Which major should I go for? [Undergrad]

[taehkim]

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Hello
I'm sure you guys have heard this a million times, but I really need your insight D:

So I've received my acceptances (I'm a HS Senior), and so far I'm boiled down to GaTech and UMiami. I plan on going to dental for grad school, so I'm gonna take the dental pre-req courses in my undergraduate studies. But here's the problem.

I got into Biology at UM and Engineering at GaTech, but I feel that both are not the best choices for a future dental student. Browsing through this forum, I found that Biology wouldn't be such a good choice since it's a very repetitive and common major among other dental applicants(60-70% if I recall correctly). On the other hand, people tell me that engineering at GaTech is extremely difficult and requires an incredible amount of effort to maintain a high GPA.

And so I've decided to choose different majors to make me stand out more, rather than Chemistry/Bio. Until now I've thought of other things like Kinesiology, Philosophy, and Neuroscience (but of course changing majors would mean transferring majors within UM and GT or choosing another school altogether). If I move out of Biology, will it limit my ability to follow the pre-req dental courses or no, in your experience?



Ahh I'm so confused, I don't know what to do. 🙁

 

[1992Corolla]

Dental schools don't really care what your undergraduate study major was, as long as it has science classes included and you kee p a good GPA. Pick what YOU want to do. I will tell you this, you won't be doing any engineering in dental school, it's not like you are making bridges or anything....wait, bad example. Anyway, biology includes many courses you would see in dental school like anatomy, physiology, micro, etc.

I personally would stay in the sciences. If biology has you feeling 'not different enough', then pick another one:
Microbiology
Zoology (personal favorite of mine)
Immunology
Neuroscience (as you mentioned)

Seriously though, there is nothing wrong with going with bio, just as long as that GPA is maintained. Good luck.

 

[blankguy]

Just major in whatever you are interested regardless of what everybody else does. It's your life. You are going to have your own path towards dental school. Don't let the fact that your major is 'popular' among predents deter you. What is going to matter is how well you do in the major.

There are people who get into dental school who major in social sciences, that may not fit into an 'appropriate' major to some but who cares. As long as you do well in the prereqs and major you'll be fine. 👍

Hello
I'm sure you guys have heard this a million times, but I really need your insight D:

So I've received my acceptances (I'm a HS Senior), and so far I'm boiled down to GaTech and UMiami. I plan on going to dental for grad school, so I'm gonna take the dental pre-req courses in my undergraduate studies. But here's the problem.

I got into Biology at UM and Engineering at GaTech, but I feel that both are not the best choices for a future dental student. Browsing through this forum, I found that Biology wouldn't be such a good choice since it's a very repetitive and common major among other dental applicants(60-70% if I recall correctly). On the other hand, people tell me that engineering at GaTech is extremely difficult and requires an incredible amount of effort to maintain a high GPA.

And so I've decided to choose different majors to make me stand out more, rather than Chemistry/Bio. Until now I've thought of other things like Kinesiology, Philosophy, and Neuroscience (but of course changing majors would mean transferring majors within UM and GT or choosing another school altogether). If I move out of Biology, will it limit my ability to follow the pre-req dental courses or no, in your experience?



Ahh I'm so confused, I don't know what to do. 🙁

 

[UNMPDS]

I would do the major that you like, but also do what you can maintain a good GPA in. I have a friend who majored in Mechanical Engineering, and he only had a 2.9 GPA upon graduation, which is really good in ME standards, but when he applied to dental school that GPA is all they saw and they didn't even consider what it was in. He didn't get accepted, even though he got a 20 on the DAT. So just be careful and choose a major that you can get mostly A's and B's in, because GPA and DAT are the biggest factors when getting into dental school. Good luck.

 

[taehkim]

Thanks for all the kind responses.

Now that I think of it, I think I'm gonna transfer to some other BIOLOGY-esque major rather than going to something hardcore like engineering (I've heard that people have a real hard time getting a high GPA and are rejected to Dental school because of this)


I still gotta think it over though.

