hSDN Class of 2012

[Doxorubicin]

Hey, guys. I thought I would make a thread in which the rising senior class can discuss their plans for the coming year and college. What are you taking? How are you doing? Where are you planning to apply or go? What profession(s) are you considering? What are some of your potential majors?

I'm considering applying to Tulane and two of my in states (Auburn and Alabama.) I'll probably go IS (because my family not having to contribute anything + no under grad debt = right?)
I'd like to major in biology or some related science, depending on what the school offers. Torn between going premed or prevet, so I've been shadowing this year to see what happens.


Congratulations! Let's keep up the good work and have fun!

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[AntiHouseMD]

Taking AP Chemistry with other school requirements. I'm debating between University of Vermont, St. Michaels College, or UMass Amherst (my state school, which I'm considering because of the low tuition). I'm planning to major in something involving the sciences, maybe biology or chemistry.

I'm really interested in becoming a doctor (likely a pediatrician). I'm doing pretty good right now, and I can't wait for senior year to begin!

 

[I'm No Superman]

Taking AP calc, english, and chem. Already have chem homework . My three schools that I would like to go to are Princeton, UMich, and UNL (State school). I honestly have no idea what I want to major in, but I'm leaning towards chemistry.

I'd like to be a physician, or perhaps medical research, but hey, we still have five years right?

 

[Doxorubicin]

Shouldn't this thread title have anywhere between 12 to 41 exclamation points in it?

I'm not one for a thousand exclamation points. I guess the reason why I didn't load the thread up with them was because it hasn't hit me yet that we're seniors.

We're seniors !!!!!!!

Only a lifetime of learning left to enjoy! I, for one, am looking forward to classes that are (relatively) more interesting. I'm taking AP Chem, AP Chem lab, AP Gov/AP Macro, AP British Lit, AP Calc AB, Latin IV, and Band. Took AP Bio last year (fun, but the teacher sucked.) While I enjoy the varied classes are interesting, I look forward to a taking a large number of science courses and, as long as I finish the pre reqs and degree requirements, having a fair amount of latitude in choosing a class that interests me... just for the sake of knowledge. HS (at least mine) lacks any real pragmatic classes. While I like lecture and think it's nice to learn from, sometimes it's nice to be exposed to dfferent people's ideas.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox. Back to enjoying the beach before I visit my friend in the hospital this weekend and get my wisdom teeth out next week.

And again, congratulations class of 2012; we're almost there!!!!!!

 

[I'm No Superman]

Wooh 2012ers! I'm pretty sure there's only three of us.

AP Brit lit, jolly good! .

 

[Doxorubicin]

Wooh 2012ers! I'm pretty sure there's only three of us.

AP Brit lit, jolly good! .

Mmm, yes, quite. I'm a little perplexed, though. We read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Housseini. If you haven't read/heard of it, it's a story about Afghanistan, featuring two women whose lives shockingly intertwine in the heat of war.

I give it 5 stars... but its relevancy to British Literature remains to be seen.

And it's only us three? It seems like there would be plenty more rising seniors given the activity on this forum. I guess a lot of the content or answers are provided by the pre-meds, medical students, residents, and some attendings, though.

Anyways, out of curiosity, what privileges do seniors at your school get?

 

[I'm No Superman]

Anyways, out of curiosity, what privileges do seniors at your school get?

[SARCASM]Underclassmen can not speak or make direct eye contact with a senior unless granted permission by said senior. Each senior receives their very own freshman servant. Seniors have separate restrooms, water fountains, and buses(the best ones). Seniors also get prime seating at sporting events, lunches, and assemblies.[/SARCASM]

Not much actually, their is a hallway that over the years, the senior class has claimed; We get the ability to not have a full schedule (I will be able to sleep in until 9:30!!), and the seniors get out of school a week earlier than the underclassmen.

Edit: Saw Super 8 this morning, it was pretty good.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

We get to exempt any class's final if we get above a 93% in that class. Also, we're the only class allowed to park due to construction of a new school (doesn't mean much to me since I don't own a car, but still nice). We get out near the end of May, compared to the end of June for the underclassmen. That's pretty much it.

The one downside to our school is that we only take four classes per semester. That really doesn't allow us to take many AP classes in order to get in our school requirements.

 

[I'm No Superman]

We get to exempt any class's final if we get above a 93% in that class.

That's pretty cool.

