Science courses

[Svart Aske]

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My current science (including calculus and statistics) GPA is about 3.6, but I've only taken the prerequisite science courses + biochemistry. Should I take more science classes (the few classes available to me are either irrelevant to the DAT or difficult enough to potentially pull my GPA down).

If one does well on the DAT (hopefully), how heavily does one's science history weigh in the decision process? Thanks.

 

[iSmile5]

I think it depends on your major/where you are applying... some schools do require extra science courses that are not prerequisites like Microbiology for Michigan. Besides that a lot of schools require extra semesters of biology (upper level) and physics (not tested on DAT)

 

[pidbull]

yes I hear a lot of schools prefer applicants with upper year science courses. It depends on your program tho, obviously if you are in engineering you might not have time for extra bio courses. They do look at your course selection tho, they need to know if you can handle dental school.

 

[Andrew324]

From what I hear, even if you dont need the classes to get into Dental School, taking the extra sciences will help. Dental school = science school, so getting all those extra bios in senior year will help make Dental school easier.

 

[TeamGuo]

yea all the admissions said = upper level bio courses = good.

that's why I picked up BS in bio instead of just doing Chem.

 

[doc3232]

I disagree...I think upper division classes are easy and that there is no reason not to take them. They aren't like the weed-out classes where they give 10% A's and it is full of pre-health students trying to get one.
These classes have less pre-health majors...much easier. And the profs take it easy on the students.

 

[TeamGuo]

I disagree...I think upper division classes are easy and that there is no reason not to take them. They aren't like the weed-out classes where they give 10% A's and it is full of pre-health students trying to get one.
These classes have less pre-health majors...much easier. And the profs take it easy on the students.

that all depends on the individual profs. My upper level courses weren't easy at all... most of the weed out classes were way easier than my upp. level courses for me.

 

[Svart Aske]

Thanks for the replies. I am registered for ecology this coming fall (was going to take evolution, but heard that it's near-impossible to get an A in that class). I will probably take physiology in spring (hopefully it will work out even if I don't have anatomy under my belt).

 

[shoombol tallah]

I disagree...I think upper division classes are easy and that there is no reason not to take them. They aren't like the weed-out classes where they give 10% A's and it is full of pre-health students trying to get one.
These classes have less pre-health majors...much easier. And the profs take it easy on the students.

I wish i went to your school man. I know for my 400 level science classes my senior year we had graduate students in there as well ( our department wasn't well funded so they tried to save money that way). We all took the same tests and had pretty much the same requirements except the graduate students had to write an extra paper. My upper division muscle anatomy class was much harder than my gen chem or even human anatomy and physiology class.

 

[doc3232]

I wish i went to your school man. I know for my 400 level science classes my senior year we had graduate students in there as well ( our department wasn't well funded so they tried to save money that way). We all took the same tests and had pretty much the same requirements except the graduate students had to write an extra paper. My upper division muscle anatomy class was much harder than my gen chem or even human anatomy and physiology class.

Hahahaha, that's must have been fun...which school. What % A's?
Then again, one of my classes is like 20 hour lab a week and I have to write a paper for that.

 

[cherr1pop]

I disagree...I think upper division classes are easy and that there is no reason not to take them. They aren't like the weed-out classes where they give 10% A's and it is full of pre-health students trying to get one.
These classes have less pre-health majors...much easier. And the profs take it easy on the students.

i wish i was at your school too...
since so many people are weeded out by the time they reach upper division, you're competing with a group that's much more capable than before the weeding out...
although i did hear someone saying that since upper division concentrates more on specific topics,it makes it easier for you to understand and grasp yourself of the concepts rather than like general bio/chem where they throw everything at you and the topic changes every other week..

 

[shoombol tallah]

Hahahaha, that's must have been fun...which school. What % A's?
Then again, one of my classes is like 20 hour lab a week and I have to write a paper for that.

Rather not say the school but i remember for my biomechanics class the Doctoral student was freaking out because he could only give out so many A's and he had to figure how to even things out lol. I dont remember the percentages exactly but it was around 5-6 people who got A's out of 20 or so students. Not to mention stupid +/- . So if you wanted an A or 4.0 you had to get above a 93% which came out to 3 or 4 people.

 

[rewJW]

I disagree...I think upper division classes are easy and that there is no reason not to take them. They aren't like the weed-out classes where they give 10% A's and it is full of pre-health students trying to get one.
These classes have less pre-health majors...much easier. And the profs take it easy on the students.

Geez I wish I had it that good with my upper division classes. In two of the 400 level bios I took, I was one of two A minuses in the entire class (of each course)... each course had about 48 people, and there were no A's awarded. Tough profs. I worked my *** off to earn the A- in each of those classes. And generally everybody in those classes was a bio major trying to get into med or grad school.

 

[doc toothache]

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