<p>Just finishing up my first semester at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst campus. So far, I've got a 3.7/8 GPA (depending on how my finals turn out). I should have an A- in gen Bio, a B+/A- in gen chem, and an A in a microbiology course I took.</p>
<p>I came into the school with St. John's university credits in calculus and english- starting me out with a 3.7 GPA. I also did about 150+ hours of community service in high school/last summer. About 50 of those were done in the radiology department of a local hospital. At school, I've done about 15 hours of community service tutoring kids in high school math/sciences.</p>
<p>I'm a certified lifeguard and I've logged in well over 400 hours doing that- intending on keeping that job until I can get EMT training (Does anyone know the best way to go about that? Can it be done over winter/summer break?).</p>
<p>I started a fundraiser at school selling bracelets to raise money for breast cancer research- going to donate to the American Cancer Society. When I've finished selling them, I should have about 400 dollars.</p>
<p>I'm a runner- not affiliated with any teams, but I ran the Long Island Half Marathon last year and intend on running the full marathon somewhere in the near future.</p>
<p>I've also submitted multiple applications to do research in labs on campus- hoping to hear back from at least one for next semester.</p>
<p>Anyway, I'd like to know how I'm looking so far regarding med school applications. Am I on the right track?</p>
<p>You’re off to a good start grade-wise–now keep it up for the next 5 semesters.</p>
<p>A couple of things (in no particular order)</p>
<p>–activities done before the beginning of college generally aren’t included/don’t count on your AMCAS application</p>
<p>–getting an EMT is pretty meaningless for med school applications unless you actually work as an EMT</p>
<p>EMT-B training varies by state. Usually the course takes a full semester of classwork, plus you will need to pass a state licensing exam to get certified. You may be able to find a compressed class that runs for 4-6 weeks. Check with your local community colleges to find when and where classes might be offered.</p>
<p>Depending on where you live an EMT-B may or may not enable to you to find as work as an EMT. In most urban areas, EMT-B s are very common. And please be aware there really isn’t a national EMT registry so being certified/licensed in one state won’t necessarily grant you practice privileges in another since certification standards vary by state.</p>
<p>Thank you! That’s a bit of a bummer that none of the service I’ve done won’t count. Oh well, just starting fresh isn’t the worst thing in the world. The information regarding the EMT details is very insightful- I’m going to check out the programs offered at some local schools and find out when the best time would be to enroll in one. My school offers EMT jobs at hockey/basketball/etc. games. Although I would be certified in NY, I asked about it awhile back and I don’t think there should be a problem. Thanks again!</p>
<p>The only time it would be appropriate to list HS activities is when you have continued a similar activity and you need to list the earlier start date or some of the earlier story.</p>
<p>So, if you have been a lifeguard for years and continue in college, you can list the earliest start date, but if it were only a HS activity you would not list it at all.</p>
<p>^I am not sure. My D. has worked (paid position, not cleanning) in Med. Research lab while in HS. She had done Med. Research (non-paid internship) for 3 years in UG. She did not mention anything from HS, not volunteering (which was also very similar to her volunteering while in UG), not shadowing, none. I believe that nobody does, even if they continue in the same type of activity. I am not sure if there is a place to put your HS experiences.</p>
<p>I think it would only be entering a start date that was in the HS years. You would not go into any detail, but could enter an earlier start date showing a longer continuity of the activity</p>
<p>I think the point somemom is making is that if you shadowed a doc in high school and then continued to shadow the same doc in college, then you could say that you started shadowing Dr. X in high school. She is not saying that if you shadow Dr. X in high school and Dr. Y in college that you would list the time you shadowed Dr. X as your start date. There you would just list your time with Dr. Y.</p>
<p>OTOH lifeguarding has a standardized set of responsibilities and duties that don’t vary much from location to location. The OP could list “life guard at various sites” with a start date in high school if she/he continues to guard during college.</p>
<p>True WOWMom. Just clarifying what “continuation” meant since it seemed like Miami was implying that you wouldn’t list anything from high school regardless of whether it was continuation or not. With things like research or shadowing or volunteering unless it’s the exact same place, it’s not continuation.</p>