Scared of underestimating dental school

[Mykani]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi all,

I know.. dental school is definitely not something to underestimate since the competition has become pretty intense but.. I guess I've become overly paranoid and scared..

I am a psychology major and I have taken most of my pre reqs, have a science gpa of 3.72, overall gpa 3.6, but the only science courses I've taken are chemi/ii, bioi/bioii, physics i.. and a nursing anatomy&physiology course. I'm currently taking organic chem which I've heard is the course that dental schools pay attention to the most.. so I decided to start taking 'filler' and enjoyable classes like sculpture, language, and english to lessen the load..

My problem is.. should I just concentrate on keeping my sgpa and gpa high .. or take more competitive courses like molecular bio/ biochem/ microbiology. I feel so pressured to take these classes since it's become the norm for many pre dents.. but I'm just worried since these courses are not easy(ridiculously hard with averages in C's) in my college and I could potentially screw myself over since I worked hard to get my current gpa..

In a nut shell: Is it "O.K" to just take pre reqs and what are my chances to get into competitive schools like stony, columbia, etc. if I keep my current gpa with no intense bio classes .
Thank you for reading this and hopefully someone can give me some insight..

 

[CedarZ4]

Hi all,

I know.. dental school is definitely not something to underestimate since the competition has become pretty intense but.. I guess I've become overly paranoid and scared..

I am a psychology major and I have taken most of my pre reqs, have a science gpa of 3.72, overall gpa 3.6, but the only science courses I've taken are chemi/ii, bioi/bioii, physics i.. and a nursing anatomy&physiology course. I'm currently taking organic chem which I've heard is the course that dental schools pay attention to the most.. so I decided to start taking 'filler' and enjoyable classes like sculpture, language, and english to lessen the load..

My problem is.. should I just concentrate on keeping my sgpa and gpa high .. or take more competitive courses like molecular bio/ biochem/ microbiology. I feel so pressured to take these classes since it's become the norm for many pre dents.. but I'm just worried since these courses are not easy(ridiculously hard with averages in C's) in my college and I could potentially screw myself over since I worked hard to get my current gpa..

In a nut shell: Is it "O.K" to just take pre reqs and what are my chances to get into competitive schools like stony, columbia, etc. if I keep my current gpa with no intense bio classes .
Thank you for reading this and hopefully someone can give me some insight..

Taking PreReqs is "OK" in that you will get accepted with just that.
With that said, some schools like seeing a deep Bio background, and having high level bio courses (Recommended PreReqs like Immunology, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Cell Bio, Genetics to name a few) will definitely help than hurt.
You have to decide for yourself. However, IMO, take 4 hard courses and do poor or take 1 hard course and well? The latter. For sure.
With that said, you don't want to take only 1 hard course and end up having to do it over the summer, that is a big red flag.

As for competitiveness, you're GPA is spectacular (number wise) but a little low on the # of science courses you actually have. I don't know for other schools, but I know Columbia (ahem, mind my language) has a hard-on for DAT scores, so get a 22+ and with that GPA you will get into Columbia.

GL👍

 

[Mykani]

Taking PreReqs is "OK" in that you will get accepted with just that.
With that said, some schools like seeing a deep Bio background, and having high level bio courses (Recommended PreReqs like Immunology, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Cell Bio, Genetics to name a few) will definitely help than hurt.
You have to decide for yourself. However, IMO, take 4 hard courses and do poor or take 1 hard course and well? The latter. For sure.
With that said, you don't want to take only 1 hard course and end up having to do it over the summer, that is a big red flag.

As for competitiveness, you're GPA is spectacular (number wise) but a little low on the # of science courses you actually have. I don't know for other schools, but I know Columbia (ahem, mind my language) has a hard-on for DAT scores, so get a 22+ and with that GPA you will get into Columbia.

GL👍

Thank you for responding Cedar! I plan to take biochemistry in the fall.. but have you heard of/know of anyone that only took pre reqs and had a good chance? I just feel like the odd one out in my school since most kids I know are gunners..
Also the dentists I shadow all say to just do well on pre reqs and the stuff we learn in undergrad is so superficial compared to dental school that literally a whole year worth of biochem can only be used for the beginning of dental school courses.. so.. I feel like in the long run these classes just build up work ethic more than anything else.

 

[LetsGo2DSchool]

Here's some of my knowledge on this topic. Take it for what it's worth.

