Are majors really important??

Question

I want to go into dentistry and become an orthodontist. There is no such major as pre-dentistry so I figured I should do something close/related like biology. Thus, I put biochemistry as my major for all my colleges when I applied. However, I don't like biology all that much and I heard your major doesn't really matter when applying to med school/dental school/etc. For instance, my friend told me he was a history major and still got into cornell med school. So would it be bad if I decided to change my major to math or something else if I still want to become an orthodontist? Will it affect me when I apply for dental school? Also, is changing my major recommended or should I stick with biochem even if it may be harder for me? Thanks!!

Answer 1

Your major will not matter. However, you will need to take pre-dentistry classes, which will include English, calculus, biology, chemistry, etc, similar to pre-med. Most pre-health students major in biology or biochemistry because the requirements coincide with the major requirements. However, you are free to take whatever major you want, and fit the pre-dentistry classes in along with your major classes.

There should be no problem with changing your major. It is better to major in something you are interested in, because biochemistry is very tough and if you major in it you better enjoy it!

Answer 2

Yes it is true that even if you want to go into dentistry, you could major in anything but the only requirement is to fulfill all the pre-requisites for dentist school. Its a common trend to take biology or biochemistry as majors, when people want to go into med schools or dentistry schools, because bio covers almost all the pre-requesites that you will need. And its completely okay to change your major while you are in college, once you start your freshmen year you will get a better idea of all the different kinds of majors that you could pursue. And biology is usually easier than biochem, but if you have good intrest in chemistry rather than bio then biochemistry is totally the apt choice. I hope this has answered your question. Good Luck with ur studies. Make sure you stay on track, its easy to get distracted when you are college, dont fall for it...one thing i have learned in college is that once you get off track and fall behind with your gpa...it remains as a permanent mark on you transcript and its really really hard to get back on track.....hope you will become a great orthodontist one day :)

Answer 3

Basically as long as the major is a BS you should be OK, the best thing for you to do is to call or e-mail the admissions office of a dental schools you want to go to in 4 years, ask them about the major.

As far as changing majors, don't worry about it. All you have to worry about is getting all of your requirements for your new major (IE: if you switch from Bio-chem to Math in Junior year, you may need to take some sophomore math classes )

As far as sticking with Bio chem.. the real test is what are the prerequisites for the dental school. If they require Physics, or Diffy Qu's or BioChem, it would be simple for you to have a major that has these classes as requirements, however you could also be an English major that just decides to take these classes (along with their prerequisites ).... I am sure that your friend that was a history major had to take a whole bunch of pre-med classes (Bio, Chem, advance Math etc) before going to med school .....

So ask the Dental school what their prerequisites are, see what majors work with those prerequisites, then look if there is a "more enjoyable" major that would allow you to take the dental school prerequisites as electives.


luck

Answer 4

Major in something your're interested in and just follow the required pre-dentistry track of classes. Its o.k. to change your major as long as you still follow the track of classes.

Answer 5

Some colleges do have pre-dentristy programs. Maybe you should look into that if its not too late.