pre medicine vs pre dentistry

[jraces]

Hi, I was wondering what the difference was between the pre-reqs for dentistry and medicine. When I browse the dentistry schools , and med schools it seems to be the same , but almost every one I talk to consider pre-reqs for dentistry easier than med. Also what weight do dent schools put on science gpa vs cum grade?


Thank you for any input!

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[QuackDentist]

Hi, I was wondering what the difference was between the pre-reqs for dentistry and medicine. When I browse the dentistry schools , and med schools it seems to be the same , but almost every one I talk to consider pre-reqs for dentistry easier than med. Also what weight do dent schools put on science gpa vs cum grade?


Thank you for any input!

Hi. My roomie last year was applying to med school and is actually attending med school this year. From what I know, we have taken the exact same pre-requisite classes at our school (me being pre-dental). There aren't separate science courses for pre-meds and pre-dents (well I haven't heard of any at least). Really, the pre-reqs for dentistry aren't easier than those for pre-meds because they are the same classes. And of course, if classes are curved, pre-dents also compete for grades with pre-meds. In short, our classes are usually one and the same and are therefore equal in difficulty.

As for science vs cumulative grades, I am assuming that the schools put more stock on science GPAs since most of our dental classes are science based anyway.

 

[ToothPrincess]

there is no real difference, but there will be the occasional school that requires more sciences for one school and not the other... for instance iu requires for classes for entry into the d-school vs. the med school... iowa requires a bach. for med and not dent.... howard requires a bach for dent and not med... so it all ends up equalling out in the end...

 

[Predent0607]

To the original poster, basically the only difference in terms of requirements are the standardized tests for each type of school: pre-dents take the DAT and pre-meds take MCAT. In terms of preparation, both dental school and medical school require a year each of general chemistry, organic chemistry, general biology, physics, and math along with a strong curriculum in social sciences, etc. In terms of the courses you'd take at the undergraduate level, there is very little if any difference. In terms of weight each put on science vs. overall, I would say they are probably comparable in terms of weight put on each. Dental schools and medical schools have a similar science curriculum with regards to content as well as rigor and so I don't see why one would place more emphasis on overall versus science.

 

[dontwakeme]

A good portion of medical schools require a year of calculus. Most dental schools do not. I believe that is one of the primary differences in terms of requirements.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

A good portion of medical schools require a year of calculus. Most dental schools do not. I believe that is one of the primary differences in terms of requirements.

That is the only difference I can think of too.

 

[Meatwad]

A good portion of medical schools require a year of calculus. Most dental schools do not. I believe that is one of the primary differences in terms of requirements.

Actually, only about 23/126 require calc.; that's only 18%. This is also just one semester at a decent number of those 23. If anything, dental schools seem to require more than most med schools. A lot of dental schools ask for biochem, or 12 credits of bio, etc. these days. The vast majority of med schools are still sticking to the 8 bio/8 chem/8 orgo/8 physics reqs.

 

[thimsmits]

Take biochem and psychology

 

[cherr1pop]

my undergrad 'requires' sculpture class for "pre-dentistry" but you can get into dental school without it so ppl don't pay attention to it very much..

i don't think there's much difference in the pre-reqs... the greater difference lies in the tests (DAT/MCAT) it seems like...

for example, i'll be an early grad and i pushed off physics for my last year in college but you can't do that if you're pre-med cause there's a physics portion on MCAT but not DAT...