Best Major to get if your planning on going to Dental School

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mfoti1

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So, i think its safe to say that the majority of dental school applicants have their bio degrees. And i think, for the most part (dont flame me about this! lol), this is because the bio degree also completes all the pre reqs to dental school, so your killing two birds with one stone, basically.

Anyways, i'd say that getting your bio degree is the smarter route if your trying to get to dental school as quick as possible.

But i think i would say that getting a Business Degree before going to dental school, might possibly be the better idea. I have a few reasons for this.
One of which, is: its always nice to have a backup plan. if everything goes wrong, you dont get into d school, or your plans change (they do a lot of the time), i think that having a Business Degree is a nice thing to have. Another reason i think having a Business degree is a :thumbup: , is because, a lot of being a dentist, has to do with the business side of things, and i think it would put you at an advantage to have a business degree behind your DDS, and would make running your own office/etc easier, and you would be more knowledgable etc ofcourse.

I was thinking of going along with the Bio degree, but i think i've decided im going to go with the Business degree, and then, i guess, id have to stay an extra two years after i get my degree? thats the only con, id say, but id also say, that its worth it, for me atleast.

Any input on this? Im completely changing my whole plan around because of these thoughts, and this way, i could get my business degree, then take a year of sciences, take the DAT that summer (with everything fresh in my head), and then do another year of sciences. This way, i would have all of my pre-reqs done in 2 years/dat done/business degree behind me, and be ready to apply!

any light-shedding would be :banana:

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I think your logic is a great. Get a degree that you can fall back on, cant do much with bio ( other than work in a lab) from my limited knowledge on bio.
 
great idea. i was asked what my major was in undergrad in an interview and i told them i was a bio major. He said, " so you dont have anything to fall back on" haha

i think having a unique major will actually make you more well rounded. The only problem i see is when you need to take those bio classes. They are badly impacted.
 
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If I could do it all over again, I would major in Japanese (something I'm fairly interested in) and fulfill all the required classes for dental school on the side. This is not to say that I wasn't interested in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (what I have a degree in) but I feel as though I chose that major because a lot of the classes coincided with dental school requirements. I think my overall grades would have been better if I studied something I was far more interested in. I think I also would have "stuck out" as an interesting applicant. There are TONS of biochem applicants, but how many Japanese majors?
 
when applying to D-school, there is no such thing as a right or wrong major. choose the major that makes you most happy. I chose Bio because I was most interested in Bio. I took some business classes, macro and micro econ etc, talk about a snooze fest.

And as far as something to "fall back on". If dentistry is your true passion, there should be NO Plan B. For me, it was dentistry or nothing else. I didn't care how I did it, I was getting into dental school. Plan B=Failure. No plan B, hence, no room for error.
 
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when applying to D-school, there is no such thing as a right or wrong major. choose the major that makes you most happy. I chose Bio because I was most interested in Bio. I took some business classes, macro and micro econ etc, talk about a snooze fest.

And as far as something to "fall back on". If dentistry is your true passion, there should be NO Plan B. For me, is was dentistry or nothing else. I didn't care how I did it, I was getting into dental school. Plan B=Failure. No plan B, hence, no room for error.

something a wise man once told me... A plan B is just something that distracts you from plan A
 
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when applying to D-school, there is no such thing as a right or wrong major. choose the major that makes you most happy. I chose Bio because I was most interested in Bio. I took some business classes, macro and micro econ etc, talk about a snooze fest.

And as far as something to "fall back on". If dentistry is your true passion, there should be NO Plan B. For me, is was dentistry or nothing else. I didn't care how I did it, I was getting into dental school. Plan B=Failure. No plan B, hence, no room for error
.

well for those who plan for the worst, thats a horrible plan. Everyone should have a plan B. Plan A doesn't always work.
 
The diversity and having a plan B is nice, but just the degree itself isn't going to help you too much in your practice if you just go right from undergrad to dental school.

