Business as a Major

[jwdent]

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I just finished my freshman year of college. I am currently a bio major but have been thinking about switching to business, but still take the pre dent courses plus anatomy and biochem. Does anyone know how a business major will be viewed by dental schools compared to a bio major? Has anyone had any experience doing this? Its not that I am changing my mind about persuing dentistry I just think it would better to have a business degree to fall back on rather than a bio degree if dentistry did not work out.

 

[nze82]

I just finished my freshman year of college. I am currently a bio major but have been thinking about switching to business, but still take the pre dent courses plus anatomy and biochem. Does anyone know how a business major will be viewed by dental schools compared to a bio major? Has anyone had any experience doing this? Its not that I am changing my mind about persuing dentistry I just think it would better to have a business degree to fall back on rather than a bio degree if dentistry did not work out.

I think schools will look at that in a positive way. After all, dentists who have a private practice are in a sense businessmen/women running a business. In fact, most dental schools are providing their students with the option of getting a DDS/MBA degree, because they have sensed the importance of business in dentistry. However, I'm not sure how majoring in business will affect your performance in the science section of the DAT. You might end up shooting yourself in the foot. Make sure you speak with a counselor or something before you do this to ensure that you'll still be able to complete all the science prerequisites dental schools want you to take!

 

[bigstix808]

I just finished my freshman year of college. I am currently a bio major but have been thinking about switching to business, but still take the pre dent courses plus anatomy and biochem. Does anyone know how a business major will be viewed by dental schools compared to a bio major? Has anyone had any experience doing this? Its not that I am changing my mind about persuing dentistry I just think it would better to have a business degree to fall back on rather than a bio degree if dentistry did not work out.

not a prob...that happens all the time - shoot, you could get a major in chinese caligraphy and still get in.

2 things though...try not to think about your major as a "back up" or you'll just sell your self short...and second...make sure you still get some dental experience to make sure that you're chosing the right career path

well 3 things...make sure you rock that DAT because you'll need to show you can handle 2 yrs of tuff sciences courses b/c you wont have that in undergrad

 

[3puttinHacker]

Hey jwdent,

This is exactly what I am doing!!!! So hopefully I can help you out as much as I can. I started out with business and continued with it so far. I will finish up next year after my super senior year. There are a few things that i can hopefully help you out with. I am actually doing an accounting degree on top of all the pre-reqs. This isn't the easiest of roads (well at least with accounting since it is very demanding) but still can be very rewarding. The main issues i have had while doing this is basically in the scheduling and juggling two completely different areas of school. My teachers think im crazy but on top of that I am on the golf team at school so my time is very limited with practices and tournaments etc... So what you need to do now is sit down and basically plan out the next 3 or 4 years for the classes you need to take and then fit in the sciences accordingly. I highly recommend taking some of your gen eds online and in the summer. They are usually much easier and obviously classes you wont care about as much. Now im not saying to do your pre-reqs online, do those seated and in class. So what you will do is basically take full loads from here on out and will all be core classes usually. Therefore, work hard to keep your GPA up and then study, study, study for the DAT. I wish I had done a little better on the DAT than i did but my gpa is ok. so hopefully that will kind of balance it out. Whats funny is my science gpa is higher than my overall oh well! Sorry if this seems scatter brained i had surgery last monday and im currently on percocet/hydros so im a little loopy at the moment!

But PM me if you need anything else!

Cheers!

 

[MowgliR]

haha i kinda know what you guys mean...Biochem major and business minor (pretty loaded minor(unit-wise) tho)

 

[3puttinHacker]

Also now I am only like 3 classes away from a chem major and 1 class away from the minor so I am deciding whether or not i want to pursue that :S What a nerd i would be accounting and chemistry majors haha

 

[jwdent]

3Puttin, I was just wondering what were the science course you took in college?

 

[3puttinHacker]

Well basically I have taken all the pre-reqs that dental schools require....most d schools require i think 8 hours of bio w/ lab, gen chem w/ lab, orgo w/ lab, and physics w/ lab. Then sometimes there is variation but usually a semester or two of english....and there might be a couple of other thigns.......but generally they will want you took a few more upper level bio classes also which can help prepare you for the dat. I should note some schools require Biochem as well....but as for me... i have taken cell bio, micro, physiology, anatomy, biochem, gen chem, physics, organic..then couple of writing classses...the only classes I have left that aren't necessary for pre-reqs but in the next year ill be taking histo, and then maybe a few more chem classes depending on whether i go for the major or not..pretty much of all us on here have at least taken the pre-reqs 🙂

But if there are any schools that you are thinking about right now go on to their websites and check what their pre-reqs are and just start checking them off as you go!

Good Luck

 

[desidoc1]

I'm currently doing a major in biology and a certificate program in management science. This allows me to still complete all the pre-dental pre-reqs, along with other helpful sciences like anatomy, and I get an opportunity to take econ and management classes - which will be helpful when i open my private practice.

 

[singingdentist]

You should be fine! I am graduating with a bachelor's in music and have taken all of the prerequisites for dental school. Taking the prerequisites was enough to get me competitive scores on the DAT and a chem and bio minor. I think dental schools might look at you as a more diverse student because you are choosing another major. Just make sure your science grades are as strong as your business grades! Good luck!

 

[jwdent]

Just out of curiosity Singingdentist, did you alway plan to persue dentistry since you've been in college, because i think as long as I make my desire to be dentist evident through my years of college despite not being a typical science major, I should be fine?

 

[3puttinHacker]

yea you'll be fine

 

[singingdentist]

Sorry, I was on vacation and didn't get to reply. Actually I had thought about dentistry before college, but was too scared of the many years of schooling ahead and decided not to do it when I started college. However, once I started my junior year I realized I was a fool and started doing everything I could to prepare me for dental school. I just graduated and will be pursuing a second bachelor's in biology next year (but that's just because I have a year "off").

 

[somethinpositiv]

I just finished my freshman year of college. I am currently a bio major but have been thinking about switching to business, but still take the pre dent courses plus anatomy and biochem. Does anyone know how a business major will be viewed by dental schools compared to a bio major? Has anyone had any experience doing this? Its not that I am changing my mind about persuing dentistry I just think it would better to have a business degree to fall back on rather than a bio degree if dentistry did not work out.

Do it 👍

 

[jwdent]

Somethingpositive, is there any reason why you suggest doing this?

 

[marilynsmiles]

I have a couple of classmates who were business majors. Some of them found the science classes a bit more challenging in year 1 and 2. If you enjoy business, go for it. The experience will serve you well when you get into private practice. Just make sure you preform solidly in your science classes to prove to adcoms you can do it.

You can prove your still serious about dentistry by doing shadowing experience in undergrad. That was some of the most valuabe experience in my opinion preparing me for dental school.

 

[somethinpositiv]

Somethingpositive, is there any reason why you suggest doing this?

Partly for the reason that you said:

I just think it would better to have a business degree to fall back on rather than a bio degree if dentistry did not work out.

Also, I think it would be good for when you own your own dental practice in the future. Since choice of major does not hurt your application, why not get a major that is not only more useful, but will let you stand out a little bit? The bio major itself often goes beyond the scope of the DAT with some unnecessary (and difficult) upper level classes, and besides, you are taking anatomy and biochem so you're getting the science preparation you need for the DAT (though I'd also recommend taking physiology as well).

The main factor should be which are you more passionate about, which do you love more. If it's business, go with that. If it's bio, stay a bio major..