 

[Doxorubicin]

Everyone can exempt any second semester exam at my school given they have an A for both QIII and QIV. AP is given exemption with a B. Seniors can exempt an exam given they have a B average for second semester

Also, seniors get priority class registration, reserved parking, and are able to eat lunch off campus. Seniors can take senior study hall either first or last period so that they can come to school at 9 or leave at 2:30. Some have assistantships before last period and the teachers often let them go at 1:30.

But other than that, my school is pretty difficult

 

[I'm No Superman]

My high school bloooows. Good thing we only have 1 more year.

 

[Eponine94]

Ha, so I definitely didn't see this thread until Gamma Knife pointed it out... Oops.

Super super super excited for next year! I'm taking the best classes ever- AP Physics C, Research Seminar (hopefully either medical research or astrophysics...), AP Euro History, AP Lit, AP Art History (yay!), and Spanish and Differential Equations (prob.) at my local state U. Oh, is "Brit. Lit." the same as AP Literature? My summer reading is Hemingway, and some Japanese author (Isoku?)--- not very British!

I'm looking at mostly schools that give merit scholarships, but also CU (instate) and Australian National University, since I'm a citizen there. I could graduate debt-free! Crazy story- I met the dean of admissions for the med school there, and she talked very apologetically about the expense of their medical school education. It was a whopping $9000 AUSTRALIAN a year!! I can barely buy books for that much here! Another reason why semi-socialist countries are fantastic...

 

[I'm No Superman]

How are the medical schools in Australia compared to the U.S.? Just curious.

 

[Doxorubicin]

Ha, so I definitely didn't see this thread until Gamma Knife pointed it out... Oops.

Super super super excited for next year! I'm taking the best classes ever- AP Physics C, Research Seminar (hopefully either medical research or astrophysics...), AP Euro History, AP Lit, AP Art History (yay!), and Spanish and Differential Equations (prob.) at my local state U. Oh, is "Brit. Lit." the same as AP Literature? My summer reading is Hemingway, and some Japanese author (Isoku?)--- not very British!

I'm looking at mostly schools that give merit scholarships, but also CU (instate) and Australian National University, since I'm a citizen there. I could graduate debt-free! Crazy story- I met the dean of admissions for the med school there, and she talked very apologetically about the expense of their medical school education. It was a whopping $9000 AUSTRALIAN a year!! I can barely buy books for that much here! Another reason why semi-socialist countries are fantastic...

Yeah, I'm pretty positive it's an English literature class. We are studying plenty British authors and novels throughout the year though.
$9000 Aus? :troll:
That's incredible though. Out of curiosity, where do you prefer living?
And differential equations? As a HS student? How many years of calculus have you had?

 

[Eponine94]

Yeah, I'm pretty positive it's an English literature class. We are studying plenty British authors and novels throughout the year though.
$9000 Aus? :troll:
That's incredible though. Out of curiosity, where do you prefer living?
And differential equations? As a HS student? How many years of calculus have you had?

Ha ha, yeah I know $9000 is pretty unbelievable, but it's very legit. I loved the way the woman was almost ashamed of how much it cost...

I do love Australia, but I don't think I could live there... For one thing, they're running out of water! But seriously, I really want to stay in the US, especially since if I go to college in AUS, it's really hard to get into med schools in the US if I wanted to. Easier to go from the US to AUS in that case. The medical schools there are pretty damn good though. ANU (the uni) is 20th in the world, but I'm not sure about the med school specifically.

And I've taken 1 1/2 years of Calc (Calc BC + Calc 3)... It's kinda a bummer that I don't want to be a math major, otherwise I would be set!

 

[I'm No Superman]

Damn, that was the hardest ACT that I've taken so far... I think I did pretty well though...

 

[AntiHouseMD]

Just out of curiosity, how helpful have your guys' guidance departments been? My school's guidance hasn't really been helpful for us. Granted there are only four counselors for close to 1,000 students, but I still wish they were a bit more useful for college stuff. My neighbors, who went through this, actually said we should have our transcripts and materials sent to our house and we should send it to colleges to make sure our department didn't screw up.

Anyway, congratulations to Gamma Knife on the ACT. I've only taken the SAT's, but I know how tough those can be. And good luck to Doxorubicin with your wisdom teeth.