I'm a post-bacc with a business degree from a decent business program. I learned some good things. But the real useful stuff that I know will be really beneficial to me later came from working in that field after the degree.
 
The diversity and having a plan B is nice, but just the degree itself isn't going to help you too much in your practice if you just go right from undergrad to dental school.

I'm a post-bacc with a business degree from a decent business program. I learned some good things. But the real useful stuff that I know will be really beneficial to me later came from working in that field after the degree.

+1

I think he is just stating that it may be more practical to have a business degree relative to a bio degree.
 
when applying to D-school, there is no such thing as a right or wrong major. choose the major that makes you most happy. I chose Bio because I was most interested in Bio. I took some business classes, macro and micro econ etc, talk about a snooze fest.

And as far as something to "fall back on". If dentistry is your true passion, there should be NO Plan B. For me, is was dentistry or nothing else. I didn't care how I did it, I was getting into dental school. Plan B=Failure. No plan B, hence, no room for error.

Failure is not an option eh?

It really depends on how you view it. I prefer to keep as many options open as possible.
 
+1

I think he is just stating that it may be more practical to have a business degree relative to a bio degree.

I definitely agree. It's sort of a go-to degree that you can't go wrong with, kind of.

If he loses his hands in a freak accident, he's better off starting from scratch with a business degree than a bio degree.
 
well for those who plan for the worst, thats a horrible plan. Everyone should have a plan B. Plan A doesn't always work.

Giving yourself a Plan B sets yourself up for failure. You've convinced yourself that if Plan A doesn't work, Plan B will. What guarantee do you have that Plan B will work. Or Plan C or D, E, F. Plan A is the only option. Commit yourself to Plan A and you won't have to worry about a Plan B
 
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Giving yourself a Plan B sets yourself up for failure. You've convinced yourself that if Plan A doesn't work, Plan B will. What guarantee do you have that Plan B will work. Or Plan C or D, E, F. Plan A is the only option. Commit yourself to Plan A and you won't have to worry about a Plan B

No , plan B is being realistic. 60% of all dental applicants do not get into any dental schools. What would you suggest they do if they follow your " no plan B". I had a plan B, and did not end up setting myself with failure. I also know plenty of those who have plan B's that have gained acceptance. I guess everyone has their own perspective on what is the most efficient way to go about planning your life. Plan B gives you peace of mind. There is no guarantee that plan B would work, but there is most likely a higher probability that you will be able to fulfill Plan B relative to Plan A.
 
Giving yourself a Plan B sets yourself up for failure. You've convinced yourself that if Plan A doesn't work, Plan B will. What guarantee do you have that Plan B will work. Or Plan C or D, E, F. Plan A is the only option. Commit yourself to Plan A and you won't have to worry about a Plan B


Okay, enough of the bumper sticker slogan stuff. We get it. Go team.

It's more of an investment of his time and money than a Plan B.

You pretty much have to have a bachelor's degree and the pre-reqs to get into dental school. Why not invest his time in something he thinks is more useful than a broad biology degree while he's chilling for four years of college en route to the master plan A? Is he a weakling for wanting to learn something beyond biology?
 
I'm doing a business minor/bio major. My impression of business is that unless you're going to become a CPA (accounting) or get a hard core finance degree having a BS in bio isn't really going to limit you too bad if you want to enter business. Indeed, most businesses would be lucky to have a bio or chem major working at their firm.

There really isnt a difficult skillset to learn from taking business classes (except the above examples). I think having a four year degree will serve the purpose of having "credentials" if you want business as a backup. As a bacc graduate - Congratz, now you're like everyone else who doesnt have any real job experience. Once you get that I doubt they'll care what your degree is in. You dont have to major in it to enter it as a profession.

To Alex's comment: I agree with your statement about a plan B. When I attending an indoctrine course (weedout course) as apart of my military training - I noticed that those with a "plan B" tended to give up on themselves more often than those that did not - they quit. However, in this situation I dont think there is anything wrong with doing a business degree rather than a science degree - a parrallel field of study doesnt mean you're hedging for a plan B.
 
