BA in biology is not intended for pre-dentists?

[issa]

i was looking in university of michigan's website and here is where i saw..

Human Biology (BA)
If you enjoy studying the human body and working with people, you may be interested in human biology. This program is designed to provide students with a background in human-related biology courses as the focus of a broad liberal arts education and in preparation for physical therapy or physician assistant programs. This program is NOT designed for students interested in medical school, dental school or Ph.D. programs.

so BS in biology is a lot better than BA in biology?

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[coral2005]

BS is just more concentrated in the sciences, which is what you will need for dental/medical school. The BA will expose you to science classes, but not to the extent that a BS will. If you get a BA, you will still be OK for dental/medical school, provided that you take all of the classes that the dental or medical school requires of you. But get this: If you end up taking all those requirements, you will be pretty close to a BS anyway...and you might as well just take a few more classes and make it a BS.

 

[Jeppedo]

Not that getting a BA should be any less than getting a BS, but the majority of the BA students at my undergrad. were pre-med or pre-dent drop outs. Either they could not stand the harder academics or they did not want to do the mandatory research requirements.

Another plus of getting a BS: Most universities require research work... which looks great on med or dental school applications.

 

[LIer2010]

This is ridiculous. You don't have to be a biology major (or even a science major) to be pre-med/dent. You can be whatever you want, as long as you fulfill the requirements of pre-med/dent. I know someone who went to a music school as a percussion major, and she took the all required pre-med courses, and she literally got into every med school that she applied to (she ended up going to UCSF).
IMHO, dental schools couldn't give a rat's ass whether you got BA or BS as long as you excelled in the science courses that you've took (which is actually an argument AGAINST being a science major as a pre-med/dent, because you would have to take upper-level science courses that are difficult to do well in).

 

[Sprgrover]

This is ridiculous. You don't have to be a biology major (or even a science major) to be pre-med/dent. You can be whatever you want, as long as you fulfill the requirements of pre-med/dent. I know someone who went to a music school as a percussion major, and she took the all required pre-med courses, and she literally got into every med school that she applied to (she ended up going to UCSF).
IMHO, dental schools couldn't give a rat's ass whether you got BA or BS as long as you excelled in the science courses that you've took...

This is the blunt truth, folks.

 

[coral2005]

It's true, you can major in whatever you want. But you can't deny that it IS better preparation for YOU as a student to have the scientific background to do well without struggling that much in dental school, and it comes down to the fact that a BS is more intense than a BA. Furthermore, majoring in History (or music, or english, or whatever) will NOT prepare you for dental school as well as majoring in one of the sciences.

The truth is, that you CAN be accepted into dental school regardless of what your major is... but how well you do will be determined (in part) by how well prepared you are.

 

[beannaithe]

The BA is fine. I've applied to 6 schools with one and got 6 interviews. Some schools have weird BS programs like mine. Where I go, I research and write a thesis hten we have to present the thesis. The professors will ask questions and if they don't like it, then they don't award me the BS and I have to retake extra classes in order to get my BA.

I figured going to dental school and getting a degree were wway more important then going to possibly dental school without a degree. 😛

 

[VClovesteeth05]

It depends on what undergrad university/college you went to. Liberal arts colleges don't give BS's out, so I have a BA, and I am not worried. I did lab, I did plenty of science and got my degree in Biochemistry---which required a senior lab research/thesis. I just had the opportunity to take other classes, like history, poli sci and sociology.

If you are really concerned, just call the dental school up or talk to a pre-professional advisor or your major advisor.

 

[groundhog]

i was looking in university of michigan's website and here is where i saw..

Human Biology (BA)
If you enjoy studying the human body and working with people, you may be interested in human biology. This program is designed to provide students with a background in human-related biology courses as the focus of a broad liberal arts education and in preparation for physical therapy or physician assistant programs. This program is NOT designed for students interested in medical school, dental school or Ph.D. programs.

so BS in biology is a lot better than BA in biology?

I think you are taking the whole thing out of context. I bet the university is only trying to point folks in the right direction. The BA (human biology) is designed for those who may want to become physical therapists or physician assistants. A person would likely end up having to take more science credits than necessary if they wish to get a BA in human biology plus get all of the dental/medical school prereqs completed because a bunch of the science courses needed for the BA in human biology might not count as predent/premed prereqs as far as the dental/medical school adcoms are concerned. You will find these designated curriculums at many universities . For example, "This course of instruction is designed for those who might wish to persue a BA in Nursing or a BA in dental hygiene" etc.

