Most friendly pre-dental Major?

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collegestudent5

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I understand that there is no specific major for those that want to go to dental school but i believe that there are some majors that are more friendly to getting into dental school such as overlapping with certain pre-reqs and just in general helping out with DAT or in preparing you for dental school. In my mind i have two majors in mind that are similar to this Biochemistry and Biology. What do you guys think would be better? imo, i thought biochem would be more useful because it covers the biochem, chemistry, lab, and most of the biology courses while still giving the option to go in to research feilds but i want to hear some opinions from others,.

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history. anthropology. [insert culture] studies. communication. maybe linguistics if you dont have to also learn a second language.
 
I was Biochem major and switched to Bio

but I love chem so much (I do better in chem than bio..I actually hate bio and all the junks I have to memorize) so I am doing bio major and chem minor now

the main reason I switched was that Biochem made me take class that is not necessary for Pre-dent req. and if I major in biochem + pre-dent req (and take most of recommended course from dental schools), it would take me 5-6 years to graduate.

Bio major is different story. it covers everything in Pre-dent then I need to take more classes for bio major (such as a plant bio class/lab of my choice).

Bio major has to take OChem and Dental school only requires people to take up to OChem for chemistry part.
but Biochem made me take OChem and Quan. Chem (Quantitative Chem) and if i want honors in Chem, I had to take a semester of physical chem or chem elective along with other biology stuff (well..I don't have to take plant bio here..but whole lot of pre-req)


I don't know which school u go to but my school is pretty heavy on Chemistry since one of our professors got Nobel prize and we were "recognized" to have strong chem. program in USA. ( I don;t know why...chem building is the oldest lecture building int he university..and we share buildings with physics and education majors as well..-_-)

So it was better for me to take Bio major (although I don't like it..-_-) and get good GPA...

So look at your school's major's pre-req and what you need for graduation.

Some said Psychology is a good major as well since it covers basic science and chem (up to Ochem) but not in depth of biology (and it is interesting but I hate paper writing -_-)

I would say Biology or Psychology..

Many people i know described Chem as GPA destroyer...(Gen chem is fine..just Ochem and above is pain in the ass...professors doesn't want a lot of A students in their classes..-_-)
 
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At Penn dental i believe requirements are these.


One year of biology with corresponding laboratory training (a minimum of two semesters of college biology or zoology). Advanced courses in anatomy, microbiology, and physiology are highly recommended.
Three semesters of chemistry with corresponding laboratory training (including inorganic chemistry and at least one semester of organic chemistry). Additional work in organic and physical chemistry is recommended.
One year of English, leading to competence in the use of the English language. Acceptable courses include speech, composition, literature, technical and business writing, and other writing intensive courses. Credit for writing intensive courses will be considered if written documentation is submitted to Penn Dental Medicine's Office of Admissions for review. Submit documentation with Supplemental Application.

One semester of mathematics — although calculus is preferred, any college-level math course, including statistics is acceptable.


One year of physics, covering the basic principles of classical physics.
One semester of biochemistry; no lab is required. 


Advanced Placement (AP) course work can be credited towards predental requirements as long as the credit appears on your official college transcript.

From what i can see the biochemistry program should cover all the chemistry, biochemistry, most of the bio, the lab, math, and physics. Leaving just a few higher level biology courses and the english classes that need to be fulfilled.
 
history. anthropology. [insert culture] studies. communication. maybe linguistics if you dont have to also learn a second language.

Although these majors are often considered "soft". I found my social science degree to be very difficult to juggle with the dental prereqs. Most of the prereqs are lower division and don't mesh into a social science / humanities degree program.

So although my major classes may not be as difficult as my sciences, i have had to take 18+ credits every semester. I will graduate upwards of 150 credits. So pick your poison...


OP: Either biology or biochem will be equally sufficient to mesh with the prereqs. They will both also adequately prepare you for the DAT. But you will still need to take several weeks to refresh before you take the DAT.
 
At Penn dental i believe requirements are these.

The cut and dry prereqs are simple:
1 year general biology/zoology
1 year general/inorganic chemistry
1 year organic chemistry
1 year general physics
1 year english composition

Then about of 1/3 of schools out there require one or more of: biochem, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, calculus, or sociology.
 
i graduated with 165 semester credits of mostly "hard science" courses (except for those lovely humanities college requirements). i did it in 4 yrs only doing 1 summer session. do i win?
 
i graduated with 165 semester credits of mostly "hard science" courses (except for those lovely humanities college requirements). i did it in 4 yrs only doing 1 summer session. do i win?

Of course you win :clap:

But i have to ask... why would ever do that to yourself? Did you double major?

And would you really recommend others the same path to dental school?
 
1. love learning. things arent nearly as difficult if you're excited to do them
2. switched from an engineer to biological science

the path i recommended was humanities. you can easily have a 3.9+ gpa and take the minimal amount of science courses necessary during the summer and mixed throughout the 4 years. i'd even argue that as a humanities major, if you take the pre-reqs later than first year, you'd have seniority over all the freshmen bio majors when choosing classes. this could mean the difference between having a professor that curves at a C to a professor that curves at a B or higher. at least thats how it works at the anonymous 🙂laugh🙂 institution i attended as an undergrad.
 
Hmm, I wouldn't recommend going the LA route just because a good number of schools like their students to be fairly versed in biology classes. Applying as a psychology major has brought me a few set backs: some schools suggested I take more biology classes even though I minored in major and took well above the minimum number of biology credits for matriculation. I guess it just depends where you want to apply, check with your top schools and see if being an LA major puts you at a disadvantage.
 
Biology

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I understand that there is no specific major for those that want to go to dental school but i believe that there are some majors that are more friendly to getting into dental school such as overlapping with certain pre-reqs and just in general helping out with DAT or in preparing you for dental school. In my mind i have two majors in mind that are similar to this Biochemistry and Biology. What do you guys think would be better? imo, i thought biochem would be more useful because it covers the biochem, chemistry, lab, and most of the biology courses while still giving the option to go in to research feilds but i want to hear some opinions from others,.

Suitable for preparing for the DAT and dental school, I would vote for biochemistry.

Suitable for the profession itself... Business Administration (seriously)
 
If i could do it all over again, I would definitely go with a business degree. It helps break up your semesters (I hate taking all science courses every semester). It will also really help you ALOT down the road.
 
Anything related to biology will be easiest to get your degree and be pre-dent. Biology, Biochem, Biopsych, etc....Classes that are required for your major will also be required for dental school.
 
alright then i think i'll most likely stick to biochemistry then. It more unique then straight up biology while stilling allowing me to cover most of the reqs and gives me other options in case i change my mine about dental school.
 
I am a chemistry major with a biochemistry track, and I personally think being a biology major would have been more useful. I am currently in Physical Chemistry II, and these upper level chemistry courses have no relation to anything that I will learn in dental school. I am a chemistry major just because I enjoy chemistry more than biology. With a biology major I would still take biochem (that may be required anyway) but I think vertebrate zoology, cell boiology, mammalian phys. etc... probably have a greater chance of helping you succed on the DAT and probably will help you more in dental school.
 
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