What major should I choose between Biology, Chemistry, and Biochem?

[ZachSaw1]

I think I will have equal interest in each, but I can't decide. Which will probably give me the best GPA, and which will give me the best career opportunities if I later end up not being a dentist? I will go to the University of Minnesota, if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Quinque]

I’m a Biology major, and I think Bio would be the easiest to maintain a high gpa between those 3 majors. I heard that biochemistry and chemistry majors have a lot of really hard chemistry upper level classes that you would need to take.

 

[dent for the win]

I think I will have equal interest in each, but I can't decide. Which will probably give me the best GPA, and which will give me the best career opportunities if I later end up not being a dentist? I will go to the University of Minnesota, if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

I'm a chem major and I don't recommend you go through that route for dental school. In my institution it was suited more for a research career. Bio will also help with the DAT bio section. You're going to have to take ochem and gchem anyway so being a chem major isn't necessarily an advantage where as genetics, anatomy, microbio, etc courses would help.

 

[PerioPlease]

I think if you like more theory stuff, go for bio. More of a math person, look at chem. And if you enjoy o-chem, biochem is pretty similar to that.

However, I would recommend possibly going for an alternate major that can still apply for health. It really can set up apart from the thousandth biology major. For instance, a nutrition major. Many schools even offer a nutritional science degree which is designed for, and fills the pre-reqs for medicine and dentistry. Honestly - what you learn in those classes is more applicable than a lot of biology and chemistry classes. It's learning about disease, and the importance of vitamins and minerals in regards to enzymatic processes in your body. You can also always go into clinical dietetics after college if dentistry doesn't work out.

 

[ThirdMolarz]

Biology major here. If I could go back to undergrad, I'd work harder earlier and work harder as a biochem major

 

[ppaa]

biochem major here. It sucked at times but it really helped me on the DAT. Also not to mention some interviewers would be like "wow an A in pchem? Thats great! Or how's that class treating you." It definitely impresses people if you do well in that major!

 

[deleted903013]

I'd do business, honestly. I regret majoring in science big time. I feel something like a finance degree would be very much worth while, especially if you end up not going to dental school. Between the majors you listed, Bio would be the easiest. I'm a bio major, and for my upper level elective I took extremely easy courses like marine biology which was pretty much a free A. Upper level biochemistry and chemistry courses can be terrifying and possibly tank your gpa, like pchem.

 

[Stanelz]

If i could go back I would do engineering and take the prereqs

If dental school didnt work out id still be making bank and as a dentist I could use my engineering skills to maybe design a product and make millions. lol

I always tell people, if you want to make money and thats all that matters to you, get an engineering degree.

 

[Pearl E. White]

Biochem major here. I feel that it definitely prepared me for the chem portions of the DAT and my good grades in the upper division chemistry courses MIGHT help with interviews (I can talk about the difficulty and learning to deal with time consuming reports etc), but PChem sucks. I enjoy my major because of the difficulty though and many students at my uni drop this major due to the difficulty. I will be able to say that I toughed it out.
In the end though, you should choose the one that interests you the most because that is what you will be spending all your time learning. I agree with others business, engineering, etc are also good choices. Best of luck!

 

[tattooeddentist]

I graduated with a biology degree and grew to hate it. If Dentistry fell through I'd be doomed. If I had to go back to school, I would have majored in something fun like videography and minored in bio / chem and just did all my dental school prerequisites. I will never use my biology degree, and I could have learned a thing or two about shooting videos and paid to increase a hobby of mine, AND STILL get into dental school because all you need are the prereqs. Haha maybe that's just me but bio... I like it, but not that much

 

[Medin2017]

I was a biochemistry major my first year but then switched to biology when I realized we didn't need that information for medical school (originally premed with minor interest in dentistry). The math classes were annoying and I'm glad I switched because it was easier to ace the biology classes and they helped on the dat. My b's in undergrad came from one upper level calculus and a semester after I took my dat due to burnout, and I probably would have had to work much harder in undergraduate years had I stayed in biochemistry.

The biology majors I know are doing fine in both medical and dental school so don't worry about an easier major not preparing you.

 

[DentalNucleicAcid]

Choose a biology major and enjoy college. Never understood why adults said college is the best time of your life, now I completely get it, having graduated last semester and working a 9-5 before starting dental school.

For the DAT, the biochem you need to know is very minimal.

No need to stress yourself out more than you need to with a Chem-based major.

 

[I-hate-alginate]

I majored in biomedical science which is similar to biology, if times goes back, I would do it again. It prepared me well in classes that I will be taking in dental school and I enjoy bio classes more than chemistry. At the end of the day, it really don't matter what you major in as long as you have a good GPA. You won't be using any of these degrees in the future

 

[BatedPenguin]

Biology. Enjoy college.

Unless you really have a passion for something else (business, art, etc) or you are a masochist (then do chemistry)

 

[Life of Pablo]

The one that you can get the highest grades in 🙂

Seriously though, your major doesn't matter, but your GPA does. Do Biology majors have a slight edge entering dental school because they've taken more upper division bio classes? Probably. But, the edge they have really doesn't make too much of a difference. If you enjoy Biochemistry/chemistry, do that.

Here's a warning though: I'm a chemistry major and currently dying in P chem 2. Help