Double majors

[DoctorSaab]

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I was reading the other thread about choosing a major. People brought up the point of doing two majors.

I definitely see the positives in majoring in biology for a pre-dental student. But I also don't want to be a typical person. I want to stand out. I'm thinking about doing a double major.

I really would like to learn a foreign language. I was thinking about becoming a Spanish major along with Biology. How bad does it really get? I mean I'm still taking my pre-reqs right now.

The pre-professional, bio major, and spanish major requirememnts have a lot of classes. Umm... would I really finish in four years? If that's not possible then I think I should forget about spanish.

I don't know. I'm not even sure if i like spanish that much. I just want to stand out.

 

[BingDent]

Although double major is nice, but a major and a minor would suffice.

good luck

 

[DoctorSaab]

Well,

I like your statement 🙂

The thing is that if I major in Bio, i will automatically be a chem minor. I would liek to minor in something else too.

Any ideas? Sorry, I have no interests. Well, i'm not really interested in anything enough to actually work my butt off for it. I JSUT WANNA GET IN DENTAL SCHOOL!

 

[perfectsmile]

ChiefSaab,
I'm actually double majoring in Biological Sciences and Spanish. I love that I chose Spanish as a second major because Spanish will totally help you in the dental field especially if you want to practice in a state like CA, TX, NY etc. There are tons of Hispanic people (potential patients) that can't speak English and speaking Spanish will totally give you that edge over other students that aren't bilingual. When I interviewed for UOP and UCSF both of the interviewers were excited that I spoke Spanish and were telling me that the patients they see are largely Hispanic. So I would be one of the few translators the school had during clinic hours.

I was able to finish in 4 years because I took summer school every summer and I already had experience in Spanish so I didn't have to start from the beginning. Anyway, I think you should totally take up Spanish and if you could go abroad to a Spanish speaking country, your speaking skills improve so much. Good luck deciding. PM me if you have any more questions.

 

[LateComer]

You can consider additional major/minor in computer science. But Spanish is the way to go.

 

[wimmcs]

My bachelors include Business and Spanish and I agree with the rest of the group that it will help you tremendously to speak a second language particularly Spanish. No matter where you plan to open up a practice, there will be people who will benefit from you speaking their language. I'm certainly hoping that being bilingual will benefit me and will give me an "edge" to being accepted into dental school. Hope this helps!!

 

[BingDent]

Although it's nice if the dentist can speak multiple language, such as spanish. But it is not a necessity if you want to treat spanish patients, you can always hire spanish-speak dental assistants to translate for you! Good news for those of us that are lazy and don't want spent alot of time learning a new language..hehe

 

[wimmcs]

I totally agree with bingpredent, you absolutely can hire staff that is bilingual and can translate for you. However, the patient will feel much more comfortable speaking directly to their dentist, even if the dentist speaks half or broken Spanish. Spanish-speaking patients will appreciate their efforts and I believe that if the dentist speaks Spanish, you will see an increased number of Spanish speaking patients knocking at their door.
my 2 cents

 

[patriot_missile]

Hi,
I think double major is a horrible idea. As the classes are from different depts you may have troubles with schedule. I.e. can you get your advisor to make a schedule for you starting from year 1? Or you'll just hope that you have no conflicts as you go along? Also, neither your biology nor your spanish program will go in too deeply. It means if you mess up on 1 spanish class and 1 biology class (maybe a problem with schedule or bad teacher), it will affect your whole program.

If you don't have a preference i suggest you do an honours in 1 subject, whatever it is. I.e. at my school an honours biology program may be 80 bio credits out of 90, so you have just 3 classes left for electives. But it's done so that you know what classes you'll take 3 years ahead. And you also get 12credits in research and some credits in graduate courses, and most people get A's in those courses, because graduate school has grade inflation. And in case you mess up in something, i.e. halfway through the program you decide to take regular courses instead of honours, you can still turn to regular bio major, and you'll have room for more electives. Same thing in other depts, except in some you have very few possible electives while in others you can take 20 or even 30cr in electives. But you always have room to fall back on a regular major. Another thing, honours courses generally give out better grades. Of course the professor wants you to study more, but his curve is much better for honours or advanced course than for a regular or remedial course.

