Choosing the "Right" Major

[03Yuk0n]

Hello to all my fellow SDN'ers,

I hope all of you are in the best of health and are enjoying the nice summer vacation. I know this question has been asked many time before but, I feel that my situation is a bit different than others. As of Fall 2014, I will be a second semester sophomore. I am currently pursuing a B.S. in Psychology at Stony Brook University. I have had a slight change of heart in terms of my major. I was looking to change my major and pursue a B.A. in Religious Studies. This is a field of interest to me, outside of dentistry. My current GPA standing is around a 3.3-3.5. I am done with Bio 1 and 2, Chem 1 and 2 (in progress) and will be taking Ochem 1 and 2 next year as well as Physics. I was thinking, is it smart of me to do a major where I won't be taking upper division sciences as requirements? I would still take biochem if I pursued Religious Studies but, say for instance if I switched to Biology. I would be doing cell bio, histology etc. These classes would beef up my mediocre GPA. I really appreciate all of you reading this. I hope you guys can give me some advice on this topic. I hope all of you have great summer!

Regards,
Farhad

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[lr2014]

You can do any major you want, schools don't care. However, given that you are doing a non science major I would recommend you to still take those upper level science class (cell bio, genetics, microbio, etc) in addition to the basic requirements you are taking. Take as many science classes as you can.

 

[jwan14]

I wouldn't say schools don't care. I know that 80% of my in state school's students were undergrad science majors and mostly biology or biology related.

 

[DentalDoge]

By enjoying our summer vacation you mean spending all of our time writing our applications, filling out supplementals, and calling ADEA and DS's every hour to make sure they received our materials? Then yeah, having a blast.

On a more relative note, most school won't care what you major in as long as you have the prereqs. BUT, do realize that higher level science courses looks very good on your app and in some cases required.

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/2014-majors-and-ds-admission-trend-2005-2013.1065182/

 

[dentalWorks]

Hello to all my fellow SDN'ers,

I hope all of you are in the best of health and are enjoying the nice summer vacation. I know this question has been asked many time before but, I feel that my situation is a bit different than others. As of Fall 2014, I will be a second semester sophomore. I am currently pursuing a B.S. in Psychology at Stony Brook University. I have had a slight change of heart in terms of my major. I was looking to change my major and pursue a B.A. in Religious Studies. This is a field of interest to me, outside of dentistry. My current GPA standing is around a 3.3-3.5. I am done with Bio 1 and 2, Chem 1 and 2 (in progress) and will be taking Ochem 1 and 2 next year as well as Physics. I was thinking, is it smart of me to do a major where I won't be taking upper division sciences as requirements? I would still take biochem if I pursued Religious Studies but, say for instance if I switched to Biology. I would be doing cell bio, histology etc. These classes would beef up my mediocre GPA. I really appreciate all of you reading this. I hope you guys can give me some advice on this topic. I hope all of you have great summer!

Regards,
Farhad

I don't believe thats a good idea.
I usually advice people to major in anything (religion, english, history, science, whatever), but to also keep their GPA high and to take a couple of upper level biology courses (biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, gross anatomy, histology).... Schools tend to look at these courses alot

 

[free99]

Seconding @dentalWorks advice... Doesn't matter much what you major in, but pick something that you enjoy enough to maintain a high GPA. If you choose a non science major, sprinkle in a handful of upper level biology courses. When it comes time to apply through AADSAS, schools will see a breakdown of GPAs and credit hours for Science, Non-Science, and BCP courses, so it'll be evident if you completed the prereqs alone. As a non-science major myself, I took Biochem, Physiology, Cell Biology, and Neuroanatomy, and that was enough to get me into many schools last year. Good luck!

As an aside, it doesn't hurt to choose a major that creates other job prospects/career opportunities outside of professional school, in the event your interests change again and you decide dentistry, or any of the other health care professions, aren't right for you.

 

[03Yuk0n]

Seconding @dentalWorks advice... Doesn't matter much what you major in, but pick something that you enjoy enough to maintain a high GPA. If you choose a non science major, sprinkle in a handful of upper level biology courses. When it comes time to apply through AADSAS, schools will see a breakdown of GPAs and credit hours for Science, Non-Science, and BCP courses, so it'll be evident if you completed the prereqs alone. As a non-science major myself, I took Biochem, Physiology, Cell Biology, and Neuroanatomy, and that was enough to get me into many schools last year. Good luck!

As an aside, it doesn't hurt to choose a major that creates other job prospects/career opportunities outside of professional school, in the event your interests change again and you decide dentistry, or any of the other health care professions, aren't right for you.

Thank alot free99, that makes alotta sense. I will definitely "sprinkle" some upper division Bios on more planned course load. If you don't mind me asking, what have you majored in since you are also a non-sci major.

 

[03Yuk0n]

To dentalWorks, doc toothache, lr2014, jwan14,DentalDoge and free99 thanks alot for your input! I will give your advices some deep thought.