Physics or an upper level bio?

[Stoshdawg]

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I'm applying next semester and the only upper level bio class will have completed for my application is cell bio (taking it this upcoming spring). I haven't taken Physics 1 or 2 yet.

For this upcoming spring semester, should I take another upper level bio class and wait to take my physics 1 in Fall 2012 and Physics 2 Spring 2013?
(Hopefully, I would start d-school Fall of 2013).

Is it bad if I wait until the last two semesters to take Physics (which is required) for another upper level bio class?

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[LaFleur]

I'm applying next semester and the only upper level bio class will have completed for my application is cell bio (taking it this upcoming spring). I haven't taken Physics 1 or 2 yet.

For this upcoming spring semester, should I take another upper level bio class and wait to take my physics 1 in Fall 2012 and Physics 2 Spring 2013?
(Hopefully, I would start d-school Fall of 2013).

Is it bad if I wait until the last two semesters to take Physics (which is required) for another upper level bio class?

Thanks for any and all help!

I'm gonna preface this by saying that I haven't applied to any grad school yet, but this is the impression that I get.

I honestly don't think it matters either way, as long as you do well in whatever class you choose to take. So if physics is really not your strong suit and you think that you'll get an A in the upper level bio versus a B- in physics, I would say go for that. If you think you'll do better in physics than the upper level bio, go for that. If you think you'll do well in either one, it probably doesn't matter.

I know this is not exactly the same thing but one of my friends applied to medical school before she had taken physics (she was taking physics senior year of college and submitted the application at the end of junior year). Yes, this means she took the MCAT without having taken a college physics course (got a C- in her physics class in high school) and did well enough on it overall to apply/be accepted to medical school. Anyway, the point of the story is that none of the schools she applied to seemed to care that she hadn't taken physics yet, she got several interviews and several acceptances.

This friend could have taken physics I in the spring of junior year, but instead chose to take 2 upper division bio classes that she got A's in. This was a very strategic move on her part, since she is not very good at physics (she worked really hard in the class and only managed to pull B-'s both semesters, which is fine, but not the most amazing score ever), and I think that keeping that GPA up instead of taking the prerequisite she knew was going to be a problem had a favorable effect on her admissions process, actually (5 interview offers; 4 acceptances, she withdrew from one school post-interview), because she had a higher GPA while applying than she would have had if she had taken physics that semester. I'm pretty sure the med school app also has grade updates at the middle of the year, but a B- in physics after a semester with 2 A's in upper division bio classes looks less worrisome to me than two B-'s in physics I and physics II. So I do think she used that to her advantage.

I realize that physics is a requirement, which means that you have to take it before you matriculate, but you don't necessarily have to take it before you apply. The impression that I get is that they have plenty to go off of in terms of grades and DAT scores anyway. Therefore, if I were you, I would take whichever of those two courses you think you can do best in and keep those grades up! 😀

 

[Stoshdawg]

LaFleur, my thoughts exactly. The only reason I was planning to take Physics earlier was because my prehealth counselor recommended it.

I feel more confident that I have the ability to get A's in cell bio, physiology or histology than I do about pulling A's in Physics. Also, I'm kind of dreading Physics while upper level bio classes interest me. So, any excuse to put it off I'm good with!

Also, I've been to a few D-school admissions presentations and they've always discussed the upper level bio classes they like to see on applications. Not once have I even heard them mention Physics. And, since it's not on the DAT, I was thinking that they probably don't put much emphasis on it (beyond just making sure it's completed before matriculation).

So, again, thanks for taking the time to respond to my question!

 

[2th Doc]

This is a tricky question, because some schools will put your application on hold if you don't have enough of the pre-reqs completed (UNLV for one). Yes, Physics is not on the DAT, but as you know it's still a admissions requirement. With that said, I don't think it's uncommon for applicants to not have Physics completed since (at least from what I've seen) it seems to be the typical thing to do to put it off since it's not on the DAT. I guess that doesn't really answer your question though, since it kind of can be argued both ways. However, I guess your abilities may play more of a role if you think you'll excel in bio classes and do horrible in physics. Then again, I thought I would do horrible in physics and got an A and A-, so it's hard to say what will actually happen anyway. Go with your gut

 

[budentite]

Your primary concern is getting into dental school so you need to have a good GPA, DAT score, and teacher recommendations. This is all assuming you have a complete application, which includes grades for all prerequisite courses.

In order to have a killer application, you first need to have a complete one, so at the minimum the 2nd semester Physics needs to be in progress on the day of your interview. These are just introductory courses and schools may scrutinize your intentions if you put them off until your senior year.

There is no benefit to an upper level Bio course right now unless this is somehow tied to a faculty recommendation. If you're lucky it may impress an interviewer (no more than taking a course in theatre) but it doesn't allow the school to compare you to the thousands of other applicants. You've taken the required 2 semesters of intro bio, and the upper level course won't help your DAT. Make sure you take a Biochemistry course for both your prereqs and DAT.

Physics is purely based on mathematics - Newton invented calculus to solve physics problems, so the best time to take Physics to get the best grade is during the same semester as Calculus 2 or 3.


After 4 years of dental school, I never found that you needed a strong background in any specific science. Sometimes it helps a little to understand the material, usually it has more to do with faculty recs, but it makes no difference on your grades in d-school if you're good at memorization. There's only a few specific undergrad courses I can think of that will help you in dental school - Microbiology, Anatomy/Histology. But this is really trivial because you will encounter much more difficult courses only offered at medical schools like Oral Pathology and Pharmacology, in addition to the clinical skills you will need to acquire.


Your first goal is to get into dental school so you need a strong, complete application, which includes grades for all prerequisites.

 

[bing12]

I'm applying next semester and the only upper level bio class will have completed for my application is cell bio (taking it this upcoming spring). I haven't taken Physics 1 or 2 yet.

For this upcoming spring semester, should I take another upper level bio class and wait to take my physics 1 in Fall 2012 and Physics 2 Spring 2013?
(Hopefully, I would start d-school Fall of 2013).

Is it bad if I wait until the last two semesters to take Physics (which is required) for another upper level bio class?

Thanks for any and all help!

take an upper level bio. physics can wait, its not on the DAT.

 

[Impulse155]

I'm applying next semester and the only upper level bio class will have completed for my application is cell bio (taking it this upcoming spring). I haven't taken Physics 1 or 2 yet.

For this upcoming spring semester, should I take another upper level bio class and wait to take my physics 1 in Fall 2012 and Physics 2 Spring 2013?
(Hopefully, I would start d-school Fall of 2013).

Is it bad if I wait until the last two semesters to take Physics (which is required) for another upper level bio class?

Thanks for any and all help!

Check on your school first, my school doesnt offer every course every semester so I opted to take a class in the spring jus to find out that they dont offer it and now I am not sure if im graduating on time. If I was you I would take physics 1 and bio at the same time depending on which bio it is. Also find out if next semester is there a course that fulfills the bio requirement that you need. If I was you I would do both, I took orgo, evolutionary bio, and physics all the same semester. Wasnt too bad.