Can I major in Liberal Arts when my ultimate goal is to become an Orthodontist?

[dnicole]

Hi everyone, I'm not sure how to navigate these boards, but I did do a bit of searching to try and find the answer to this before posting, but to no avail.
So here's the question - I'm applying to a school near me for this Spring semester.. I'll be going in as a Freshman, and I'm not sure what to declare my major as. People are telling me to put down Liberal Arts and that it won't matter that it has nothing to do with my chosen career path because all of the credits will transfer, and that after those first 2 years I can transfer to somewhere with a good Dentistry program. My ultimate goal is to become an Orthodontist, and I'm worried by declaring my major as Liberal Arts that I'll miss out on some classes I'll end up needing by the time that I transfer.

I feel really stupid, but I'm completely at a loss here in regards to what I should do, will I be okay with declaring it as Liberal Arts? If not, what do I declare my major as? Do I need more science classes, or does Liberal Arts cover the science classes I'll need? So confused.. 😕

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[PointEstimate]

As an undergrad, you can major in anything you want. You just need to satisfy the pre-requirements to dental schools.

You say "transfer to somewhere with a good Dentistry program" after saying "first two years." Most, if not all, people finish their undergraduate degrees. Meaning, you would most likely complete your bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts (while also completing the necessary pre-reqs). The way you phrase the situation makes me think that you think that you can transfer into a dental school. That's typically not the case. Once you are close to finishing up your bachelor's degree, you take the DAT and apply to dental school.

That's the first battle: getting into a dental school. Read this forum for a while, and you'll get a sense of how competitive it can be just to get into dental school. After that, ortho is an incredibly competitive specialty, so you will have to be near the top of your dental class to get into a program. My two cents: focus on getting into a dental school first, then worry about specializing once you are in.

 

[dnicole]

As an undergrad, you can major in anything you want. You just need to satisfy the pre-requirements to dental schools.

You say "transfer to somewhere with a good Dentistry program" after saying "first two years." Most, if not all, people finish their undergraduate degrees. Meaning, you would most likely complete your bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts (while also completing the necessary pre-reqs). The way you phrase the situation makes me think that you think that you can transfer into a dental school. That's typically not the case. Once you are close to finishing up your bachelor's degree, you take the DAT and apply to dental school.

That's the first battle: getting into a dental school. Read this forum for a while, and you'll get a sense of how competitive it can be just to get into dental school. After that, ortho is an incredibly competitive specialty, so you will have to be near the top of your dental class to get into a program. My two cents: focus on getting into a dental school first, then worry about specializing once you are in.

Thanks so much for the response.. very much appreciated! But oh no I didn't mean transfer into Dental school! I just meant transfer to another school in my state.. Scratch that statement completely actually. My mom had suggested I do the 2 years there, and transfer elsewhere to this other school that she said has a good (what I thought was dentistry) program, but that was actually for pharmacists, she brought it up since I'm interested in the two and I got them mixed up.. nevermind!
But yeah I checked out a couple of the threads on here, and it's all really informative.. I did have some sort of an idea on how competitive it is to get into dental school, but definitely didn't know about it being worse when trying to specialize! That sounds a little bit intimidating already.. and I'm going to sound stupid again, but do you mean I take my test to get into Dental school nearing the end of getting my Liberal Arts degree? It basically goes.. college for the Liberal Arts degree, take the DAT, hopefully get into dental school, and then those extra years of schooling to become specialized? Or am I missing something here..

 

[PointEstimate]

If you want to go straight into dental school, you will have to take the DAT (which is sort of like an admissions exam to dental school) sometime around the end of your junior year. Then you apply the summer between your junior and senior year. If you're a good candidate, then you will be interviewing the fall of your senior year and hopefully get in the December of your senior year. That means you get to enjoy the spring semester and start the following summer.

Then you go to dental school. After four years, you're a general dentist. If you want to specialize, then you go onto more schooling. So , for example, four years dental school + 2-3 more years ortho = 6-7 years after college.

 

[shootingstar7]

Is the college you are applying to currently a community college? If so, I would advise against taking your science "pre-req" classes there. You'll be a more competitive applicant if your pre-reqs are taken at a university.

A good first step to take would be to seek out an advisor at the college to which you are currently applying. Ask them if they are either familiar with the pre-dental track or if they can point you in the direction of an advisor who is. If someone like that is unavailable, seek out an advisor at the college you plan on transferring to. A pre-health advisor will point you in the right direction and create a personalized plan for you.

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=936830
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=942453

 

[pointynose]

I am an English Literature Major, just got accepted to dental school. Do what you want to do.