 

[Doxorubicin]

Just out of curiosity, how helpful have your guys' guidance departments been? My school's guidance hasn't really been helpful for us. Granted there are only four counselors for close to 1,000 students, but I still wish they were a bit more useful for college stuff. My neighbors, who went through this, actually said we should have our transcripts and materials sent to our house and we should send it to colleges to make sure our department didn't screw up.

Anyway, congratulations to Gamma Knife on the ACT. I've only taken the SAT's, but I know how tough those can be. And good luck to Doxorubicin with your wisdom teeth.

There are 2 counselors for (roughly) 80 students in my class. They handle pretty much everything; they release your transcripts, certify everything, send along a school profile, and are really personal in recommendation, or so I hear. They have a huge book full of information on majors, careers, etc, but I feel like it's more for people who have no clue what they want to do. Some people depend on them for course/college/major/career information, but I generally do my own research on colleges and their courses of study. My counselor is really fantastic, though. Props to her, even though she's going on to be our schools' academic dean for next year... so we'll see if the new counselor is as fantastic as my old one was.

And out of curiosity, how have you guys done on standardized testing? I did alright on the ACT (32, second time) but I felt like the SAT was mehhh (2100, taken it once.) ACT = far easier, in my opinion. And thank you for the well wishes! I'll be enjoying some ice cream and gingerale (not through a straw though )

 

[AntiHouseMD]

I have the guidance department chairman as a counselor, so I really don't get to see her all that much. She once scheduled me for a yearly appointment, made me wait an hour (missing parts of two classes), and then told me I had to reschedule. So, she can be good at times, but forgetful most of the time. Not much of a help, but somewhat understandable given her workload.

By the way, Doxorubicin, just from personal experience, make sure you don't eat any sharp foods for a few weeks after the surgery. I had a different kind of oral surgery about two years ago, ate a nacho about a week or two later after the procedure, and then had to deal with random bleeding for about a month (during the holidays, no less). It sucked, so hopefully my ordeal can help someone else. Good luck!

 

[Doxorubicin]

I have the guidance department chairman as a counselor, so I really don't get to see her all that much. She once scheduled me for a yearly appointment, made me wait an hour (missing parts of two classes), and then told me I had to reschedule. So, she can be good at times, but forgetful most of the time. Not much of a help, but somewhat understandable given her workload.

By the way, Doxorubicin, just from personal experience, make sure you don't eat any sharp foods for a few weeks after the surgery. I had a different kind of oral surgery about two years ago, ate a nacho about a week or two later after the procedure, and then had to deal with random bleeding for about a month (during the holidays, no less). It sucked, so hopefully my ordeal can help someone else. Good luck!

Thank you for the advice! I think I'll be eating some applesauce and pudding for the next month. My band director scheduled a pre-band camp sectional for Tuesday (the day after my surgery,) but alas, I won't be putting horn to mouth for quite a while

 

[LadyYahya]

I cant believe We are SENIORS!!!! I feel kind of old lol.
Anyways Im taking AP bio (I took AP chem this year), AP Lit, AP Calc AB, Anatomy and physiology and Dual enrollment (Geography).
I plan on applying to Spelman, Howard, University of Maryland College Park, and maybe Johns Hopkins but my first choice is Spelman.
I want to be an emergency room doctor but im not really sure. I hear most people don't decide what kind of doctor they want to become until medical school so im just going to wait till then.
I'm probably going to major in Biochem with a minor in dance. Or I might just major in dance just to stand out when i'm applying to med school.
I hope you have a good summer!!!

btw i'm SUPER excited for my classes next year!! I heard my AP bio and AP lit teachers are amazing so I cant wait!

 

[I'm No Superman]

Just out of curiosity, how helpful have your guys' guidance departments been? My school's guidance hasn't really been helpful for us. Granted there are only four counselors for close to 1,000 students, but I still wish they were a bit more useful for college stuff. My neighbors, who went through this, actually said we should have our transcripts and materials sent to our house and we should send it to colleges to make sure our department didn't screw up.

Anyway, congratulations to Gamma Knife on the ACT. I've only taken the SAT's, but I know how tough those can be. And good luck to Doxorubicin with your wisdom teeth.

Thanks, I'm just glad its over.

Welcome to the forums LadyYaha!

As for our guidance dept., they're non-existent to non-seniors. They met with my sophomore class once, didn't see them at all junior year... Like I said, can't wait to get out of there.