About 10-15+ years ago, schools (both med and dental) liked non-science majors since it added more diversity to the class. However, what they discovered from this "experiment" was non-science majors tended to struggle in the program than their science major counterparts. So within the past few years schools have reverted back to favoring science majors and being hesitant toward non-science.

Since dental school curriculum is super intense, they like applicants who demonstrate they can handle multiple science courses (minimum 2) in a given semester. Now for science majors, this isn't an issue since they'll need to take at least 2 or 3 simultaneously in order to graduate.

Also, since you won't have many bio courses, you need to score well (20+) on the bio section of the DAT (to prove that you have enough bio ability) which happens to be the most random and thus most difficult section among the sciences to score high on. On the other hand, if you have a large number of bio courses with A's, then you can probably get by with 18 bio score on DAT assuming the rest of the scores are better.

There are 3 GPAs that schools view in this order of importance: BCP (bio, chem, physics), Science, Overall. Thus, just having a high overall GPA may not be sufficient.

In the end, GPA matters but it's the quality (course load, # science classes, 400 level science classes, etc.) of the GPA that will be inspected by the schools.

I'm not saying that non-science majors can't get accepted, but they need to make themselves better applicants academically by taking more science courses.

Good luck!

 

[bud1010]

I am a psychology major and my junior year i decided to pick up a bio minor since i was already taking so many bio classes and a lot of schools required me to take the upper level bio classes like biochem and microbiology. I haven't taken NEARLY as many bio classes as biology majors but when i applied i had taken genetics, cell bio, and physiology ontop of the ones you mentioned you took and i have gotten interviews from great schools like michigan, case western, nyu.... In my opinion picking up a bio minor helped so much with the dats as well and probably made me a more competitive applicant. If you are worried about being a psych major i personally don't think its anything to worry about, plus dental schools like to know that you like to be around people and can deal with patients and now you have an education in that.

 

[full]

I have a hard time believing that schools would look into the courses that deeply.

I used to be under that impression too several years ago. The more and more years pass the more and more I feel admissions barely looks at the details.

I would just concentrate on just meeting the pre-reqs for the school and getting a good sgpa and overall gpa.

I would never sacrifice my GPA for taking a class that "looks impressive."

They might glance at your O-chem grades , general bio series grades, and G chem grades just because they are so traditional with "pre-health" especially O-chem.

 

[Mykani]

Thanks everyone for the responses! ^^

Also, since you won't have many bio courses, you need to score well (20+) on the bio section of the DAT (to prove that you have enough bio ability) which happens to be the most random and thus most difficult section among the sciences to score high on. On the other hand, if you have a large number of bio courses with A's, then you can probably get by with 18 bio score on DAT assuming the rest of the scores are better.
!

I was actually thinking the same thing because I was counting on scoring high on the Biology portion of the DATs. I feel that is more realistic for me personally than going through some of the upper bio courses in my school.. Plus I feel DAT is there to set a national standard so.. it should be enough of an indication of being competent in the sciences.. right?

The second part that you mentioned about having many upper bio courses under your belt somehow "redeems" your low bio DAT score.. I find this a bit weird since I thought taking upper bio only aids you to better understand concepts in the biology section.. and doing poorly .. wouldn't that just make your undergrad grades a bit skewed? I know it can be other reasons why you get a low bio score ie. bad test taker, extraneous circumstances but.. a bit questionable ..

But you're right, like bud1010 says.. taking upper bio classes will help..(btw yay psychology majors! ^__^) but I feel more in terms of work ethic and getting ready for the grueling studying in d school :T

And what makes you say this full?

I used to be under that impression too several years ago. The more and more years pass the more and more I feel admissions barely looks at the details.

Did that happen to you? Taking a lot of upper bio classes but at the end statistics in terms of GPA and DAT scores outweigh everything?

Thanks again guys! I really appreciate your perspectives!

 

[MrAvicii]

if you get in, then you have to do your best to stay in. thats my philosophy.

sink or swim. the choice is always yours!

 

[shiftypoptart]

Trust me dental school isn't as tough as you would think... Well Its only been a week since I started this pre-session here in LLU where you just take biochem alone for 3 weeks a test every week before the quarter starts. I had a 3.1 sGPA and a I got a C in my UC biochem course. I also took a ridiculous amount of upper division bio courses to balance out my crappy first 2 years of undergrad. Maybe I just came in overestimating dental school but I got my results back for the first test and got a 49/50 possibly a 49/49 if the professor decides to omit one of the questions that people have been asking him about. So in a nutshell, take as many bio courses as you can in undergrad they will definitely help you amplify your knowledge of bio. But the first 2 years of dental school will be like an extension of undergrad from what I hear of the D2's here. They say the material will not be harder but there will be much more of it so be prepared to memorize alot.

