Should I major in Biology before Dental or Physicians Assisting school ?

Heres the thing, I am completely confused on what to major in..... I'm caught between dental school and physicians assisting, I thought maybe I should major in biology that way I'll get most of the prerequisites done for both, then after I get my bachelors I'll just apply for both, and see which one i get into (if both then ill make my mind then) however then i thought of how competitive they both are and the possibility that I may get into niether, and there's really no well paid job you can get with a bio degree in the mean time before I reapply. So question is what is a major that will have most of the prereqs of both dentistry and physicians assisting, and that may give me a well job in the case that I may not get into either school ? Im currently studying at a community college, getting my general ed classes done, in highschool i took AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Spanish, and AP psychology and managed to succeed with a 4.0 gpa.... if that matters at all.

Follow these steps and you will be fine

1. Major in BIO
2.Forget being a PA
3. Get into dental school
4. Graduate
5. Step one no longer matters.

For real though you should just be a bio major you need so many of the classes it doesn't make sense to major in anything else.

I second the majoring in biology. HOWEVER, decide on one or the other and put your efforts towards it. PA and dentistry are not similar. Besides them both being patient focused.. one is completely hands on, while the other is minimally hands on. They are like night and day. You either like one or the other.. and applying to two different types of programs doesn't show your dedication to one of them, and it will just be too much to handle.... but that's my opinion.

goffdent said:

I second the majoring in biology. HOWEVER, decide on one or the other and put your efforts towards it. PA and dentistry are not similar. Besides them both being patient focused.. one is completely hands on, while the other is minimally hands on. They are like night and day. You either like one or the other.. and applying to two different types of programs doesn't show your dedication to one of them, and it will just be too much to handle.... but that's my opinion.

Click to expand...

I agree, pick one or the other. A lot of PA schools require that you have hundreds or more hours of paid experience in the medical field. (Like being a CNA...) Dental schools on the other hand require that you spend a hundred or so hours shadowing dentists, plus volunteer work. It would be very difficult to do both. Also, stop taking prereqs at CC. Take them at a university instead.

shootingstar7 said:

I agree, pick one or the other. A lot of PA schools require that you have hundreds or more hours of paid experience in the medical field. (Like being a CNA...) Dental schools on the other hand require that you spend a hundred or so hours shadowing dentists, plus volunteer work. It would be very difficult to do both. Also, stop taking prereqs at CC. Take them at a university instead.

Click to expand...

He's right, alot of schools don't take pre-req units taken at CC's. I don't know, I know couple of my friends who are attending PA schools and they did minimal # of volunteer/shadowing for it. Also I agree with the rest, you need to explore both professions to really decide what you want to do. Perhaps interview some people from both professions and you will quickly realize how different they are. But PA school's only 1.5-2 years, cheaper, and easier to get accepted into (since you seem to be curious about these things).

Just go for PA is usually easier.you are comparing oranges and apples !! Two diff fields

autoclavemonkey said:

He's right, alot of schools don't take pre-req units taken at CC's.

Click to expand...

The majority of schools do take CC credits. I have 90ish credit hours at CC however the majority of prereqs are from a 4 year. I do think that a university looks better......but sometimes work, distance, family, and money interfere.

Blue87Fiero said:

The majority of schools do take CC credits. I have 90ish credit hours at CC however the majority of prereqs are from a 4 year. I do think that a university looks better......but sometimes work, distance, family, and money interfere.

Click to expand...

I don't know, both UCSF and U Mich told me they don't take CC credits for their pre-reqs. But then again someone in my interview told me she took her microbio at a CC and they didn't care.

Major in Bio and pick one or the other. Get involved in a research program sometime in your junior year if you will need something to do in your gap year.

Also, try to take the majority of your pre-reqs at a 4 year. For dental school, and also because some 4-years have a cap on how many credits you can bring in from a CC to fulfill the requirements of your major (Gen-Ed reqs are fine though).