 

[Doxorubicin]

I cant believe We are SENIORS!!!! I feel kind of old lol.
Anyways Im taking AP bio (I took AP chem this year), AP Lit, AP Calc AB, Anatomy and physiology and Dual enrollment (Geography).
I plan on applying to Spelman, Howard, University of Maryland College Park, and maybe Johns Hopkins but my first choice is Spelman.
I want to be an emergency room doctor but im not really sure. I hear most people don't decide what kind of doctor they want to become until medical school so im just going to wait till then.
I'm probably going to major in Biochem with a minor in dance. Or I might just major in dance just to stand out when i'm applying to med school.
I hope you have a good summer!!!

btw i'm SUPER excited for my classes next year!! I heard my AP bio and AP lit teachers are amazing so I cant wait!

Welcome to SDN! It seems as if you have some very exciting plans.
I've done about 40 hours of shadowing in the ER. It's pretty cool; it has its ups and downs (at our local ER, the doctors are dictating 3/4 of the time, mostly uninsured seeking primary care, but some have emergent issues.) I like it more than my 20 hours of primary internal medicine.

Enjoy your summer, too! My planned vacations (Washington, DC and the beach) are now over.

 

[I'm No Superman]

I'm psyched for my trip to the Bahamas with my friends!

Also, I'm pretty sure that this is true, but can you count clinical hours that you did in HS for med school? Got really lucky and landed a great summer job at the local clinic, and plan on spending a lot of time there (I get to chose my own hours!).

 

[LadyYahya]

Thanks for welcoming me!!
Shadowing in the ER sounds fun I haven't shadowed anywhere yet but hopefully I get to shadow someone this summer. I also hope I get to spend my summer at this Internship/summer camp I applied to, Im supposed to find out next week.
btw I live like 30 minutes from D.C so I'm sure you're going to have a blast. Make sure you visit the holocaust museum and the spy museum.

 

[LadyYahya]

As for our guidance dept., they're non-existent to non-seniors. They met with my sophomore class once, didn't see them at all junior year... Like I said, can't wait to get out of there.

I thought I was the only one that was having a bad experience with guidance.The guidance department at my school is great except for my counselor. I have yet to have my senior meeting with her, All the other counselors have met with their students. I have to take time out of my summer just so I can talk to her .

 

[I'm No Superman]

btw I live like 30 minutes from D.C so I'm sure you're going to have a blast. Make sure you visit the holocaust museum and the spy museum.

I went there last year, those were probably the two best places that we went.

 

[FutureDoctor719]

Hi all! Just found this thread. I'm a 2012er in the Midwest. Next year I'm taking AP Bio, AP Comp Gov, AP Spanish, AP Lit and AP Stats. Planning to apply to Wake Forest, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Emory, USC and BC. I will become an Ob/Gyn since I really love everything about the field. Can't wait to get to know you all more!

 

[I'm No Superman]

Hi all! Just found this thread. I'm a 2012er in the Midwest. Next year I'm taking AP Bio, AP Comp Gov, AP Spanish, AP Lit and AP Stats. Planning to apply to Wake Forest, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Emory, USC and BC. I will become an Ob/Gyn since I really love everything about the field. Can't wait to get to know you all more!

Hi FutureDoc, welcome to the forum!

 

[AntiHouseMD]

I'm psyched for my trip to the Bahamas with my friends!

Also, I'm pretty sure that this is true, but can you count clinical hours that you did in HS for med school? Got really lucky and landed a great summer job at the local clinic, and plan on spending a lot of time there (I get to chose my own hours!).

I'm pretty sure medical schools only look at things you did in college. However, those hours can help you on your undergrad application.

 

[Doxorubicin]

I'm pretty sure medical schools only look at things you did in college. However, those hours can help you on your undergrad application.

Ditto this, I'm pretty sure. I'm only shadowing to confirm to myself this is what I'd like to do one day, particularly because I've been torn between veterinary medicine and human medicine.

 

[Doxorubicin]

Hi all! Just found this thread. I'm a 2012er in the Midwest. Next year I'm taking AP Bio, AP Comp Gov, AP Spanish, AP Lit and AP Stats. Planning to apply to Wake Forest, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Emory, USC and BC. I will become an Ob/Gyn since I really love everything about the field. Can't wait to get to know you all more!

Welcome to the forum! Are we the same person? I thought about applying to nearly all of those except Wake! Of that list, I'll probably apply to Tulane, Emory, and possibly USC (Southern California, not South Carolina.) I'm assuming that they'll all be cost-prohibitive so I'll go in-state more than likely.

