Will these classes be relevant/helpful?

[chumpe]

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Hi I am senior and will be starting dental school coming fall 08. For the following quarter I registered for comparative anatomy of vertebrates, neurobiology, endocrinology, developmental biology. On top of these, I am taking biochemistry. I am thinking of dropping a class before the term. So to the dental students out there, which of these classes do you think is least relevant/helpful at dental school? 😕😕

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ething]

hmm, while you will be taking classes that involve material from all those courses...i would drop the developmental bio. Definitely keep anatomy and biochem though.

 

[INFNITE]

instead of developmental bio, if there's a course on physiology, take that instead.

 

[tinman831]

Comparative anatomy? Is that comparison across different species? If so, that sounds more like a waste of time than developmental biology.

 

[Joe70h8]

I would drop comparitive anatomy of vertebrates. That class will run you rugged and it won't be useful at all. Instead, take Human Anatomy.

 

[Dukie]

Whoa. While those may be pretty helpful, that sounds like one real tough semester. Why are you pushing yourself so hard as a second semester senior? They may help a little, but I don't know if it is enough to justify to killing yourself like that. I would ease up a little so that you are not burned out before you even get to dental school!

 

[Wayne Coronado]

Hi I am senior and will be starting dental school coming fall 08. For the following quarter I registered for comparative anatomy of vertebrates, neurobiology, endocrinology, developmental biology. On top of these, I am taking biochemistry. I am thinking of dropping a class before the term. So to the dental students out there, which of these classes do you think is least relevant/helpful at dental school? 😕😕

Thanks in advance!

In my opinion, the d-school biochem was much easier than the course I took in undergrad (we had to memorize/write out rxns on our exams as opposed to multiple guess in d-school). If you take it in undergrad, the d-school version will be a breeze and will allow you to focus your efforts on all-important waxing 😉. Then again, you could end up at a school where biochem q's were pulled mainly from unrestricted old exams and it wouldn't matter what you knew prior. In this respect, I do not think that the ds class adequately prepared us for boards, but for the short-term it was nice to get an easy 6 credit "A".

Any human anatomy/physiology exposure you can get would help as well...

I concur on dumping anything elective that is not human specific...

Of course, being a senior, you may want to lighten up your load for the sake of your sanity (unless you have to take these courses or have an interest). I would start unloading at vertebrates>developmental biology>toss up between neurobiology and endocrinology. You could trade those in for a good 'ol anatomy or physio course which IMO would be more useful than any of these other courses.

Good Luck!

 

[chumpe]

I would drop comparitive anatomy of vertebrates. That class will run you rugged and it won't be useful at all. Instead, take Human Anatomy.

I The only reason I registered for comparative anatomy is human anatomy is not offered that term and I would like just get some jump start on any anatomy because I hanve't taken any in college and high school. Should I seriously drop this class? Has anyone taken such a course? I thought it might help even little and drop developmental bio.

 

[chumpe]

I would drop comparitive anatomy of vertebrates. That class will run you rugged and it won't be useful at all. Instead, take Human Anatomy.

The only reason I registered for comparative anatomy is human anatomy is not offered that term and I would like just get some jump start on any anatomy because I hanve't taken any in college and high school. Should I seriously drop this class? Has anyone taken such a course? I thought it might help even little and drop developmental bio.

 

[Joe70h8]

The only reason I registered for comparative anatomy is human anatomy is not offered that term and I would like just get some jump start on any anatomy because I hanve't taken any in college and high school. Should I seriously drop this class? Has anyone taken such a course? I thought it might help even little and drop developmental bio.

I would seriously drop this class. I was enrolled in a similar class and realized by day 2 that this class would kill me. It will most likely be a very difficult course, very time consuming, and it will have close to ZERO relevance in dental school.

And have you already been accepted into dental school? If so, why take so many rigorous courses? To each their own I suppose, but I would take it down a notch or two. But if you're deadset on taking those courses, by all means do so. All of them should help at least a little down the road...EXCEPT comparitive anatomy of vertebrates.

My senior year was a joke. It was all fun, all the time. No regrets and I'm doing just fine in dental school.

Just my .02

 

[Wayne Coronado]

The only reason I registered for comparative anatomy is human anatomy is not offered that term and I would like just get some jump start on any anatomy because I hanve't taken any in college and high school. Should I seriously drop this class? Has anyone taken such a course? I thought it might help even little and drop developmental bio.

If comparative anatomy is anything like a zoology course, I would say drop it. You will most likely not spend enough time on human stuff to make it worth your while. I would say you will be fine without taking an anatomy class. Considering that no one (that I know of) has gross anatomy experience before d-school, you will not be at a major disadvantage. Just get yourself a Vick's Vapor Inhaler (worked for me to block out that wonderful smell) and spend a good amount of time in the gross lab until you got it down cold.

Don't worry too much about developmental bio. We had the corresponding 2 credit course in d-school that was a joke. Once again, this course in undergrad will probably not be focused enough on the stuff you want to learn (jaw, tooth development) and I'm sure you can find other things to do with your senior year.

If I were you, I would take a class that has potential to be fun and may build your hand skills. I took a guitar class when I was an undergrad which was a lot of fun (and painful). There are also plenty of art courses out there if that is your thing.

 

[SuperC]

I took a comparative course in undergrad and found it helpful for gross. It was a very interesting course and for the most parts mammals parts are similar to us. I enjoyed the class and found it helpful, at least in terms of familiarizing yourself with anatomy terms.

-C