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To Alex's comment: I agree with your statement about a plan B. When I was going through an indoctrine course in the military I noticed that those with a "plan B" tended to give up on themselves more often than those that did not - they quit. However, in this application I dont think there is anything wrong with doing a business degree rather than a science degree - a parrallel field of study doesnt mean you're hedging for a plan B.


You know... there are some people who have plans A through Z while being able to equally succeed in all 26 plans.

Aside from that... having only a plan A is already a bad business decision...
 
Okay, enough of the bumper sticker slogan stuff. We get it. Go team.

It's more of an investment of his time and money than a Plan B.

You pretty much have to have a bachelor's degree and the pre-reqs to get into dental school. Why not invest his time in something he thinks is more useful than a broad biology degree while he's chilling for four years of college en route to the master plan A? Is he a weakling for wanting to learn something beyond biology?

First off, no need for the condescending BS

Second, to OP, dentistry is def a business. A business degree is not a terrible degree to try to get into dental school with. If you shoot for 3.5 GPA and 19+ DAT, you should have no problem landing an interview and acceptance. My original point was that if you are starting an undergrad degree and you want to become a dentist, you don't need to worry about anything else other than getting good grades. Good grades leads to acceptances, nuff said. Not a difficult concept to grasp. If you plan accordingly, Plan B should be an after thought.

Do what makes you happy OP. If you think that doing a business degree en route to becoming a dentist gives you peace of mind, awesome. But any "back up plan" should be a distant thought when perusing your ultimate goal
 
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You know... there are some people who have plans A through Z while being able to equally succeed in all 26 plans.

Aside from that... having only a plan A is already a bad business decision...

I'm not exactly sure why I'm being attacked here. there are no business decisions being taken here. OP was asking if a business degree is a better degree than bio if his/her pursuit of dentistry does not work out. I'm telling him/her that if you work hard enough, you won't have to fall back on anything. This mentality does not work for everyone. It works for me, maybe not for you. In the end, you have to do what you are comfortable with
 
if I had to a chance to go back and redo my college years...i probably would of done business major/biol or chem minor. why? probably because of the fact that being a dentist is indeed running a business so those business courses coulddd come in useful....but that's just me
 
If I had to do my undergrad all over... I would major in something Biology related (most likely physiology).... would work hard and keep my grades high

I wasted a good 5-6 years between going into I.T and realizing I wanted healthcare.
 
Ah, i forgot to add a third reason why i think doing something like a Business major, is a good idea. And this third reason, mostly applies to people who aren't already, "perfect straight A students".
So, my other reason, is: If you give yourself 4 years, and obtain a business degree, your giving yourself 4 years to become the best person/student you can be. Your giving yourself 4 years to 100% mature into the best possible study habits for your personality/mind etc.
The most important thing about what about what i said above is:, i believe the science classes are the most important part of dental school, and, since your giving yourself 4 years to know how to succeed in college and upper level-classes, you will be more ready for your sciences, and more ready to ace those sciences. (instead of taking your sciences in the first few years of college, your waiting untill you've had the full college experience, and "got it down to the nail").



And to those people saying, "giving yourself a plan-b is setting yourself up for failure" etc, im not criticizing, im just giving my opinion, but, i really don't think thats true. I dont see it as a plan-b at all. Its a fall-back plan, and when i say that, i mean, PLANS CHANGE. your parent has a stroke/ you break your arm/ you join Al'Queda and move to Pakistan.
And its not only about a back-up plan, its about running your business when you become a dentist.