Undergrad debt + professional school debt = when it has 8-12 years to compound.

 

[HH Holmes]

Hey guys. 2011'er creeping in here. I see some of you are planning on applying to Tulane... I cannot stress enough that ALL OF YOU should apply there. I used the quick application from their website (they sent me an email about it), and there was no essay, or application fee and I was accepted (applied EA) before Halloween of 2010. It was really nice to be accepted so early in the game to an excellent school, plus they gave me a really nice scholarship.

It was hard to turn Tulane down, but I encourage everyone to apply. They have a great BSPH (Bachelors of Science in Public Health) program if anyone's into that and they have an early assurance medical program where you take your pre-reqs in freshman and sophomore year, and if you maintain a certain GPA you are automatically accepted to their medical school.

Great school, great location and an easy application -- when you get to application season, you will wish (like I did) that every app was like Tulane's. Have a great senior year guys, make the most of it. Mine flew by and I'm really going to miss high school.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

For a good part of the year, I'm going to be stuck deciding whether to attend my state school at UMass Amherst or go to private at either St. Mike's (my favorite right now) or UVM. St. Michael's costs more, but I like the college a lot better than UMass. Seems to have better academics and a better environment overall.

 

[LadyYahya]

When exactly are we supposed to start applying to colleges?

 

[I'm No Superman]

I believe that most seniors apply late summer after their junior year to early fall of their senior year. I believe that either Dec. 31st or Jan. 1st is the deadline.

 

[HH Holmes]

As of last year, the CommonApp opened to new users on August 1st. Most institutions use that, but others have their own application on their website. It's best to check each school's website before you start any application.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Thanks JChait, since we're all new to this, it's nice to have a person who has already done all of this help us out. Do most BA/MD/DO programs go through CommonApp? I personally haven't considered these programs but who knows? Maybe I'll find a program that I like.

 

[HH Holmes]

Thanks JChait, since we're all new to this, it's nice to have a person who has already done all of this help us out. Do most BA/MD/DO programs go through CommonApp? I personally haven't considered these programs but who knows? Maybe I'll find a program that I like.

Not a problem -- I'm willing to help.

To answer your first question, some do, and some don't. The ones I applied to did not, but the big name programs (like Rice and CWRU, where I applied to the regular 4 year universities) did use the CommonApp and required extensions for the BS/MD programs.

For all of the programs, whether it be MD or DO, start as early as possible, as they usually interview and accept students on a first come, first serve basis. The same goes with scholarship money. Submit the FAFSA as soon as possible!

Also, one more tip, don't apply to binding programs unless they offer an amazing deal. You don't want to be stuck in for 7/8 years studying and working toward something you don't want to do. Apply to some regular 4 year universities even if you're deadset on enrolling in a program, as your views and goals may change when it's time to send in a deposit.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Thanks, that's the main reason that I would rather not do a combined program, I would hate to change my mind two years in and be stuck with it.

I have another quick question, do colleges accept LOR's/would sending a LOR be helpful? The only reason I ask is that at least at my job interviews, I probably wouldn't have been looked at if I didn't know people who worked there, and was wondering if "who you know" had and any impact on colleges?

Edit: does anyone else's SDN look funny right now?

 

[HH Holmes]

Thanks, that's the main reason that I would rather not do a combined program, I would hate to change my mind two years in and be stuck with it.

I have another quick question, do colleges accept LOR's/would sending a LOR be helpful? The only reason I ask is that at least at my job interviews, I probably wouldn't have been looked at if I didn't know people who worked there, and was wondering if "who you know" had and any impact on collleges?

No college really expects you to have a letter from alumni or a faculty member, and I won't pretend to know if it has any affect -- it may at certain places and not at others. Regarding LORs for programs, most require one from a physician and two science teachers or one science and one humanities teacher.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Yeah, I didn't think that it was common to have a LOR for undergrad, but who knows, maybe it would help.

Well at least if I decide to go combined, i'll have some decent LOR's, I have really good relationships with my science teachers. My english teachers usually hate me though .

 

[AntiHouseMD]

Gammaknife: Mine did for a while; I just restarted my computer and it was fine.

