk and getting something to eat.

Test Anxiety

If you’re about to take a major exam, there’s no question that you need to prepare. However, it is important to note that you need to prepare not only for the questions on the exam but also for the stress that is typically associated with a major exam. Taking a major test can be extremely stressful, and you won’t be able to function effectively or think clearly if you’re already at the point of tears before you have even had a chance to sit down. To make sure that you are able to do well on a test, you may want to familiarize yourself with some of the techniques that you can use to keep your test anxiety, the nervous feeling that you may get during a test, in check.

• First, you should try to get a reasonable amount of sleep before the test. This is important because an individual who does not sleep for at least 8 hours will typically experience some of the symptoms of fatigue. Fatigue can be a serious problem if you’re attempting to take a test because it may cause you to become more irritable, cause you to develop a headache, make it more difficult for you to concentrate and remember information, and, most importantly, make you more susceptible to stress in general. You have to get a good amount of sleep the night before the exam in order to keep these symptoms of test anxiety in check.
• Second, try to focus on what will happen if you pass the exam rather than on what will happen if you fail. Certain exams are indeed extremely important, and you may not be able to get into a certain school or get your license to practice dentistry if you fail them. However, failing an exam is not the end of the world, and you will typically be able to take the exam again if you fail to get the score that you hoped for. Rather than stressing over the possibility of failing, you should focus on the goal you are attempting to achieve and what you need to do to achieve that goal.
• Third, if you encounter a question that asks about something that you didn’t study or about something that you’ve never heard of before, try to limit the amount of time that you actually spend on that question. Almost every exam has at least one question that will stump you, and the worst thing that you can do is to drive yourself crazy trying to answer it. In fact, spending too much time on one question will not only make it more difficult for you to answer all of the other questions that you may know, but also make it more difficult for you to remain calm.

Second, if you are studying the material for an exam and are having difficulty with a particular topic, try to approach the material for that topic in a different way. In other words, if you’ve read over all of the material and you understand everything that the exam covers except for one specific topic, try to read the information that is related to that topic aloud or write down some of the information that you have read about that topic in your own words. This combination of different learning techniques allows you to look at the material in several different ways and makes it easier for you to figure out the information that you don’t understand.
Third, if you are studying for a particular exam and are having trouble with the material, you may want to try to find some study aids for that exam. Audio recordings, books, flashcards, practice questions, and other similar study aids may help you study the material and explain the material that you do not understand.
Fourth, if you are having trouble focusing on the material that you are attempting to study, try to find a way to eliminate some of the things that may be impairing your ability to concentrate. For example, if your dorm room is louder than a rock concert, you may want to try to find somewhere else to study. An individual surrounded by loud noises, bright lights, and activities that are more entertaining than his or her studies will always have more trouble studying than an individual in a quiet, well-lit location. In fact, you should not only try to eliminate the environmental distractions, but also try to eliminate the physical distractions such as fatigue, hunger, and stress that may be impairing your ability to concentrate. If you’ve been studying for a while and haven’t eaten anything, for example, you should try to relax for a little bit by taking a walk and getting something to eat.

Test Anxiety

If you’re about to take a major exam, there’s no question that you need to prepare. However, it is important to note that you need to prepare not only for the questions on the exam but also for the stress that is typically associated with a major exam. Taking a major test can be extremely stressful, and you won’t be able to function effectively or think clearly if you’re already at the point of tears before you have even had a chance to sit down. To make sure that you are able to do well on a test, you may want to familiarize yourself with some of the techniques that you can use to keep your test anxiety, the nervous feeling that you may get during a test, in check.

• First, you should try to get a reasonable amount of sleep before the test. This is important because an individual who does not sleep for at least 8 hours will typically experience some of the symptoms of fatigue. Fatigue can be a serious problem if you’re attempting to take a test because it may cause you to become more irritable, cause you to develop a headache, make it more difficult for you to concentrate and remember information, and, most importantly, make you more susceptible to stress in general. You have to get a good amount of sleep the night before the exam in order to keep these symptoms of test anxiety in check.
• Second, try to focus on what will happen if you pass the exam rather than on what will happen if you fail. Certain exams are indeed extremely important, and you may not be able to get into a certain school or get your license to practice dentistry if you fail them. However, failing an exam is not the end of the world, and you will typically be able to take the exam again if you fail to get the score that you hoped for. Rather than stressing over the possibility of failing, you should focus on the goal you are attempting to achieve and what you need to do to achieve that goal.
• Third, if you encounter a question that asks about something that you didn’t study or about something that you’ve never heard of before, try to limit the amount of time that you actually spend on that question. Almost every exam has at least one question that will stump you, and the worst thing that you can do is to drive yourself crazy trying to answer it. In fact, spending too much time on one question will not only make it more difficult for you to answer all of the other questions that you may know, but also make it more difficult for you to remain calm.