So yea, thats my input.
Thanks everyone for their's
 
Ah, i forgot to add a third reason why i think doing something like a Business major, is a good idea. And this third reason, mostly applies to people who aren't already, "perfect straight A students".
So, my other reason, is: If you give yourself 4 years, and obtain a business degree, your giving yourself 4 years to become the best person/student you can be. Your giving yourself 4 years to 100% mature into the best possible study habits for your personality/mind etc.
The most important thing about what about what i said above is:, i believe the science classes are the most important part of dental school, and, since your giving yourself 4 years to know how to succeed in college and upper level-classes, you will be more ready for your sciences, and more ready to ace those sciences. (instead of taking your sciences in the first few years of college, your waiting untill you've had the full college experience, and "got it down to the nail").


You're not going to become better at studying science by studying business...maturity has NOTHING to do with it, especially maturity gained in 4 years which surely doesnt equate to 100%
 
That is a really good idea, and had I known in HS that you could major in business and still get into D school I would have done that. I do love bio and I love my classes, but I do hate the fact that there isn't a ton you can do with a bio degree. As much as one may love lab/field work (which I do), you still gotta pay the bills.

I got into a lot of mid-semester dilemmas about changing majors in the first two semesters, but luckily I'm doing pretty well so far so my fears of needing a back-up are starting to calm down.
 
I didn't have a plan B. And just the mere knowledge of no plan B scared me into making sure my plan A worked. Thank goodness it did...

You gotta do what motivates YOU.
 
I heard it was easier to get in with a different major other than Biology.

As long as you finish all the the required classes for D school and keep the grades up.
 
If I could do it all over again, I would major in Japanese (something I'm fairly interested in) and fulfill all the required classes for dental school on the side. This is not to say that I wasn't interested in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (what I have a degree in) but I feel as though I chose that major because a lot of the classes coincided with dental school requirements. I think my overall grades would have been better if I studied something I was far more interested in. I think I also would have "stuck out" as an interesting applicant. There are TONS of biochem applicants, but how many Japanese majors?

^THIS. I'm of the opinion that undergrad shouldn't be viewed solely as a pre-professional degree; that's what post-graduate degrees are for. you should major in something that you're passionate about and interested in. generally speaking, good grades will follow, and you can always fit the dental prereqs in. and most interviewers, whether they're for dental school, consulting firms or anything in between, really like to hear a good answer to the question "why did you major in X?". saying something along the lines of "i thought it would prepare me for this" is not the best answer. my 2 cents.
 
well for those who plan for the worst, thats a horrible plan. Everyone should have a plan B. Plan A doesn't always work.

I completely agree. You always need a backup plan, because the whole admissions process of luck of the draw. Some people get admitted with a 3.4 and an 18 DAT, and some people get rejected with a 3.7 and 20+ DAT (sometimes even before receiving an interview invited).

I would certainly go the business route. You can have some relevant knowledge about what you will be doing (running a dental office is running a business), and you can definitely add your required science classes in there no problem.
 
Recent article about the value (or lack thereof) of undergraduate business degrees in the U.S.:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/education/edlife/edl-17business-t.html

From the article:
Business majors spend less time preparing for class than do students in any other broad field, according to the most recent National Survey of Student Engagement: nearly half of seniors majoring in business say they spend fewer than 11 hours a week studying outside class. In their new book “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses,” the sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa report that business majors had the weakest gains during the first two years of college on a national test of writing and reasoning skills. And when business students take the GMAT, the entry examination for M.B.A. programs, they score lower than students in every other major.
 
Recent article about the value (or lack thereof) of undergraduate business degrees in the U.S.:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/education/edlife/edl-17business-t.html

From the article:
Business majors spend less time preparing for class than do students in any other broad field, according to the most recent National Survey of Student Engagement: nearly half of seniors majoring in business say they spend fewer than 11 hours a week studying outside class. In their new book "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses," the sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa report that business majors had the weakest gains during the first two years of college on a national test of writing and reasoning skills. And when business students take the GMAT, the entry examination for M.B.A. programs, they score lower than
students in every other major.