 

[UCSF2012]

Whatever. Bio majors are a dime a dozen. It's not a surprise that any other majors are in higher demand. I majored in women's studies and Harvard and Columbia were more than interested in my unique studies. Most patients in dental clinics are women and having such a background def would give you an upper hand in the admissions process. You should consider womens' studies yourself.

 

[taehkim]

Thanks for the suggestion, Women's studies seems very unique. But what's it really about, history of women? :S

On a side note:
Does anyone know about the campus life in both GaTech and UMiami?
People tell me that Atlanta is a dead city, while UMiami is such a big party school that it distracts you from your studies.

 

[SHC1984]

I was a chemistry major. The overall experisence was great, except Physical Chemistry really kick my a**...🙄 so I changed to a BA instead....

I would recommend Chemistry or if you want something more "fun" then psychology.

Business is also a great major b/c its useful! if you want to open a private practice I am sure a business degree will help a great deal!

Good luck! 🙂

 

[airsimon]

I'll put a plug in for Neuroscience... it's great!

 

[mashimlro]

Whatever. Bio majors are a dime a dozen. It's not a surprise that any other majors are in higher demand. I majored in women's studies and Harvard and Columbia were more than interested in my unique studies. Most patients in dental clinics are women and having such a background def would give you an upper hand in the admissions process. You should consider womens' studies yourself.

jk...

 

[dson]

I was a chemistry major. The overall experisence was great, except Physical Chemistry really kick my a**...🙄 so I changed to a BA instead....

I would recommend Chemistry or if you want something more "fun" then psychology.

Business is also a great major b/c its useful! if you want to open a private practice I am sure a business degree will help a great deal!

Good luck! 🙂

I'm a chemistry major and will be taking P Chem next semester... is it really that tough?

 

[blankguy]

I'm a chemistry major and will be taking P Chem next semester... is it really that tough?

From what I hear it is quite an adventure taking that course. Glad I wasn't a chem major.

 

[MnBr63]

I may catch flack for saying this and I honestly don't intend to insult anyones choice of major as a predent... but we always hear:
"It doesn't matter what you major in during your undergrad as long as you get your prereqs done. Majoring in a science is common because the degree usually has most of the prereqs as requirements, but you should choose a major that you will enjoy."

I agree fully that you should select a major that interests you... However, the last line of that speech kind of bothers me because if you are a predent, premed, prevet, prepharm, etc. shouldn't biology/ chemistry (or a variation of the science) be of high interest to you, and something that you enjoy? Yes there are degrees that are useful to you in a way in dentistry, but it seems that with such an intense concentration of biology and science during your first years in these professional schools, science should more appealing to you than, as an example, Constitutional Theory. Also, schools like to see you take more upper division bios, which may prove difficult to add in your schedule if you already have a rigorous workload in your, lets say, aerospace engineering major or Broadcast Journalism.

Again, not to knock anybody's major at all... and I understand how other things besides science could interest you...but shouldn't one's interest in dentistry be more because of its high science component, instead of the chance for one to manage their own business?

 

[blankguy]

I may catch flack for saying this and I honestly don't intend to insult anyones choice of major as a predent... but we always hear:
"It doesn't matter what you major in during your undergrad as long as you get your prereqs done. Majoring in a science is common because the degree usually has most of the prereqs as requirements, but you should choose a major that you will enjoy."

I agree fully that you should select a major that interests you... However, the last line of that speech kind of bothers me because if you are a predent, premed, prevet, prepharm, etc. shouldn't biology/ chemistry (or a variation of the science) be of high interest to you, and something that you enjoy? Yes there are degrees that are useful to you in a way in dentistry, but it seems that with such an intense concentration of biology and science during your first years in these professional schools, science should more appealing to you than, as an example, Constitutional Theory. Also, schools like to see you take more upper division bios, which may prove difficult to add in your schedule if you already have a rigorous workload in your, lets say, aerospace engineering major or Broadcast Journalism.