And even if you dont do honours, you can take spanish electives without declaring it as a second major, and you don't have to commit to it. But of course when you apply to the dental school you can still let it be known that you speak a foreign language.

Also i do speak a foreign language and i find that taking a course in school is almost useless. You can learn more in a foreign country in 3 months than you will in a 20student class in 2 years. And if you don't become fluent, you'll have serious troubles in the more advanced spanish courses. Before you go to a foreign country of course you need some basic vocabulary, but you don't need to take 2-3years of classes just to memorize those 1000 most used words.

Also, i don't see the point of learning spanish for your patients. If they're in this country and they only speak spanish, then they're illegal aliens on a medicaid... And there are lots of spanish doctors in southern california anyway.

 

[DesiDentist]

Originally posted by patriot_missile

Also, i don't see the point of learning spanish for your patients. If they're in this country and they only speak spanish, then they're illegal aliens on a medicaid... And there are lots of spanish doctors in southern california anyway.

That is a very bigoted statement. Spanish is a predominate language in America. It is by people like you that American children can't grasp and appreciate other foreign languages. Students by the end of elementary school in Europe know 3+ languages whereas American kids can't even speak English properly. America is a melting pot, people of all races and cultures are here. We as health professionals have to respect that.

If you know to say hello in Russian to a Russian Migrant worker that will develop a "bond" and that is what we dentists need. Patients who trust us. You don't have to be fluent in a language to make a positive impact.

I'm an american citizen, born in India. I speak seven languages, I've spent tons of time learning languages and I don't regret one minute of it. In fact, if there is one thing I learned in college, it is how to communicate with a phlethora of people and appreciate their culture. If I just remembered plant names or different part of an arthropod what use would that do to me?

Our profession is a people profession. So learn to understand people and speak the language of people. This medical terminology will take you only so far.

DesiDentist

 

[tinker bell]

Why do u have to double major, minor in something? I never minor in anything, so is my friend who got in med school.

I saw all kinds of double majors, minor in college. Those people take longer time to finish, and for one thing I know, they don't have a better chance of getting into schools than normal kids....

Just major in one thing, do well, and graduate. You'll go to dental school just fine.

 

[shendo]

I would suggest you major in something you really enjoy instead of doing it just to stand out because getting out in 4 years with a double major is pretty tough.
I majored in Japanese in college because I enjoy learning foreign languages and I knew college would be the last opportunity for me to pick up another language. Instead of double majoring in a science, I simply took all the pre req classes needed for dental school.
So my suggestion would be to major in something you like, and then take all the pre reqs needed for dental school...it'll make your life a lot easier instead of trying to double major.

 

[maryh320]

Only do a double major if you are really interested in another field of studies besides biology. I did Nutritional science with an emphasis in metabolism and physiology, b/c i really want to learn in detail how glucose and other nutrients are metabolized, and how cholesterol really works. Things like that... everyone in my school thought nutri sci is a joke, but is it actually more rigorous than biology. I spent 5 yrs doing these two majors, I actually came out with a BA in molecular cell biology and a BS in nutritional science. It was lots work, i took 2x amt of science class than most ppl, but I really enjoyed my nutri sci classes and I felt i really got more out of college than average student from my undergrad institution. Don;t do double major just to stand out, afterwards u might not feel like its absolutely necessary.

 

[wasabi007]

shendo, you took the words right out of my mouth! 😀 yes, you should double major if that's what INTERESTS you because undergrad is an invaluable time for exploration of your interest. don't do it only because you feel the need to stand out--you can stand out in your app in so many other ways...

-wasabi007