What to do after graduation

[h_gal]

Hi everybody
I have a question for everybody. I am a liberal studies/sociology major right now. I have taken a lot of bio classes (or to be more precise i have taken my prerequisites for dental school) However things like org. chem almost murdered my gpa. In the past one year my gpa has come up i have retained an above 3.0 every sem. I am about to graduate this semester. I have been considering getting into grad school to do some business(with the idea that am going to need the business skills if i end up as a dentist) as i am in the process of applying to dental school.My question is will i look bad for taking business grad-school classes or should i just try and get into a biology graduate program? Note that being a non-bio major has also put some limitations on the graduate programs i can choose from. Or should i even not go into any grad school at all, and instead just take post-bacc classes? What is your advice i would really appreciate any input.

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[Beagle]

Hey Yoyo
Where in Mo are you from?
I think that if your GPA is relatively high right now and you do well on your DAT scores than there is no reason to go to grad school.
Just apply and see what happens. However, if your grades aren't the best, (esp your math/sci gpa) than do consider grad school or a post bach program. Those will definatly help to improve your Science GPA and provide you with more information that you may need in dental school.
You are limited to some grad programs in Biology if you were not a Bio major, but you can still apply and you'd be suprised who would accept you. Also, the masters program I am at right now (Masters in Biology) is a nonthesis based masters program and many of the people in my courses were not bio majors...It's relatively easy to get into and as well

 

[h_gal]

Thankyou so much Beagle for the advice. I am from St. Louis MO. My Sci gpa is not very strong...(actually i haven't calculated it, but after flunking Org chem and getting C's in both Gen Chem, am assuming it's not good) My weakness is really Chem coz i do well in my bio classes. Anyways as i was saying...i guess i'd probably have to go grad school. Do you mind telling me what grad school you are in? Thanks again.

 

[Yah-E]

YO YO!!

I came from an extremely POOR GPA foundation and I turned myself around and strengthened my application tremendously where dental schools know that I mean business when I applied to them!

Listen, this is what I would strongly recommend! With your weak science GPA, once you graduate, go back and take more science courses. You've mentioned that you failed Organic, go back and retake it and kick butt in it! To make yourself look even more determined, take a full load of upper division science courses with your Organic Chem!! Courses that you should strongly consider are all the -ology courses. Histology, Embriology, Microbiology, Pathology, Cell Biology, Physiology, Biochemistry, Anatomy, and/or a Genetics course.

Couple of things, those courses listed above do not need to be a graduate level courses, dental schools simply want to see you master science courses. Usually a 300(0) or 400(0) level undergraduate courses are sufficient. Remember upper division science courses. If graduate science courses are available to you and you are able to enroll in them, that's even a better plus!

I would recommend this route in leu to a graduate business program or any structured graduate program, in your case, because it sounds to me that your GPA is presentable, but you need to increase your science GPA!! As a college graduate, you should be able just to take classes full time without aiming towards a graduate degree (non-degree seeking student), you might want to talk to your college counselor about how you are able to take more science courses without official enrolled into a structured program!

Another option is the Post-bac. program. You'll have to a lot of research on your part to find a post-bac. program that suit your needs and that will accept you with your few science courses under your belt.

DO NOT go for a grad. program in business! Your primary goal is to increase your science GPA not your overall GPA! A grad. program in business will not increase your science GPA! Study hard, graduate, and enroll into more science courses! Definitely retake Organic Chem and I would even consider both of your General Chemistry courses as well! Remember, "A"s and "B"s!!! Hope this gives you some post-graduation direction!

 

[Beagle]

Hey Yoyo
I am in st. louis too!!!! I go to WashU
Where do you go? Well if you go to Washu, maybe you have heard of their MA Bio program. I also failed ochem the first time I took it, got C's in Gen Chem, and ochem when I retook it. My bio classes were decent, but I had some C's along the way. I ended up with an overall GPA of something like 2.97 when I graduated. Anyway, I was accepted into the MA program at WashU and it's pretty good. The courses you take though, are more Molecular Bio based, although there are a few ones that may help in dental school. As far as getting a masters in Business, I agree with Yah-zzz...it'd be more worth your time to do a post bacc in science or a masters in science.
Anyway, I hope this help and let me know if you have anymore questions!
beagle