Pre Reqs advice

[ThNeal]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Ok, so I am a sophomore about to start my second semester. (Spring 2014). I didn't decide that I wanted to pursue dentistry til my sophomore year, and on track to transfer as an Economics major. However, after two years and going into my junior year I will only have two pre reqs done... Chem 1 and Bio 1..

What is the best way to attack the pre reqs as a transfer?

Should I change my major to Bio Sciences?

Should I keep my Econ degree and take the pre req classes along with that?

P.S. I'm not too worried about graduating in 4 years... (5 years isn't uncommon)

And i'm not too worried about getting specifically an Econ degree....

Any advice is MUCH APPRECIATED! !

 

[customx]

The best way to attack the prereqs? Take the classes! If you didn't already know, you should take a year of bio, gchem and ochem to prep for the DAT. In addition to that, most schools will require a year of physics, some anatomy and physiology and biochemistry. I suggest you take a look at the websites for several dental schools and check what the requirements are for each, then make a plan on when you will take the courses.

 

[lwen5]

Should you change your major to Bio? That depends on how many prereqs you have done for econ. If you don't have that much done, then maybe it is best to switch to bio. However, keep in mind bio upperdivs might be really boring and stupid and maybe even more difficult in the prereqs. Also is econ hard at your school? I would wait until you get done with more science prereqs this year. If you do well in the science prereqs (and I mean you get mostly As) and econ isn't too hard, maybe stick with econ. If you do mediocre in prereqs and thus get a low science GPA (which is really what counts) then go to bio so you can take those upperdivs to boost science gpa.

 

[jdye]

Idk if you should switch majors. If you're already pretty deep into Econ, doing well in the classes, and enjoying learning the material, I'd suggest sticking with the major. A lot of people from my school apply with a degree other than Biology and get in. In fact, there are a decent number of English, History, Spanish, Econ, etc majors who get into med/dental school. I, personally, am a Math and Chem major and feel like I'm pretty competitive in the process. As long as you do well and know why you want to be a dentist, you should be fine whatever path you choose. It is worth noting that upper level bio classes will help you in dental school, but probably not to the extent of killing yourself to graduate with a bio degree over econ.

 

[ThNeal]

Idk if you should switch majors. If you're already pretty deep into Econ, doing well in the classes, and enjoying learning the material, I'd suggest sticking with the major. A lot of people from my school apply with a degree other than Biology and get in. In fact, there are a decent number of English, History, Spanish, Econ, etc majors who get into med/dental school. I, personally, am a Math and Chem major and feel like I'm pretty competitive in the process. As long as you do well and know why you want to be a dentist, you should be fine whatever path you choose. It is worth noting that upper level bio classes will help you in dental school, but probably not to the extent of killing yourself to graduate with a bio degree over econ.

I was wondering if you know how tough the upper level bio classes were? Relative to the pre dent courses

 

[jdye]

It really depends on the course and the professors. Again, I'm not a biology major, but I found that if I put enough time into the course (reviewing class notes and handouts), the upper levels were manageable. I'm not sure if this is true for all schools, but I found the classes more enjoyable because they were more focused and went more in depth. I learn better when I know what the purpose of learning the material is, so that made Genetics and Biochem I and II much easier for me in comparison to intro bio.

Of course everyone is different and learns better in different situations so this might only be applicable to me.

 

[ThNeal]

It really depends on the course and the professors. Again, I'm not a biology major, but I found that if I put enough time into the course (reviewing class notes and handouts), the upper levels were manageable. I'm not sure if this is true for all schools, but I found the classes more enjoyable because they were more focused and went more in depth. I learn better when I know what the purpose of learning the material is, so that made Genetics and Biochem I and II much easier for me in comparison to intro bio.

Of course everyone is different and learns better in different situations so this might only be applicable to me.

If you don't mind me asking what major were you?

If not a science major how did you get your pre reqs done on top of your other classes?

What was your stats?

What dental schools did you get into and rejected?

🙂 sorry so many questions

 

[jdye]

No worries, I'll try to be as helpful as possible, but I'm not an adcom or advisor so take my advice with a grain salt. Also, I know it's nice to compare with others, but each applicant is different.

I was a Math and Chem major, 3.33 oGPA, 3.15 sGPA. Took the DAT twice - 21 PAT on both, 20/21 AA, 21/20 TS. I retook it because I had a 16 in RC the first time, raised it to a 21 second time. I also have a lot of leadership (Drum Major of marching band, Resident Assistant, and Lab Teaching Assistant top the list, I had a few other clubs I spent some time with, but these were the most important to me).

The chem classes overlapped with my chem major, I took the bio classes etc. on top of my other coursework.

Also, I went to a liberal arts college so a lot of people weren't straight up bio majors - instead became "well-rounded" with other majors they were more interested in.

I'm applying this cycle (graduated 2013, currently a Research Fellow). I've had 3 interviews: UPenn, BU, Buffalo. Waiting for Dec 2nd and the wait is killing me

 

[Johns Spangler]

So did it. A lot of people from my school apply with a degree other than Biology and get in. In fact, there are a decent number of English, History, Spanish, Econ, etc majors who get into med/dental school. I, personally, am a Math and Chem major and feel like I'm pretty competitive in the process.