BS in Natural Science vs. BS Biology

[stimulantjunkie]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I know this may be a redundent question but I'm in a pickle about my major. I am now a sophmore at my school and a couple of pre-health students are switching from a BS in biology to a BS in 'natural science.' This allows them to have more freedom in picking uppder division biology classes with more emphasis on whatever future endeavors they have. The biology department at my school isn't the greatest and a lot of the upper divion professors aren't very good! It's a small private school and a lot of the required upper division biology classes are taught by horrible professors.
I'm also thinking about switching to natural science but I've done some research and can't seem to find any information on natural science alums at dental schools and pharmacy schools - which is what I'm interested in. I feel I can have an overall higher GPA if I switch to natural science because I'll be able to take classes I really like and that are offered by easier professors. I've heard that your major in undergradate school really doesnt matter... I just want to know if grad schools will look down upon a natural science major vs. a biology major. Any comments are appreciated!!!!

 

[lazybummy]

I'm getting a BA in psychology... a degree is a degree. Major in something u enjoy

 

[Regmata]

Go for it, who cares?

Answer: Not admission committees

 

[dmoney2010]

I was told by the dean of admissions at one of the schools that I was thinking about applying for that he couldnt care less about what kind of degree I had (ie BS vs BA) or what it was in. As long as I still had taken all the prereqs, did well in them, and did well on the DAT there was no distinction. Upon hearing that advice I switched from a BS in marine Biology (which I had been working on for 3 years) to a BA in biology during the fall of my senior year. I couldnt be happier with my decision!! Learn what you want to learn and get some cool life experience along the way

 

[MTD52]

I'll sort of echo what others are saying and tell you to: a) do something you enjoy, and b) do something that you will do well in. Essentially it's all a numbers game. If you have a good GPA your major won't matter than much. You have to take their pre-reqs anyway. I actually just spoke to a dentist who graduated from Harvard many years ago and he said the same thing. His daughter wants to look into med school and he told her just to major in what she'll get top grades in. I think there's a lot of truth to that.

 

[pokes]

I say pick whatever major you could get a job in if you don't get into dental school.

 

[MTD52]

I say pick whatever major you could get a job in if you don't get into dental school.

I say don't set yourself up to fail.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

I say pick whatever major you could get a job in if you don't get into dental school.

I say don't set yourself up to fail.

I say pick a major you like, you can do well in and will give you a back-up career if you either don't get into dental school or you decide down the road dentistry is not for you! This way you aren't setting yourself up for failure and you aren't screwed in the end if you don't get in!

 

[doc toothache]

I say don't set yourself up to fail.

Unfortunately reality has a mean bite, at least for ~8K applicants each year.

 

[kapmann]

I graduated recently with a degree in natural sciences... I thought I was getting a degree in biology, and even wrote that on my aadsas! I transfered schools and had no idea I wasn't still a biology major when I graduated.

Point being, I got into schools this time... I can't imagine a major matters a whole lot as long as you do well in your mandatory classes.

 

[MTD52]

Unfortunately reality has a mean bite, at least for ~8K applicants each year.

I realize that, but if you're choosing your major based solely on something you can have a job in if you don't get into dental school, you can definitely run into problems. I agree that you should have a fallback option, and you need to do something that you would enjoy in the event that you don't get into school. However, if you pick a major that you hate because you think it has a good job prospect and/or is more difficult than you can handle, you greatly reduce your chances of getting into school. Ultimately, you have to find a happy medium - a field that you would enjoy if you had to stick with it, but definitely something that you will do great in. And if you can do great in it, you will get accepted to dental school.

 

[stimulantjunkie]

Thanks for the responses! I'm going to give it some more thought. I have a wave of finals this week and I'll make a decision over break. But as of right now I'm leaning towards changing it to natural science 😎

 

[doc toothache]

I realize that, but if you're choosing your major based solely on something you can have a job in if you don't get into dental school, you can definitely run into problems. I agree that you should have a fallback option, and you need to do something that you would enjoy in the event that you don't get into school. However, if you pick a major that you hate because you think it has a good job prospect and/or is more difficult than you can handle, you greatly reduce your chances of getting into school. Ultimately, you have to find a happy medium - a field that you would enjoy if you had to stick with it, but definitely something that you will do great in. And if you can do great in it, you will get accepted to dental school.

If you are referring to problems getting an acceptance into ds, there is not much evidence to support the notion.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=640363

 

[MTD52]

No that has nothing to do with what I meant. I explained what I was talking about.

 

[pokes]

I say don't set yourself up to fail.

Yeah, having a backup plan means setting myself up to fail

I'm sure you don't carry insurance either, right? Geez.

There are a lot of people who don't get into dental school and realize there is nothing they would enjoy doing that involves their biology degree. So, if you pick something that could lead to fruitful employment apart from dentistry, you have a plan in case you don't get in.

 

[MTD52]

Yeah, having a backup plan means setting myself up to fail

I'm sure you don't carry insurance either, right? Geez.

There are a lot of people who don't get into dental school and realize there is nothing they would enjoy doing that involves their biology degree. So, if you pick something that could lead to fruitful employment apart from dentistry, you have a plan in case you don't get in.

Right, I didn't mean it as literally as you're taking it. But if you read what I have previously written, you would that I don't think it's a good idea to totally just base your major on what you think is a good field if you don't get in. Because if you do that, and you pick a major that you can't do well in and/or hate, you greatly reduce your chances of getting into dental school, and that's counterproductive.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

Art major.