 

[Mykani]

Trust me dental school isn't as tough as you would think... Well Its only been a week since I started this pre-session here in LLU where you just take biochem alone for 3 weeks a test every week before the quarter starts. I had a 3.1 sGPA and a I got a C in my UC biochem course. I also took a ridiculous amount of upper division bio courses to balance out my crappy first 2 years of undergrad. Maybe I just came in overestimating dental school but I got my results back for the first test and got a 49/50 possibly a 49/49 if the professor decides to omit one of the questions that people have been asking him about. So in a nutshell, take as many bio courses as you can in undergrad they will definitely help you amplify your knowledge of bio. But the first 2 years of dental school will be like an extension of undergrad from what I hear of the D2's here. They say the material will not be harder but there will be much more of it so be prepared to memorize alot.

Thank you for the feedback shiftypoptart! And congrats on getting into d school!!!! So jealous~~ I hope you keep doing that well!

Anyway, I've heard that biochem is useful for dental school but do you recommend other science courses? I'm planning to take molecular cell biology and biochemistry as my only upper bio courses, however, I'm taking molecular cell with organic chem, the two infamous seeding courses in my college. I'm just wary if taking upper bio is worth sacrificing my gpa for..
It's very sad.. I sound like I'm obsessing over statistics and numbers over gaining actual knowledge but from what I read, adcoms are just brutal when it comes to gpa and numbers. 🙁 So I resort to.. paranoia. Blah.

 

[Veloce]

Here's a scale to put it in perspective from best to worst


High GPA + hard classes > High GPA + easy classes >> Ave GPA + hard classes > Ave GPA + easy classes.

Don't sacrifice your GPA no matter what. I took one science class a semester and had an average GPA and I got in.

I think if you get accepted you will be good enough to handle dental school.

The 4.0 students don't seem to be handling the coursework any better than the 3.4 gpa students, and in some cases worse. I think motivation matters more than ability to get high grades in doing well in dental school.

I went to the same school for undergrad, and it's very different. In Dental school the information is interesting, the professors are excellent, and the other students really motivate you. I always struggled to do well in undergrad, but dental school is more straightforward, the professors are on your side, they aren't trying to fail you.

edit:

I took only the prereqs. I highly recommend taking Anatomy even if you have to take a slight hit to your GPA.

 

[shiftypoptart]

Thank you for the feedback shiftypoptart! And congrats on getting into d school!!!! So jealous~~ I hope you keep doing that well!

Anyway, I've heard that biochem is useful for dental school but do you recommend other science courses? I'm planning to take molecular cell biology and biochemistry as my only upper bio courses, however, I'm taking molecular cell with organic chem, the two infamous seeding courses in my college. I'm just wary if taking upper bio is worth sacrificing my gpa for..
It's very sad.. I sound like I'm obsessing over statistics and numbers over gaining actual knowledge but from what I read, adcoms are just brutal when it comes to gpa and numbers. 🙁 So I resort to.. paranoia. Blah.

Haha thx. But yeah def biochem helps, and cell biology will definitely get you familiarized with tyrosine kinase proteins and cAMP cascade reactions which in my biochem class right now are talked about frequently. But yeah everything veloce says is exactly right. If you can get accepted into D-School you will graduate D school the hardest part is getting in. Thats why dschool have a like 95% pass rate for boards and graduation. Professors here will do everything they can to help you out weeding out is no longer an issue (unless you wanna specialize). Also yeah I came in a below average gpa student and now I'm doing great so Motivation > Undergrad GPA Its actually better to learn your lesson in undergrad then start doing well in dschool. So goodluck and go to the counselor and pick up a list of the recommended bio courses d school say to take (usually histology, anatomy, physio) and they will help, but are not absolutely crucial. Just concentrate on getting a strong GPA and you will get in.

 

[dnl2111]

Here's some of my knowledge on this topic. Take it for what it's worth.

About 10-15+ years ago, schools (both med and dental) liked non-science majors since it added more diversity to the class. However, what they discovered from this "experiment" was non-science majors tended to struggle in the program than their science major counterparts. So within the past few years schools have reverted back to favoring science majors and being hesitant toward non-science.

Since dental school curriculum is super intense, they like applicants who demonstrate they can handle multiple science courses (minimum 2) in a given semester. Now for science majors, this isn't an issue since they'll need to take at least 2 or 3 simultaneously in order to graduate.

