Another Non-science major

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

GoodOne456

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
33
Reaction score
4
Hey guys, I want to know how current/future dental students with a non-science major got accepted into dental school, if you guys did your pre-requisites courses while you were completing your undergrad degree and if so how difficult was it and what science class did you take? Or did you decide to take your pre-requisites science courses after you completed your undergrad and how long did it take you to complete? Furthermore, what science classes would you recommend I should take besides the basic bio, chem, physics, etc

Thanks in advance!!!
 
My major is the EXS BioMedical. It is the perfect degree, because it allows me to take all the prereqs for dental school and that count towards my major. I have taken general bio, Molecular biology, Microbiology, Human Anatomy, Human Physiology. And General chem and ochem. I'll take biochem next semester too. It all count towards my degree which is awesome. Physics also counts towards it as well.
 
I was accepted to 3 schools as a psychology major. I took my pre-reqs at the same time as my major and I'd give it a difficulty rating of a 4/10. The only sciences classes I took were the ones required by most dental schools (Biochem, gen chem, orgo, physics, etc.).
 
I was accepted to 3 schools as a psychology major. I took my pre-reqs at the same time as my major and I'd give it a difficulty rating of a 4/10. The only sciences classes I took were the ones required by most dental schools (Biochem, gen chem, orgo, physics, etc.).
So how many credits a semester did you take then?
 
I was a Russian Language and Lit major 😉
 
Took a cumulative total of 32 extra hours during the summers of my undergrad except when last summer I took the DAT. Though, I took a lot more than the minimum requirements.
 
I had 80 credits of biology, chemistry, and physics though 🙂 . So be sure to take advanced coursework.
 
So how many credits a semester did you take then?
I did the same thing but with a different major. I'd also give it around a 5/10 difficulty level. Took approximately 14 credits/semester for 8 semesters, though I definitely could have finished in 6 or 7. I liked it. My major was interesting, had fewer classes than bio majors (labs seem like a pain to schedule) and left ample time for ECs, research, and a part time job. Also got 2 minors. I'd definitely recommend it. When interviewers asked why, I told them honestly that I knew dental school would teach me all I could ever want o know about science, but when would I ever get the chance again to study another subject that I found interesting?
 
I was a sociology major...took the bare minimum of science classes (2 bio, 2 gen chem, 2 orgo, 2 physics, 1 biochem, 1 multivariable calc, 1 stats...that's it), but I also did 800 hours of chemistry research (in addition to 1200 hours of social research). I got into a few of the most competitive dental schools.

For me, spending my undergrad education on biomedical science classes would be a waste of an opportunity. I don't need a professor to teach me undergrad-level anatomy & physio...I bought a textbook and studied it on my own. I think any reasonably intelligent person can do that. No one needs to take advanced coursework to be prepared for dental school. If the school is any good, the dental professors should be teaching it anyway; otherwise, the coursework would be listed as prerequisite. I think you should only major in a science if you are particularly passionate for it, you want to do advanced biomedical bench research, or you are a slow learner and you want to spend your credit studying the same thing twice. If you major in a science only because you think that is what everyone else does, you risk lowering your science GPA on unnecessary coursework.

Most everywhere else in the world, students matriculate into dental school immediately after graduating from their equivalent of high school. They don't take nearly as much time as we do studying pure science and art. Yet, in a number of those countries (e.g. France, Germany), dentists are just as competent in applied sciences as we are. Therefore, I think American dentistry will continue to be the most innovative when professionals bring new types of skills and knowledge to the field. Companies like Google and Facebook recently have been hiring more people with liberal arts and business backgrounds than with tech/engineering backgrounds because they see that that the future of their industry depends on this side of their operations. The same goes for American dentistry. We continue to make great scientific discoveries and technological developments, but the future of our profession depends on economics, politics, business strategy, etc. more than it ever has before. This should be obvious. I got a degree in social research as a duty to my future profession.

Anyway, to answer your question, @GoodOne456 , it was easy to major sociology and take all of the required science courses. (I mean, it's sociology....) I could have taken at least 4 more science courses without affecting my major, but I chose not to because I thought that learning science by doing physical & quantum chemistry research outside of classes would be a more efficient use of my time. I used the opening in my schedule to study philosophy.
It makes more comfortable/confident to see people with other majors besides bio or chem get into dental school.
Thank you for your input it honestly means a lot!!!
 
I did my bachelors and masters degrees in music. I went back and took prereqs over a 1.5 yrs. outside of those I took biochemistry and anatomy and physiology. It is doable.
 
Top