Again, not to knock anybody's major at all... and I understand how other things besides science could interest you...but shouldn't one's interest in dentistry be more because of its high science component, instead of the chance for one to manage their own business?

Generally it is true. People major in something that is related to what they are going to be doing as a career. However there are exceptions. This question seems to pop up whenever somebody is interested on something that doesn't seem to be related to their careers. In this case dentistry is science based career so at the very least if you are not majoring in the sciences you should demonstrate proficiency in the sciences.

 

[taehkim]

Hmm Business Management sounds useful, but I don't know if that would be the BEST option to go for. With that said, I think that General Bio wouldn't be as fun for me, though I really don't know what I'm getting into specifically.

I've poked around several other bio majors and so far neuroscience seems to interest me the most...(anyone here are/have been a neuroscience major and can comment about it? 😀)

 

[MnBr63]

Hmm Business Management sounds useful, but I don't know if that would be the BEST option to go for. With that said, I think that General Bio wouldn't be as fun for me, though I really don't know what I'm getting into specifically.

I've poked around several other bio majors and so far neuroscience seems to interest me the most...(anyone here are/have been a neuroscience major and can comment about it? 😀)

I earned a Bachelor of Arts in "Biology." I could have gone for a Bachelor of Science in Neurobio, Human Biology, Microbio, Cell Bio, Plant bio, Marine bio, etc... but I went with a BA in biology because my school's curriculum allowed BAs to choose which upper division Bios they wanted to take instead of going on set path in neurobio, or microbio, etc.. I took classes in each of those sciences listed above plus many others. We had a semester less of calculus than the BS degrees(which eliminates half of the premeds their first year), but were required to become fluent in a foreign language (learning spanish helps a lot.) A degree in "biology" just allowed me to dabble in each of the branches of bio and take more of what you want.

 

[taehkim]

I earned a Bachelor of Arts in "Biology." I could have gone for a Bachelor of Science in Neurobio, Human Biology, Microbio, Cell Bio, Plant bio, Marine bio, etc... but I went with a BA in biology because my school's curriculum allowed BAs to choose which upper division Bios they wanted to take instead of going on set path in neurobio, or microbio, etc.. I took classes in each of those sciences listed above plus many others. We had a semester less of calculus than the BS degrees(which eliminates half of the premeds their first year), but were required to become fluent in a foreign language (learning spanish helps a lot.) A degree in "biology" just allowed me to dabble in each of the branches of bio and take more of what you want.

That's pretty interesting. So what you're saying is that you did a Biology major where you did a little bit of every Biology-branching course? If that's what you mean, I think that would be a bit more relaxing (what I worry about the most is choosing a major that is too difficult so that it would carry me down and affect me pre-req dent courses).

And if you don't mind me asking, what's the difference between a BA in Bio and a BS in Bio? Is it what I stated above? Sorry about these questions, to be quite honest I have no idea about these college degrees (Bachelors, Masters, and all that jazz).

Edit: Oh, and what do you guys think if I did a minor or double major in Business? I actually think that it might be useful to me, but I need your insight on it as well.

 

[NSUfutureDDS]

Edit: Oh, and what do you guys think if I did a minor or double major in Business? I actually think that it might be useful to me, but I need your insight on it as well.

Eeeh.. a double major? Either means you'll have a ton of classes to squeeze in or you'll grad late. Not sure I'd do a double major if you want to really focus on becoming a dentist and having great grades... Though I'm sure there are others that might think differently... Goodluck.

 

[ummjoey]

i say just major in biology. i personally liked biology and i am glad i picked it. i was able to complete the pre-reqs for dental school and they also counted towards completing my degree.

biology at my university also allowed me to choose any upper division biology class i want to take. i liked to pick what upper division classes to pick because i was able to pick the ones dental schools recommend.

 

[Hotshot12]

I did Exercise Science, basically kinesiology. It was awesome!! Really interesting stuff that i liked and all my pre reqs counted towards my major. Plus I learned a lot about things like physiology, anatomy, and nutrition. All theses will help to some extent in dental school.

