<p>I am a rising senior in high school and i just recently got certified as an EMT basic. i want to major in some history-related study in college, and my credentials are good enough (supposedly) to get me into not ivy, but just below ivy schools. would being an emt for 5 years before applying to med school help me out in the application process?</p>
<p>yes of course it will, but it will only be one portion of your ec's/apps. look around this site for more pointers.</p>
<p>It's a good way to get some clinical experience, but don't do it just for med school. Do it if you really want to. Also, what school you go to as an undergrad is not a significant factor in med school admission.</p>
<p>thank you for the info</p>
<p>Realize it's just one piece of you're overall application. No one single thing is ever going to make you a candidate worthy of acceptance. Obviously having it on your application is better than not, but it's practically impossible to say that it's better than some other sort of clinical experience.</p>
<p>you can be an EMT-B for however long you want, but it all depends on what you do with the certification.
edit: i'm in EMT school, but I know being an EMT matters little if you have no experience. Thats why i took it two years after being in a volunteer fire company, and after being able to drive the bus and become a non-probationary fireman, etc.<br>
what i'm saying is that it's less important to have the certification. it's more important to use it.</p>
<p>IsEMT all that big to med schools? I mean if I have a good GPA, good MCAT, volunteer/shadowing and a little summer research thrown in does an EMT really have an advantage over me? It's competitive to get into where it's student run at my school, so I don't want to feel hopeless if I don't make it.</p>
<p>Obviously the vast majority of premeds do not have any EMT experience.</p>
<p>Wouldn't it be quite difficult to be certified and work as an EMT? <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos101.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos101.htm</a> says they work 45-50 hours a week. Do they commonly make exceptions for college students?</p>
<p>I think the best thing to do would be to find a place where you can volunteer as an EMT. That way, you won't have such a hard finding a place to 'work', and you still get some great experience.</p>
<p>My town's ambulance garage is all-volunteer, so for me it was pretty easy; took my EMT-B class there, took the state test, and starting volunteering there.</p>
<p>There is a big difference between first responders and doctors. I was once told by an admissions person at Albert Einstein that they don't always consider EMT work a plus. Shadowing a doctor in a hospital is preferable if you plan on becoming a doctor. It would give you a much better idea about what being a doctor is about than making runs on an ambulance. Regardless, good grades and good MCATS will get you in to a U.S. medical school.</p>
<p>Being an EMT alone and not doing any shadowing or hospital work could be a bad thing, but doing both will surely help your application</p>
<p>Shadowing and research would be more fitting.</p>
<p>Having an EMT license and prior experience is certainly a plus but is not a driving factor by itself.</p>
<p>If you have a solid GPA, SAT scores, and other ECs that strengthen your application, then EMT license weigh it in your favor over someone else with same stats.</p>
<p>The question was not “if this was my sole extracurricular, would it get me into medical school”. Of course, it won’t, but I almost feel like the other posts are semi-dissuasive.</p>
<p>From what I have PERSONALLY heard from an admissions board member at UCSD Medical School, the Chief of Surgery at Little Company of Mary in Torrance, CA, and several other friends who are MDs, having EMT experience is fantastic. It shows dedication to the medical field (the certification process is not short or cheap) and initiative.</p>
<p>On a personal note, taking an EMT class really INCREASED my passion for medicine, and got me interested in the field of emergency medicine. This led me to volunteer as a technician at the local ER, and get to work with doctors, nurses, and patients (of course, most EMTs work in the field on ambulance runs or transport).</p>
<p>Oh, and 100% of UCLA EMT’s get into a medical school.</p>
<p>There might be a self-selection effect for UCLA’s EMT statistics. I think it’s a very selective program, so the students who apply tend to be very well-qualified and motivated in the first place. But I would agree that EMT experience is a great addition to a resume.</p>
<p>Hey, I am planning to get EMT basic certified through my school - NCSU. I already have extensive clinical hours (shadowing, internships at hospital). When I say extensive I mean like over 100 hours. I was wondering if volunteering or working as an EMT would count as clinical hours in medical school admission officers eyes.</p>
<p>Certain degrees like bioengineering increase your chances to get into med school. Being an EMT will help a little, but not enough if you don’t have grades and MCAT scores.</p>
<p>If you really want med school, look for schools that have a relationship with a med school which gives them an accelerated application process. I have students who are sophomores who already are admitted to med school, to start when they graduate, regardless of grades as long as they are above C, and regardless of MCATs as long as they are “average” for that year.</p>
<p>Please use old threads for information only. When posted on and revived, members often don’t notice the date and respond (as above) to the OP.</p>
<p>Please use the New Thread button to ask your question. </p>
<p>Closing.</p>