I'm not saying that non-science majors can't get accepted, but they need to make themselves better applicants academically by taking more science courses.

Good luck!

I've totally seen this in med school admissions! Out of 13 different interviewers, only one didn't rake me over the coals for majoring in finance (and having a masters in advanced finance from Columbia), despite the fact that I ALSO snagged a general sciences major. I even had one interviewer make me name off every science class I have taken. The one guy that liked the finance major--a DVM in private practice. Took biochem, gross anatomy, even a grad class on artificial organs, and still had one guy say it looked more like I wanted to be an engineer than a doctor. I've heard everyone say that diverse academic backgrounds work in your favor. I've even heard Deans say that the important thing is that you do well in whatever you major in, but then the advice to non-science majors is always to take more science classes, which is essentially like saying that a non-science background works against you, thus necessitating the completion of additional science class.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=872318

 

[mc719]

Hi all,

I know.. dental school is definitely not something to underestimate since the competition has become pretty intense but.. I guess I've become overly paranoid and scared..

I am a psychology major and I have taken most of my pre reqs, have a science gpa of 3.72, overall gpa 3.6, but the only science courses I've taken are chemi/ii, bioi/bioii, physics i.. and a nursing anatomy&physiology course. I'm currently taking organic chem which I've heard is the course that dental schools pay attention to the most.. so I decided to start taking 'filler' and enjoyable classes like sculpture, language, and english to lessen the load..

My problem is.. should I just concentrate on keeping my sgpa and gpa high .. or take more competitive courses like molecular bio/ biochem/ microbiology. I feel so pressured to take these classes since it's become the norm for many pre dents.. but I'm just worried since these courses are not easy(ridiculously hard with averages in C's) in my college and I could potentially screw myself over since I worked hard to get my current gpa..

In a nut shell: Is it "O.K" to just take pre reqs and what are my chances to get into competitive schools like stony, columbia, etc. if I keep my current gpa with no intense bio classes .
Thank you for reading this and hopefully someone can give me some insight..

Don't underestimate your ability to take hard classes and do well in them. The schools look at both the academic load that you were able to handle and the grades.

 

[GenieG]

i am currently taking biochemistry but have not taken any other science courses. i was accepted to both stony brook and columbia. PM me for any more details you'd like!

 

[BU2012]

I took all the basic pre-reqs plus anatomy/physiology. I have not taken biochem, micro, histology, etc. I was accepted to Harvard and my major is public health. So the short answer to your question about upper level science courses is no, they are not required for admittance to higher tier schools. Honestly, I think the smartest major for a dental matriculant would be business/management plus the science pre-reqs. How is cell bio honestly going to help me run a dental practice?

 

[dnl2111]

I took all the basic pre-reqs plus anatomy/physiology. I have not taken biochem, micro, histology, etc. I was accepted to Harvard and my major is public health. So the short answer to your question about upper level science courses is no, they are not required for admittance to higher tier schools. Honestly, I think the smartest major for a dental matriculant would be business/management plus the science pre-reqs. How is cell bio honestly going to help me run a dental practice?

Agreed! And I've heard med school administrators (surely dental school's the same) say they don't want someone who's concerned with running a practice and will reject someone who gives that air.

 

[wired202808]

Hi all,

I know.. dental school is definitely not something to underestimate since the competition has become pretty intense but.. I guess I've become overly paranoid and scared..

I am a psychology major and I have taken most of my pre reqs, have a science gpa of 3.72, overall gpa 3.6, but the only science courses I've taken are chemi/ii, bioi/bioii, physics i.. and a nursing anatomy&physiology course. I'm currently taking organic chem which I've heard is the course that dental schools pay attention to the most.. so I decided to start taking 'filler' and enjoyable classes like sculpture, language, and english to lessen the load..

My problem is.. should I just concentrate on keeping my sgpa and gpa high .. or take more competitive courses like molecular bio/ biochem/ microbiology. I feel so pressured to take these classes since it's become the norm for many pre dents.. but I'm just worried since these courses are not easy(ridiculously hard with averages in C's) in my college and I could potentially screw myself over since I worked hard to get my current gpa..

In a nut shell: Is it "O.K" to just take pre reqs and what are my chances to get into competitive schools like stony, columbia, etc. if I keep my current gpa with no intense bio classes .
Thank you for reading this and hopefully someone can give me some insight..

make sure you study hard and success will be yours 👍