This is a general question, if anyone has any advice, do you think becoming a certified nurse assistant would be a good extracurricular? I plan to already, as I am interested in the experience and clinical opportunity + once I turn 18 I can get a possible job out of it, but I’m unsure of whether to do it this summer or next, and whether it is a good extracurricular. If it benefits my application I might just do it this summer, the CNA course will give me approx 50 hours of patient facing experience, but along with about 80 hours of theory, which is why I was hesitant on whether or not I want to devote that time this summer or the next.
Please understand….you are NOT a low stats rising senior.
Do you want to work as a CNA? Start there.
Working as a CNA will give you hands on patient contact. If you are eventually going to apply to medical school, this is a worthy thing to do…but as @blossom said…do you want to do this?
yep, i definitely want to, i just don’t know if I should do it this summer or next, even if I get certified now, I can’t work a proper job until I am 18, so I was considering doing the course next summer prior to college, but if its beneficial to my application as well, I might just do it right now
I’m not sure JUST taking the course is helpful. Working as a CNA would be.
Also….you do know you can change your subject to edit out the “low stats” part of it. I can do that if you would like.
OP, I think you overloaded on APs junior year. If my math is correct you had EIGHT AP courses as a junior(?!) and two of these were known hard ones, BC and PhysC. The 3 in AP physics1 was a warning that AP PhysC was going to be VERY difficult, and your performance in BC and APstats indicates you likely have some relative weak spots in math compared to the top group at your school (and those who get into your reaches who are premed/stem), as it seems most of them were able to get As. It is possible that you may have just overloaded and couldn’t spend the time needed, but I do have concerns there are some math “holes” you need to address. My recommendation based on all you have said is for you to spend some time this summer reviewing weak areas of BC calc, in preparation for whatever math you will take senior year. Work long and hard on your essays. Be prepared to hit the ground running in September and get all As. Back off some of your APs if needed. First semester senior year will be very important for you to show you are an A student especially in STEM areas as that is your interest. Put aside CNA for now—that is not going to add much and grades should be your priority after your junior year bumps. And, expand your matches and seek out ones you “fit”!
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Can you work as an assistant CNA now? Some states allow this before the age of 18.
With you having taken so many APs, I suspect that admissions counselors will find it odd if you’re not reporting most of your scores. And it may not necessarily count against you, but many applicants (far more than the universities can take) will be sending their scores…with all 5s or mostly 5s and some 4s to match their As on their report cards. With that as your competition, what will make your application stand out and granted an acceptance?
I sympathize with you about the testing anxiety. As you scored a 35 on the ACT and a 1530 on the SAT, how much do you think is related to testing pressure vs. the content? Also, if you truly do become anxious on tests, take steps now to work on strategies to overcome that. Many of your university science classes may be graded on a curve (pitting you against other top students), you have to score high enough on the MCAT to get into college, and then you will need to pass your Boards as well. There’s a lot of importance placed on tests for pre-meds and doctors.
Like others, my concern is that you have been biting off more than you can chew. Your “weak” areas are math, science (at least physics), and stats. For someone who is interested in going to med school, that is concerning. Even if your high school is very competitive with many students taking 20 classes, that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for you to be doing. It’s better to learn the material at a slower pace and really master it than it is to try and push through and manage as best one can to get to the “finish line” as quickly as possible. Med schools aren’t looking for 20-year-olds to enter. They’re even hesitant about 22-year-olds coming in and desire to see more lived experience!
Taking 20 AP courses should be equivalent to taking two years’ worth of college courses while in high school. People’s bodies and minds develop at different paces, and many students are not developmentally ready to handle some of the material, but in two years they would be. Nothing could change but the student’s age (and therefore development) and there can be a significant difference in academic outcomes.
Slow down and think about what it is you really want. You say that UT is your ideal school because it’s relatively inexpensive and a nice school. What’s nice about it? What do you like about it, apart from the cost? Knowing that can also help people give you suggestions of other schools you may want to consider to create a balanced list of schools with a range of admissions possibilities.
For instance, Trinity University in San Antonio is located in an urban area, has a defined campus, strong pre-med programs, and gives very generous merit aid so that the cost would be far less than many of the other schools on your list. But if you like UT because it has tens of thousands of students, many of whom pack the football stadium in the fall, then Trinity would not be a good school to consider. So, what do you find attractive about UT, or about what you would like to have in your college experience?
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ah, I’m new to the forum and I wasn’t sure how to edit my title. If you could do it it would be very helpful. Ty!
Since OP has indicated offline that he has no interest in opinions from users, I am closing this thread.
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