 

[doc toothache]

Choosing a degree only as a means to an end is a risky proposition unless you have a crystal ball and you are sure you will succeed. The more critical question that needs to be addressed is 3-4 years from now when you are holding a number of rejections in your left hand and a degree in right hand, which degree would you rather have as your back up plan? Following the pack is equally risky when we take into account that 3.5K biology majors will not gain acceptance in ds.

 

[SanOnofre2002]

Yeah, don't go the engineering route if your not sure of your abilities there. I wasted a year taking ball-busting engineering courses and nearly torpedoed my dentistry chances. Don't worry about being too common as a bio major either. I really doubt adcoms are sick of seeing so many bio majors applying and there's a lot of logical reasons for choosing biology (that have already been mentioned in this thread). If you do feel the need to diferentiate yourself, take any of the concentrations in bio listed above. Personally I think biochemistry is a great one.

 

[SHC1984]

I'm a chemistry major and will be taking P Chem next semester... is it really that tough?

To me physical chemistry was the hardest chemistry class b/c I am very bad at physics and I am okay at calculus....If you are great at physics and calculus then P Chem will be a breeze for you. Good luck! 🙂

 

[1999TL]

Business Management.

 

[Jem27]

That's pretty interesting. So what you're saying is that you did a Biology major where you did a little bit of every Biology-branching course? If that's what you mean, I think that would be a bit more relaxing (what I worry about the most is choosing a major that is too difficult so that it would carry me down and affect me pre-req dent courses).

And if you don't mind me asking, what's the difference between a BA in Bio and a BS in Bio? Is it what I stated above? Sorry about these questions, to be quite honest I have no idea about these college degrees (Bachelors, Masters, and all that jazz).

Edit: Oh, and what do you guys think if I did a minor or double major in Business? I actually think that it might be useful to me, but I need your insight on it as well.

Aside from getting a decent GPA, getting a decent DAT score, and having some form of shadowing/experience in the field of dentistry, all else is superfluous - as far as an acceptance into dental school is concerned (IMO).

There are so many paths one can take to get into the profession, it truly is a matter of doing what you like, granted you meet the qualifications I mentioned above.

To be honest, it's hard to give insight when I don't know your purpose. And while I'm on that, I think it'd be a good idea for you to sit down and start getting clear what your goals are.

Biology seems like the most intuitive choice. If dentistry is what you want, a biology major will probably be the best choice to get there. You could knock both your major and your pre-req requirements out and leave time for other stuff. Still, life isn't always about making the most efficient, economical choices and a sense of satisfaction in what you're studying is important so I reiterate what's already been said, go do what you like.

As far as business goes, why do you want to grab a business major/minor? Is it to maximize your potential at running a more profitable dental practice? Do you fancy yourself a savvy businessman? Do you think it'll give you an edge during interviews? I mean, these are questions you need to be asking yourself. (cause dental schools don't care about business skillz*)

*disclaimer: IMO

 

[Artful Dodger]

I'm doing a (BS) Chemistry-Business major

~30 hours of business/ ~30 hours of chemistry

The business classes are helping me determine ways to provide quality care to patients without sacrificing a great deal (when finances are low). I'm also taking business classes because I have limited knowledge in the area. I want to be prepared to handle it, even though it's not my favorite part of the dental practice. I love it far more than the money....but hey, I need to survive too...but I also gotta do something that'll make me look foward to going to work everyday.

And the science portion of my degree is pretty awesome...pretty much fills my pre-reqs, except the biology courses. Those aren't needed for my major.

Anyways, I feel like I'm getting a pretty good background in both subjects. It's a pretty cool degree, although it's rare that your school would offer it.

 

[SHC1984]

Actually if I can go back in time, I would be a business major. I think its more useful then chemistry...dentistry and everything else in life IS A BUSINESS...Business would be the most useful major. Chemistry is impressive but not as useful...

