How did I study for tests in school and ALWAYS pass?

I am often asked how I studied for tests when I was in school and how did I even survive taking dental hygiene school twice??  Well first of all, what I tell all my students is for tests the main thing is to 'understand' the material and not simply memorize.  Memorizing may help you for that test but then you will have to study that same material again for the exam, and then for the board exam at the end of the school year.  Most of what you learn in school you are learning because you need to know that to become a dental hygienist, so it makes sense to understand it right?!

A good habit to get into is reviewing your classroom notes that night, IF you have nothing else study for.  If you have three tests and projects due that week I would focus on those instead.  Most importantly, I suggest studying for a test 2-3 weeks ahead of time (per topic).  You will find that for the first few days of studying you will be studying 2 hours a night and feel you aren't retaining much.  You actually are!  By the end of the first week you will find 20 minutes of studying a day for that one topic is enough and you are starting to retain that information.  Doesn't that beat studying 8 hours the night before, not getting any sleep and still managing to fail?  I think it does!  This is how I studied in school and I never had to worry about getting a bad mark on the exam or test, I knew I would do amazing and it felt good.  Getting honors in dental hygiene school is hard as we all know but its possible :)

We now have our mentorship program for dental hygiene and assisting students, as well as newly graduated RDH's.  You can sign up with us here and join in on our twice monthly discussions, join our private facebook group to share x-rays, typical day, and experiences.  We also include a free webinar a month to refresh your skills and get those CE credits!  We love helping students and RDH's at Dentalelle so please join us and talk with others sharing your experiences.