How early should someone apply for undergrad? I was surprised to see August mentioned. The latest I'll be able to is in the fall, when school is back in session and my guidance department can do transcripts and such. I was planning on deciding on which colleges to apply to and taking care of my essay this summer while taking care of CommonApp, FAFSA, and all of the requirements this summer.

One other thing: when should a high school student start asking for recommendation letters? So far, I know that I'll have a letter from a local priest. The other letter I'm going to seek is one from the science head at my school, but I don't know when I should ask. I thought of this when we had someone in our grade ask her French teacher this spring for a recommendation letter (teacher was even shocked by how early she asked).

 

[HH Holmes]

Yeah, I didn't think that it was common to have a LOR for undergrad, but who knows, maybe it would help.

Well at least if I decide to go combined, i'll have some decent LOR's, I have really good relationships with my science teachers. My english teachers usually hate me though .

Even for regular four year universities, you need letters from two or three teachers, one or two extra curricular mentors and your college advisor/guidance counselor. I sent two science teachers, my research professor (PhD) and a DO I shadowed to every school, not just the DO programs.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Oh ok, that makes sense. I was actually going to ask a doctor and really good friend of our family for a LOR, it just so happened that he went to my top choice university for undergrad. Wow our guidance counselors suck, this is the first time I've even heard about getting LORs.

 

[HH Holmes]

How early should someone apply for undergrad? I was surprised to see August mentioned. The latest I'll be able to is in the fall, when school is back in session and my guidance department can do transcripts and such. I was planning on deciding on which colleges to apply to and taking care of my essay this summer while taking care of CommonApp, FAFSA, and all of the requirements this summer.

One other thing: when should a high school student start asking for recommendation letters? So far, I know that I'll have a letter from a local priest. The other letter I'm going to seek is one from the science head at my school, but I don't know when I should ask.

I had the same problem with the transcripts. 90% of my applications were done before senior started (early September) except for LORs and transcripts. I asked for LORs from teachers in May/June of my Junior year, and my EC LORs anywhere from May of my junior year to October of my senior year. Ask as early as possible, but make sure you know the person well, but more importantly, make sure they know and like you well enough for them to write you a good letter. I was SHOCKED when my IB Biology teacher wrote me a mere paragraph for a letter. Luckily enough, I was able to talk to my research coordinator at my school who wrote me an amazing letter which I sent instead.

FAFSA doesn't open until winter, I believe, but CommonApp opens August 1st and you can work on your personal statement anytime before that. Some BS/MD/DO program applications are open before that on each school's individual website.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

One last quick question: Does the type of class matter? For example, if I had a chemistry teacher two years and a French teacher three years (both don't mind me, I hope), would the science teacher be a better choice?

 

[I'm No Superman]

AntiHouseMD: Thanks, it worked.

Would it be beneficial or detrimental to send an email to possible letter writers in the summer? I guess the positives might be that they see that I'm taking initiative and am serious about college, and the negatives might be that they become upset that I'm being annoying, and they might not want to think about school during the summer.

Edit: we sure are asking a lot of questions...

 

[HH Holmes]

Wow our guidance counselors suck, this is the first time I've even heard about getting LORs.

Yes, you definitely need LORs. There is even a section on the CommonApp for them. Usually, you will have all of your LORs sent to your guidance counselor who will make copies and send them to each school OR you can have your writers submit them online via the CommonApp.

One last quick question: Does the type of class matter? For example, if I had a chemistry teacher two years and a French teacher three years (both don't mind me, I hope), would the science teacher be a better choice?

Ask for both, if you're confident that you had a good relationship with the teachers. You're going to want more than science letters. I forgot, I actually sent a letter from an English teacher, too... that fulfilled my humanities requirement.

 

[HH Holmes]

Would it be beneficial or detrimental to send an email to possible letter writers in the summer? I guess the positives might be that they see that I'm taking initiative and am serious about college, and the negatives might be that they become upset that I'm being annoying, and they might not want to think about school during the summer.

I did all of mine in person with the exception of the DO I shadowed. I'm sure an email won't hurt, and if they're teachers, they all have probably written dozens, if not hundreds of letters -- I'm sure it won't be an annoyance. Ask once, be informative, and don't bug them. I asked each of my writers to write me a letter for college, explained my future goals (most of them knew anyway), and told them the date I needed it by. I gave all of them anywhere from two to four months. Teachers hate being asked the week or two before applications are due... They have to rush the letter and it shows the student is unprepared and irresponsible.