 

[Artful Dodger]

Actually if I can go back in time, I would be a business major. I think its more useful then chemistry...dentistry and everything else in life IS A BUSINESS...Business would be the most useful major. Chemistry is impressive but not as useful...

Well, the problem with having just a business major is that you'll have to take a lot of unnecessary classes. With my degree, I cut straight to the chase with the most important topics in business education...plus, you fit in the chemistry & biology classes without having to go out of your major to do them (which takes time, of course).

I dunno...it's really all preferential. Do what you please & makes you happy. Go for a music degree, etc. for all i care. but remember to keep in mind that you'll have to do the pre-req courses somewhere in between...it's the reason why a lot of dental school applicants are science majors (out of convenience).

 

[SHC1984]

Well, the problem with having just a business major is that you'll have to take a lot of unnecessary classes. With my degree, I cut straight to the chase with the most important topics in business education...plus, you fit in the chemistry & biology classes without having to go out of your major to do them (which takes time, of course).

I dunno...it's really all preferential. Do what you please & makes you happy. Go for a music degree, etc. for all i care. but remember to keep in mind that you'll have to do the pre-req courses somewhere in between...it's the reason why a lot of dental school applicants are science majors (out of convenience).

I agree fitting in your preq. and all those business classes would take a lot of extra time...I already graduated with a chemisry degree, however I never took any business classes and I kind of regret that b/c its the most useful ones...you need those skills to run your practice.

I think a BA in chemistry and a business degree would be the best option.

 

[taehkim]

Thanks for the replies guys, I really mean it...this is incredibly helpful.

Is a business degree not the same thing as majoring in it? I'm confused. Or is it just a combination of specific business courses that you've picked? If so I think I'm going to go for that.

 

[SHC1984]

Thanks for the replies guys, I really mean it...this is incredibly helpful.

Is a business degree not the same thing as majoring in it? I'm confused. Or is it just a combination of specific business courses that you've picked? If so I think I'm going to go for that.

You are a business major until you graduate then you have a business degree! 😀

I would recommend business/chemistry or business/biology....can't go wrong either way! 🙂

 

[MnBr63]

That's pretty interesting. So what you're saying is that you did a Biology major where you did a little bit of every Biology-branching course? If that's what you mean, I think that would be a bit more relaxing (what I worry about the most is choosing a major that is too difficult so that it would carry me down and affect me pre-req dent courses).

And if you don't mind me asking, what's the difference between a BA in Bio and a BS in Bio? Is it what I stated above? Sorry about these questions, to be quite honest I have no idea about these college degrees (Bachelors, Masters, and all that jazz).

At my school, for bio majors, you could choose whether you wanted to:

take one of each discipline of the biology courses plus additional upper division courses in the bios you choose (Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology). A sampling of each.

or a specific route of a more specific branch biology (ie: Bachelor of Science degree in Neurobiology.)

There was not a BS in Biology. Likewise, there was not a BA in Neurobiology. It was called a Bachelor of Arts because it was a more liberal approach to the field of biology. I was able to take Vert. Phys, microbio, cell bio, Plant physiology , experimental physiology, neurobiology, lab experience in genetics, comparitive animal physiology, struc/func/ reprod of seeded and flowering plants, and ecology and with an array of labs. With a BS it was pre planned what I had to take and I didn't like that.....and the extra semester of calc.

 

[Artful Dodger]

Thanks for the replies guys, I really mean it...this is incredibly helpful.

Is a business degree not the same thing as majoring in it? I'm confused. Or is it just a combination of specific business courses that you've picked? If so I think I'm going to go for that.

Nah, we're just trying to tell you a few business courses in college wouldn't hurt...and if you really wanted to, you could major in it, since dentistry is pretty much a business.

But what I was trying to say is....if there's a split degree, like my school offers, that combines a science with a business degree, that'd be a smart choice...lol sometimes you can get lucky with those types of degrees because you don't have to take certain courses (that dental schools don't require) like Physical Chemistry...It'll just be watered down so it's more of a convenience than torture.