Start from Highschool...

[JustK]

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If you could, could you explain your track from highschool to where you are today? How you did on your tests (ACT/SAT) and how you are/or did choose a college? Was it easy/harder than you expected?

Any information would be nice.

Thanks.

PS Did anyone think or is becoming an EMT their senior year in highschool or before college? Does anyone know the requirements for it? (age etc.) Is it a good idea? Thoughts on the matter would be helpful.

 

[the duck]

If you could, could you explain your track from highschool to where you are today? How you did on your tests (ACT/SAT) and how you are/or did choose a college? Was it easy/harder than you expected?

Any information would be nice.

Thanks.

PS Did anyone think or is becoming an EMT their senior year in highschool or before college? Does anyone know the requirements for it? (age etc.) Is it a good idea? Thoughts on the matter would be helpful.

I homeschooled through high school, graduated early and went to a community college. I'm planning on transferring to UCLA.

As for EMT it depends somewhat on your state. Nearly all states require a person to be 18 years old. The general consensus here on SDN is that it only helps if you actually work as an EMT for a period of time, just taking the class does bubcause for your application. However, if you feel like you want to and that you will enjoy working as an EMT go ahead and do it!

 

[MilkmanAl]

High school was a breeze with the exception of my history and English papers which were easily more demanding than anything I encountered in college. To say the SAT was my b*tch is probably an understatement.

I had originally planned to go to Duke, but when I visited it, everyone I asked for information either ignored me or said they hated it. I visited UNC and got the exact opposite response. I didn't want to go to MU since everyone I'd grown up with was going to be there. Having gone to school with the same group of kids for 13 years, it was time for a change. I was pretty clueless when it came to choosing a school based on specific things about them. I basically just applied to a few good schools and picked one.

Through a combo of screwing around (most of freshman year) and family disaster (sophomore year) my college GPA wound up sucking and made applying to med school a nightmare. The MCAT went really well despite me mostly botching my study strategy, and I eked into the only school that interviewed me out of my 28 applications. Here I am at UAMS (Arkansas).

I believe most EMT programs require you to be 18. If that's something you want to get involved in, go for it, by all means. If you're looking for resume padding, there are better ways to go about it.

 

[Daedra22]

.

 

[tennisball80]

You may found this sticky thread useful.

 

[schrizto]

You may found this sticky thread useful.

Huh? I don't see how that sticky would be helpful to the OP.

 

[shawnpl]

The MCAT went really well despite me mostly botching my study strategy, and I eked into the only school that interviewed me out of my 28 applications. Here I am at UAMS (Arkansas).

Thats where my brother went when he got diagnosed with AVM. Only place that actually helped/cared about him.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

If you could, could you explain your track from highschool to where you are today? How you did on your tests (ACT/SAT) and how you are/or did choose a college? Was it easy/harder than you expected?

Any information would be nice.

Thanks.

PS Did anyone think or is becoming an EMT their senior year in highschool or before college? Does anyone know the requirements for it? (age etc.) Is it a good idea? Thoughts on the matter would be helpful.

My course was this, I was prep school educated since Kindergarten, I rocked the SAT 1340/1600. I shadowed for Junior and Senior year in ophthalmology. Carefully selected two LORs from teachers who knew me well. I carefully selected an LOR from a local physician. I narrowed down my college list into two groups BS/MD/DO and state universities and large private research universities. Applying was easy. I led multiple ECs Model UN, Varsity Wrestling and Golf. I had a difficult choice between my top 4 choices, the NSU 8 year BS/DO, University of Kansas, West Virginia University and Drexel. Ultimately it boiled down to my long term goal of medicine being more important than the best fit for undergrad. As to the EMT, in most states you can start at 16, however it may interfere with school work and it depends on your other commitments.

 

[schrizto]

I got really good grades in high school freshman and sophomore year. I got disillusioned with school the next two years, but still did okay. I signed up for the SAT junior year because everyone else was, and got a 2210/1460 frantically working on a prep book the day before. I thought I could do better if I studied the next time but was only able to increase by a few points.

I aimed for BS/MD programs and then shortly after submitting some of them I realized that these programs were kind of overrated. I only applied to one Ivy and I regret it now, but I did get into some high ranked schools. I turned them all down for a public school.

 

[BlitzSleep]

In high school I didn't care about my grades. I was all about video games, football, and partying. I graduated with a 2.4 gpa from a rural high school and had an ACT score of 19. I took a semester off (due to a wreck I had) and applied to the state university, and by some miracle I got in (even though my stats were lower than the required acceptance stats). Now I'm a junior biochemistry major with a 3.55 (and rising) gpa and will be taking the MCAT this summer.

 

[orthomyxo]

I went to public school for my entire life. During high school, I had absolutely no guidance from anybody as far as college admissions go. I slept through freshman and sophomore years, but when I got to junior year, my english teacher scared the crap out of me when he said that it was the most important year, and basically my last chance for redemption.

So, I actually started studying/caring and got all A's and B's. To be honest, I wasn't super serious about nailing the SAT; I bought one prep book and never opened it. I only got a 1570 my first time around, but improved to a 1760 and felt semi-satisfied with it. In senior year, I had this crazy schedule with every possible science class I could take along with a math course at a community college. My anatomy class is what sparked my interest in the health care field. Long story short, I worked my ass off and got straight A's every quarter and dug my GPA out of its grave.

When college app time came around I sold myself short, and honestly didn't think I had the stats to get into anywhere special. However, I did feel pretty confident with three solid LOR's and my personal statement which I worked extremely hard on. I only applied to two state schools and a private 0-6 PharmD program which I didn't think I would get into. I got into all three, but my state university was going to give me a full tuition waiver (due to advanced Massachusetts standardized test scores). I declined in favor of the PharmD program.

I ended up graduating with honors in the top 10% of my class. I'm now in the PharmD program, but still deciding if I want to continue or transfer to a state school to get my BS and apply to med school.

 

[Caesar]

Public HS, didn't study, above average grades. 31 ACT no SAT

Applied to my states big uni and went there for a year. Didn't study, above average grades, but bored and changed major

Went to a CC for 2 semesters. Didn't study did "average" or what I consider below average.

Transferred to a different Uni in my state with a better sci program for me. Studied. Did really really well. 30+ on MCAT. Accepted to both schools I interviewed at and withdrew from most of the rest.

EMT age is usually 18. I didn't do it but it's a good job to have on breaks.

 

[Morsetlis]

I worked harder in high school than I did in college. I took 14 AP tests and passed most of them with a 5.

And, yes, please do start your ECs early! EMT class is 2 months (6 units = 2 months accelerated or 1 semester normal pace) condensed with an additional month for certification (tests, etc). CNA class is about 9 units and WILL get you jobs EVERYWHERE (but the work is kinda icky: bathing patients, etc).

 

[trep14]

Went to a public high school. Did so-so academically, got my share of 2.0 gpa's and 4.0 gpa's, which averaged out to be slightly above a 3.0 when I graduated. However, I did pretty well on the ACT. Applied mainly to small schools for undergrad, didn't really have much interest in going to a big state school. I only applied to about 4 schools, all of which were within a two hour drive from home. I didn't get in to my top choice, but got in to choices 2-4.

I have done pretty well in undergrad. If I don't screw up too badly this semester, I should graduate this spring with a 3.8+ gpa in biology. I did ok, but not what I would call good, on the MCAT. I only ended up being invited to interview at 4 of the 9 or so medical schools that I applied to. Of those, I interviewed at three, got accepted at two (withdrew post-acceptance from one of them) and am currently waitlisted at the other.