Yea, that all depends on what type of person you are
But, yea, I do agree that a lot of students use Business, as a kind of "default" degree
 
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Recent article about the value (or lack thereof) of undergraduate business degrees in the U.S.:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/education/edlife/edl-17business-t.html

From the article:
Business majors spend less time preparing for class than do students in any other broad field, according to the most recent National Survey of Student Engagement: nearly half of seniors majoring in business say they spend fewer than 11 hours a week studying outside class. In their new book "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses," the sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa report that business majors had the weakest gains during the first two years of college on a national test of writing and reasoning skills. And when business students take the GMAT, the entry examination for M.B.A. programs, they score lower than students in every other major.

I can definitely believe that, seems like the business majors at my school are the ones who have all the fun and no stress :laugh:
 
Best major before dental school = dental hygiene

Just don't tell the hygiene adcoms that you really want to be a dentist

Anyone have more insight on getting a BS in dental hygiene? I was thinking it would be prepare me for dental school more because I would be taking dental related classes and would have experience when I apply. I also figure I could take a year off and work to help pay off my undergrad loans and also work part time during summer of dental school

My only concern is going through the whole program knowing that it is not what I want to end up doing. Would it be kind of weird if I was involved in the pre-dental club while going to school to be a hygienist?

It just seems like a great idea looking at it one way and a bad idea looking at it another way, lol
 
Anyone have more insight on getting a BS in dental hygiene? I was thinking it would be prepare me for dental school more because I would be taking dental related classes and would have experience when I apply. I also figure I could take a year off and work to help pay off my undergrad loans and also work part time during summer of dental school

My only concern is going through the whole program knowing that it is not what I want to end up doing. Would it be kind of weird if I was involved in the pre-dental club while going to school to be a hygienist?

It just seems like a great idea looking at it one way and a bad idea looking at it another way, lol
www.ada.org has a list of all hygiene programs in the U.S. If you can, go to a state where hygienists are licensed in restorative, there are only a handful and I think they are all WREB states. In Washington the BS in hygiene is offered at Eastern.
 
A couple of health professionals that I met actually had their undergraduate degree in engineering. The dentist that I shadowed with and my optometrist both had their B.S. in electrical engineering, and that's their back up plan if they didn't get into profesional schools.
 
www.ada.org has a list of all hygiene programs in the U.S. If you can, go to a state where hygienists are licensed in restorative, there are only a handful and I think they are all WREB states. In Washington the BS in hygiene is offered at Eastern.

Well the program I would be doing is at U of Michigan, so im assuming it is a really good program where I could get involved in research and get great experience

Im just not sure if I should do the program if its not what I want to end up as. I dont know if I should just major in neuroscience or something
 
Well the program I would be doing is at U of Michigan, so im assuming it is a really good program where I could get involved in research and get great experience

Im just not sure if I should do the program if its not what I want to end up as. I dont know if I should just major in neuroscience or something
Well, if you have good grades it doesn't matter what your major was. That said, if you don't get into dental school you'll have an easier time finding work as an RDH than with a BS in neuroscience. And a year of practicing hygiene will go a lot further than a year as a research assistant when you reapply.
 
I was a math education major and I decided to finish up being a math ed major then take the preq-reqs then apply....I've had a job as a teacher for the past year and had dental school not worked out I would still be employed with a good job...It was in my good fortune that I did get accepted to dental school!! I do wish I took more courses like physiology and anatomy to make my science background a lot stronger but I think what I did was very responsible and it was a great conversation piece in the interviews!
 
Pick a major you will enjoy. If you pick an "easy" major, just be prepared to take more upper level biology courses to show that you didn't just take the easy way to a higher GPA.
 
I was a bio major and now I am a chemistry instructor at my university in my gap year. I guess my plan B is my family owning a business, easy work there. But...a whole lot of secretaries, cab drivers, and other pointless jobs always seem to tell me they were bio majors in college...kinda scary!
 
While there might be alot of people doing those "pointless jobs" there are alot of great fields to go into too. If as a bio major you were willing to invest 100k+ in grad school to become a dentist but were not successful you can spend far less in both time and money have access to many good careers.