 

[Sprgrover]

...The truth is, that you CAN be accepted into dental school regardless of what your major is... but how well you do will be determined (in part) by how well prepared you are.

Your science background will prepare you all of the first six months of dental school. After that you venture into uncharted territory: GRD, pharmacology, and so on. In addition, a lot of the science courses you will experience are not mirror images of undergrad courses: how many weeks in your undergrad biochem course did you spend on biochemical pathways and interrelationships within the oral cavity alone? A lot of your success in dental school is determined by your study habits and time management skills, which are things you can acquire through any major. This is the preparation that will pay off the most for you.

 

[vaio]

Your science background will prepare you all of the first six months of dental school. After that you venture into uncharted territory: GRD, pharmacology, and so on. In addition, a lot of the science courses you will experience are not mirror images of undergrad courses: how many weeks in your undergrad biochem course did you spend on biochemical pathways and interrelationships within the oral cavity alone? A lot of your success in dental school is determined by your study habits and time management skills, which are things you can acquire through any major. This is the preparation that will pay off the most for you.

ah, great,,,phew.....then theres no sense in me taking undergrad biochem, or anatomy.....i'll just bear the pain for a later time

 

[coral2005]

Your science background will prepare you all of the first six months of dental school. After that you venture into uncharted territory: GRD, pharmacology, and so on. In addition, a lot of the science courses you will experience are not mirror images of undergrad courses: how many weeks in your undergrad biochem course did you spend on biochemical pathways and interrelationships within the oral cavity alone? A lot of your success in dental school is determined by your study habits and time management skills, which are things you can acquire through any major. This is the preparation that will pay off the most for you.

The science background can indeed help you beyond the first 6 months. I'm not saying you will be able to use stuff you learned in UG in future classes such as pharmacology...but you'll be more accustomed to taking such classes and will be more prepared to handle them because you've been exposed to them more than someone without an extensive science background. But I will agree with you, study habits and time management skills are very important in determining your success, and science classes are not the ONLY way of gaining these skills, but they offer a pretty good way of doing it.

Why not kill 2 birds with one stone?

 

[aphistis]

The science background can indeed help you beyond the first 6 months. I'm not saying you will be able to use stuff you learned in UG in future classes such as pharmacology...but you'll be more accustomed to taking such classes and will be more prepared to handle them because you've been exposed to them more than someone without an extensive science background. But I will agree with you, study habits and time management skills are very important in determining your success, and science classes are not the ONLY way of gaining these skills, but they offer a pretty good way of doing it.

Why not kill 2 birds with one stone?

My undergraduate college is a small liberal arts school. The only degree it awards is bachelor of arts, and it boasts a first-application medical school acceptance rate of ~85% (I know, I know, but the place is lucky to graduate two or three dental students per year). If I'd had to spend four years taking nothing but life & physical science courses, I probably wouldn't have survived to graduation. I'm pretty pleased with my BA. 😉

EDIT: I just noticed you're in Ft. Lauderdale. I'm going to be down there for an ADEA conference later this week. 😀 How's the weather down there this time of year?

 

[coral2005]

EDIT: I just noticed you're in Ft. Lauderdale. I'm going to be down there for an ADEA conference later this week. 😀 How's the weather down there this time of year?[/QUOTE]


The weather is actually great...not that much humidity and pretty sunny most days! The hurricane did knock down a lot of nice trees....and it appears as if we're going through some kind of autumn because a lot of the trees have lost their leaves. Most of the palm trees are still intact and grounded, though. Have fun when you get here!

 

[Sprgrover]

ah, great,,,phew.....then theres no sense in me taking undergrad biochem, or anatomy.....i'll just bear the pain for a later time

It can help, don't get me wrong, but it is not necessary (afterall, why would you want to fry yourself twice?). Some kids that didn't have either class in undergrad are pulling better grades than those that did...

 

[BallDontLie]

It can help, don't get me wrong, but it is not necessary (afterall, why would you want to fry yourself twice?). Some kids that didn't have either class in undergrad are pulling better grades than those that did...

part of that could be because the kids that have already had it aren't studying as hard because they think they know it, while those that havent had it are hittin the books harder...

i know ive been guilty of that before 😱