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Why so close in? Branch out a little! :lol: Might do you some good!

Try some California, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, upper East Coast... don't limit what you look through by its geography. Start looking for what kind of school you want... small liberal arts, huge state university, somewhere in between, all male/female etc and go from there. Also look for fields you're interested in, like, biology, English, etc.

Good luck!

Wendy

CO EMT-B

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If it weren't for the high Canadian dollar and international student tuition rates I would say to come to Canada. Actually, just come to Canada anyway.

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Why so close in? Branch out a little! :D Might do you some good!

That's a great point that I have never seen addressed before! Young students travel across the country and even across the world to get a degree in something silly like Greek Literature or Liberal Arts all the time. Most high school seniors who are college bound sit down and spend a good bit of time exploring their educational options, considering the possibilities from coast to coast. Many of them are looking forward to getting away from home for the first time and experiencing a little independence. Why is it that we never see EMS students doing this? Why do they only ask two questions; what's close and what is fastest? I understand those older students who have established a family and home that they can't just pull up and move with. That makes sense. But man, if I were 18 and looking at the roadmap of my future, I'd like to think I would put a lot more thought and consideration into the process of choosing the right road than just seeing what schools were within driving distance. Hell, even now, after all these years, I think I'd like to go back and do it all over again in Canadia, so take that suggestion seriously. Although, so as not to be accused of jumping to conclusions or being unfair, I do understand that medic_girl_chas may well have compelling personal circumstances that limit her choices, and would not criticise her for that reality. I'm just fascinated by this new factoid that we have stumbled upon with this topic.

Some of the answers are obvious. We really have no schools that have established such universally recognised excellence that people are willing to seek them out. CAAHEP is setting the foundation for that kind of measuring tool as we speak, but there is still a long ways to go. Engineering, law, and journalism students -- among others -- give serious consideration to which schools are nationally accredited and which are not before choosing one. Why don't we? And, of course, when you choose a university, you don't really get to pick from schools that range from 6 weeks to 6 years in length either, because there is a national standard. That unfortunate "choice" will forever hold back the growth of excellence in EMS education.

I smell a new topic coming on. Please forgive the momentary hijack.

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Are you looking for an undergraduate institution that has a good pre-health professions program? Or are you looking for somewhere to go through paramedic or nursing school right off the bat?

I would advise you to go for somewhere that has a well acclaimed pre-health professions program. For example... I started off as a Health Sciences major at Kalamazoo College, in Michigan. Great financial aid from those folks, although I'll be paying off loans for quite a while.

Then I realized that the Health Sciences major was too limiting; I switched to being a Biology major while still going to most of the classes considered to be in the pre-health profession track (with the exclusion of Organic Chem 2 and Biomedical Ethics... chem because I hated it and didn't want to go to medical school and biomed ethics because of a time conflict).

Then I got sick of having asthma problems all the time in Michigan and transferred to CSU in Fort Collins, Colorado. I am currently a Biological Sciences major, going to graduate come fall. I'm taking the rest of the classes necessary for the accelerated nursing program offered at CU for those who already have a bachelor's degree.

The college education is a valuable thing. But make it a true education- not just a set of classes that you need to get into a specific program or complete a specific degree. I've ended up taking religion, ethics, history, music, English composition and literature and various other classes, all with various emphases on world culture. I enjoyed every second of it, too (although those who know me during paper-writing time would argue).

You can always go through paramedic school. Once life's responsibilities grab you, it will be much harder to get a bachelor's degree.

Think about what else interests you in life, look for a school with a good science program, and combine the two. There's college books in your academic counseling center at your high school (at least there should be); spend a couple lunches perusing them and jotting down ideas of schools to look at further. Then get online and look at those schools and eliminate things that don't seem appealing.

By the way.. if your parents are broke, you will be eligible for financial aid. Trust me.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

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Well I want a college with a good medical program.
What's that mean? What are you going for? Paramedic, Nurse, Medical Doctor?

Get into the best school you can, it'll help prepare you for getting into the post-graduate medical programs which you go into after you get your bachelor's. There are a lot of good schools of varying levels...ask your college adviser to give you some suggestions based on your GPA and your SAT score. That'll give you a place to start.

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