PT,PA, bioengineering (masters), MBA, medical technologist, dosometrist, bioinformatics, education, pharmacy, pod, AA, or work in a lab in cyto. / heme etc. There is always paid for grad school too if one became interested in the phd field.

And as I said earlier. With the exception of the fields that require a specific license or certification you can enter a field by starting at an entry level position with a four year degree.


I was a bio major and now I am a chemistry instructor at my university in my gap year. I guess my plan B is my family owning a business, easy work there. But...a whole lot of secretaries, cab drivers, and other pointless jobs always seem to tell me they were bio majors in college...kinda scary!

EDIT: Oh yeah did I forget sales :)
 
I'm currently a Nutritional Sciences major and I found many similarities in required courses for my degree compared to someone majoring in biology. Quite a few people I know who go to dental school at UF majored in nutrition.
I guess majoring in something other than bio (which is the norm) makes you stick out a little better? That's what my advisor told me anyways.

Also, minoring in something like business wouldn't be a bad idea either. Shows that you're desiring to get educated about how to run your own potential practice in the future.
 
If I had to do my undergrad all over... I would major in something Biology related (most likely physiology).... would work hard and keep my grades high

Like dentalworks said above I wanted to do something similar so..., I majored in Exercise Physiology, still had plenty of pre-reqs included such as gen chem 1&2, ochem 1&2, physics 1&2, human anatomy, human physiology, biochemistry, and cell bio. These classes along with other exercise classes such as kinesiology, biomechanics and others made it interesting and challenging. For me I was able to keep my GPA high, and learn enough to perform well on the dat.
 
I was a Massage Therapy Major, with a minor in Female Anatomy! :smuggrin:

(Ba dump cha!)

In all seriousness the road that makes the most sense is a Science major. I went with a general BS in biology. Every prerequisite for Dental school was in my core curriculum.

I chose a BS in Molecular and Cell Biology.
 
i am an econ major with bio minor and dont regret it at all ...doing econ has teaches you to think in a certain logical way its kinda hard to explain. i feel like there are too many bio majors and they just memorize books, but econ majors think critically and apply material. We are few in number amond the pre-dental community so all the more better. Plus, higher gpa is always a plus. :D
 
i am an econ major with bio minor and dont regret it at all ...doing econ has teaches you to think in a certain logical way its kinda hard to explain. I feel like there are too many bio majors and they just memorize books, but econ majors think critically and apply material. We are few in number amond the pre-dental community so all the more better. Plus, higher gpa is always a plus. :hungover:

+1
 
Have you taken upper lv biochem/cellbio courses or done academic research? critical thinking is not exclusive to econ.

I do like econ though. I took fresh & soph econ and felt like it helped me understand markets & politics more.

i am an econ major with bio minor and dont regret it at all ...doing econ has teaches you to think in a certain logical way its kinda hard to explain. i feel like there are too many bio majors and they just memorize books, but econ majors think critically and apply material. We are few in number amond the pre-dental community so all the more better. Plus, higher gpa is always a plus. :D
 
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Be any major you want to be, fulfill the requirements for dental school and it will be gravy. Of course you have to shadow, get good grades, score high on the DAT, have community service, and other things among that. If you become a psychology major, you can learn how to manipulate people...I call it being charismatic :laugh:
 
i am an econ major with bio minor and dont regret it at all ...doing econ has teaches you to think in a certain logical way its kinda hard to explain. i feel like there are too many bio majors and they just memorize books, but econ majors think critically and apply material. We are few in number amond the pre-dental community so all the more better. Plus, higher gpa is always a plus. :D

I agree that being a different major than science is beneficial for a lot of reasons...being a math major I also feel like I'm incredibly analytical and I can also say that being an education major really helps develops anyone's communication skills...however, if I were to do it all over again....I think I definitely would keep my major...but I wish I had taken a lot more difficult science courses because I'm feeling nervous about taking so many science classes at once
 
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