Should I take Genetics before applying to dental school?

[jw06]

Hello, I am a Sophomore who is planning to apply in Junior year. How important is taking Genetics before dental school? It is not required by any of the dental schools but recommended to take by many of them. I have a lot of courses to complete since I changed my major last semester so I was wondering if I need to add it in my class layout for the next 3 years which is already bursting with classes.

P.S. Also, what do you think about applying in Senior year? That means more time to prepare but also means there would be a gap year. I would be grateful if you have any thoughts on this!

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[deleted945327]

Well to give you a look at how things went in my experience...I’m a psychology major and I took the DAT last year summer’18 receiving a 17 on Biology. I then decided to take genetics in the fall of 2018 and take comparative anatomy in the winter of 2019. Both courses were taken and I achieved the grades I wanted. Now for the outcome on taking the DAT the second time this past summer, my score jumped from a 17 to a 20 in biology. Needless to say, you do learn a lot about genetics in dental school so it would be a good class to take now and genetics will definitely help you on the DAT as you’re more familiar with small topics from genetics for the DAT.

 

[BluntForceTrauma]

. Needless to say, you do learn a lot about genetics in dental school .

What?

 

[deleted945327]

What?

Well not a lot but you do learn about genetic diseases patients have.

 

[TheDentalSchoolCoach]

Hello, I am a Sophomore who is planning to apply in Junior year. How important is taking Genetics before dental school? It is not required by any of the dental schools but recommended to take by many of them. I have a lot of courses to complete since I changed my major last semester so I was wondering if I need to add it in my class layout for the next 3 years which is already bursting with classes.

P.S. Also, what do you think about applying in Senior year? That means more time to prepare but also means there would be a gap year. I would be grateful if you have any thoughts on this!

Genetics is a good class to take. Some of your DAT Bio questions will be genetics related. Now, you are probably going to be fine just using what you learned in gen bio. But, It's a good course nonetheless.

Do you need it for getting into dental school? I didn't take it and still got into dental schools. But, the more upper level bio courses you take, the better for you.

 

[BluntForceTrauma]

Well not a lot but you do learn about genetic diseases patients have.

Eh, I guess I'll give you that, but other than that, there's no genetics anywhere. And the extent of that which you do learn is "this disease is x-linked" or something of that sort. More of a fact to know rather than a concept to understand.

 

[FanOfCostco]

Eh, I guess I'll give you that, but other than that, there's no genetics anywhere. And the extent of that which you do learn is "this disease is x-linked" or something of that sort. More of a fact to know rather than a concept to understand.

I agree. Plus you’re just gonna forget all about it age after boards.

 

[deleted945327]

Overall, take genetics before the DAT so you can do better on the biology section. When I studied genetics for the DAT after having taken the course, it was so much more easier to comprehend the information and you waste less time focusing on it as it won’t be a weakness of yours giving you more time to focus on a weakness.

 

[deleted945327]

Overall, take genetics before the DAT so you can do better on the biology section. When I studied genetics for the DAT after having taken the course, it was so much more easier to comprehend the information and you waste less time focusing on it as it won’t be a weakness of yours giving you more time to focus on a weakness.

I was worried also about the fact that I didn’t take physiology, but I just put more time into it and I did fine. Taking any biology course (genetics, physiology, anatomy, evolution, etc.) that can show up on the DAT will definitely help you do better. That’s just what I know from experience and what others have told me numerous times.

 

[Cello]

I don't recommend it. If I could go back in time, I would take a class I would have aced rather than the B I worked so hard for in genetics. I struggled through the class, and all of the stuff I learned (Bayes' Theorem for example) didn't help me at all in dental school. Maybe it was just my particular genetics and dental school experience, but all of the stuff we learned about translocations, and calculating the location of an allele using statistics was worthless in dental school. And I have 100% forgotten pretty much all of it now too. Pretty much nothing I learned was helpful for the DAT either. If I was going to take a genetics class, I would take Human Genetics as my college friends said it was much more useful for the health professions.

 

[thisismyacct]

Genetics doesn't interest me so I wouldn't take it.

 

[deleted945327]

I don't recommend it. If I could go back in time, I would take a class I would have aced rather than the B I worked so hard for in genetics. I struggled through the class, and all of the stuff I learned (Bayes' Theorem for example) didn't help me at all in dental school. Maybe it was just my particular genetics and dental school experience, but all of the stuff we learned about translocations, and calculating the location of an allele using statistics was worthless in dental school. And I have 100% forgotten pretty much all of it now too. Pretty much nothing I learned was helpful for the DAT either. If I was going to take a genetics class, I would take Human Genetics as my college friends said it was much more useful for the health professions.

I think it was just your genetics class in general to be honest. Mine helped me a good amount.