Well-roundedness

[bor0000]

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Every single class that i took in college has been in the sciences, except for a class in accounting(got C+) and a class in english over the summer session, at a different school. I dont plan to take any humanities courses this junior year, but only another class in the senior year. Will schools hate me for this? My science courses on the other hand are diverse.

 

[Yellow Snow]

Doesn't your school have general education requirements? In fulfilling those requirements you should have to take many classes from non-scientific disciplines. Also, many dental schools have non-science pre-req. requirements so you may want to look into those. Often they involve 1 year english, some writing, foreign lang., etc.

 

[bor0000]

no my school doesnt have such requirements(canada, though im from usa). we took general science courses in the fall, while in years 2-4 about 70 of the required 90 credits are the required major courses, the rest can be anything i choose.

i have 5 required courses this fall. but in the spring i do have room for electives. but i wanted to take interesting science electives(like a grad bio course and a math course i like), and i am not good at english.

i know most schools require 2 semesters of english. does this mean i should have the 2 semesters done before i apply, or before i matriculate? i guess even if they dont require me to have completed the english courses(or the biochem) before applying, they will think im not well-rounded if i havent..

 

[Comet208]

I think the well-roundedness that the schools are refering to has more to do with your accomplishments outside of the classroom rather than the courses you have taken. Of course, a class in African history can make you more culturally aware, but being member of most student organizations, volunteering at an elementary school, or being an athelete can teach you a lot of things than will mever be written in any textbook nor will they be taught in any classroom. That is what they are looking for.

 

[DinoDentist]

I think the well-roundedness that the schools are refering to has more to do with your accomplishments outside of the classroom rather than the courses you have taken. Of course, a class in African history can make you more culturally aware, but being member of most student organizations, volunteering at an elementary school, or being an athelete can teach you a lot of things than will mever be written in any textbook nor will they be taught in any classroom. That is what they are looking for.

Although I do think being apart of student organizations, volunteering, and other outside interest is a very important part of the package, when I specifically asked Mark Mitchell (Dean of Admissions at OHSU) about this, he said that they definetly encourage taking plenty of writing, speech and communications, business classes, etc. If you haven't taken many other classes and are getting ready to appy, I wouldn't fret over it one bit, as it is probably the last the they look for in a prospective student. However, if you are just starting your college career or are not very far along I would definetly recommend planning some broader coursework into your schedule although, almost any universities GE requirements should give you way more of these types of classes than needed. My 2 cents.

 

[bor0000]

I'll be a junior. it is inconvenient for me to take any humanities classes untill senior year, and to take biochem(i dont really like it, i'd rather take neurobiology). of course i will take the 2nd semester of english before i graduate college. but will the schools look down on my application if i havent taken it? it seems to me that some schools even say you must complete all the prerequisites before you apply, not before you matriculate. But then i would have to take this lame humanities course instead of taking an interesting grad-level science course. i am still not good at english, but i started reading books recently, so i think by next year, if they question me about how well-read i am during interview, i'll be able to defend myself. but i dont want to be even rejected from the interview because i didnt take the right prerequisites in the junior year.

my schedule for junior year may look like this:
fall:
analysis
probability
dynamics&chaos
math methods in bio
neurobiology (should i replace it with the required biochem?)
spring:
analysis
statistics
stochastic processes (should i take english instead? this is the only interesting+easy math course in which i could definitely get an A, as opposed to the other 2 difficult and boring math courses. And i doubt if i could even get an easy english teacher for that time slot, and even if i did i am still afraid i would get a C in that class, because i suck)
advanced cardiovascular physiology
neural basis&behavior (since this is a grad course and i dont have the fall prereq, i should then replace it with another tedious biochem class?)

 

[KHANSAHAAB]

I would take a humanities course if I were u. It will show to the adcom that you have taken courses outside of the sciences and its a gpa booster (in my opinion).

 

[bor0000]

I can tell one thing for sure, i doubt that a humanities course is a gpa booster. It may be easier to get a C or a B, but i cant see myself getting an A, unless they either make the exams multiple choice(so i could memorize some novel and fill in the blanks) or if i cheated, ha. But of course if it is vital to school admissions that ive taken a humanities courses before applying then i could substitute for a statistics course(which i would then be required to take in the senior year and would be a pain in the ass for my final semester; and also im afraid statistics is very important in ugrad research, in any numerical methods...). I wonder if a good DAT Reading score might excuse me from taking the humanities course in the junior year(i'd take it in the senior year)? At least i could do a lot of studying for DAT and the exam is multiple choice...

 

[KHANSAHAAB]

I can tell one thing for sure, i doubt that a humanities course is a gpa booster. It may be easier to get a C or a B, but i cant see myself getting an A, unless they either make the exams multiple choice(so i could memorize some novel and fill in the blanks) or if i cheated, ha. But of course if it is vital to school admissions that ive taken a humanities courses before applying then i could substitute for a statistics course(which i would then be required to take in the senior year and would be a pain in the ass for my final semester; and also im afraid statistics is very important in ugrad research, in any numerical methods...). I wonder if a good DAT Reading score might excuse me from taking the humanities course in the junior year(i'd take it in the senior year)? At least i could do a lot of studying for DAT and the exam is multiple choice...

I've heard from friends that humanities courses dealing with religon are very easy and an 80+ can be achieved quite effortlessly.