Hey everyone,
I'm in the process of starting my essays for this year's NHSC scholarship and was wondering if anyone had advice on how they approached the essays. My specific questions are highlighted below.
1) How specific were you in outlining your future career plans for the essay on the NHSC mission? Did you list HPSA sites and/or non-profit organizations you were interested in affiliating with?
2) How did you approach the essay regarding your commitment to working in primary care? Did you take a narrative approach regarding life events or circumstances that led you to pursue a career in primary care, a philosophical approach rationalizing the importance of primary care, a combination of the two, or something altogether different?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Before I begin, yes I am still just a senior in high school, and yes I know that my goals can change. However, this is what I want as of now, and because it's extremely important to prepare for what I want my future to be, even though it may change, I need to make plans. So PLEASE don't advise me on going to med school or doing something else, it's not what I'm asking for.
Now, I've been doing my own research, but I would also love different personal perspectives.
As of now, I plan to stay within five hours (maybe more if necessary) away from southern-ish New York because I don't have the money to fly myself and my belongings every time I have to go home and because my parents have very busy work schedules.
Ideally, to save money, I would love to go to a more inexpensive school to save money because financial aid is iffy for me. However, if you come from a similar background and you got financial aid, please tell me because I'm not too sure how the financial aid process works yet lol. So, my dad makes 125K+ a year, but due to the very high taxes, a high mortgage, and other expenses that my family has to pay, money is becoming more and more of a worry now that college applications are coming up fast. Additionally, my dad works for Verizon and they went on strike for about 6 weeks last year, and I know it doesn't sound like a long time, but this really set us back because my mom doesn't make much. I will also be taking 5 AP exams in May ($470), there will be yearbook and senior picture fees to take care of, etc., and my family has only saved up a little over $10,000 dollars in my college fund. So my question is, other than financial aid, do you know of any scholarships/organizations/etc. that I could look into to help out with this? Or more importantly, good inexpensive/moderately expensive schools? Btw my mom was born in Dominican Republic so I'm 50% hispanic (my father is white), so that could be relevant information regarding scholarships.
To get to the main point, what schools would be good for me knowing this, that I want to become a PA, and that I need to build a strong foundation in what I'll need to know by that time? I will probably major in a biological science - if not biology - unless someone recommends something else.
Feel free to input any other relevant information. Thank you to all who respond!
I am a first year international student at a liberal arts college in the US. Academically, I don't feel I lack anything at this school. The classes are very challenging, and I push myself to the limit to get A's in every single class. On the financial side of things, I got a 55-60% scholarship, and the rest of my tuition gets covered by my dad back home. With every iota of honesty, I have always wanted to work as a medical doctor. I am determined, self-driven, sometimes anxious about my efficiency, but always honest about my abilities and faults. The road to becoming a medical doctor in the US as an international student is not linear. In fact, all the research I have done into medical schools I would want to apply to in the US after completing my bachelor's degree show that international students with the best extracurricular activities profile and GPA will most likely have to go home and attend a medical school in their home country then write the USMLE STEPS 1 and 2 exams to even begin considering coming back to the US.
Well folks, I have done my research into the life of a medical doctor in the US, and I have decided I do not want to go through the years of practice and training, just to realize that bureaucracy has limited very passionate physicians in the US to "sad and industrialized slaves." I am young and fortunately I still have my whole life ahead of me.
So I did research into the world of mid-level health practicioners in the US, and amazingly I stumbled unto the profession of Physician Assistants. Because I excelled (through diligence, prayer, and never giving-up), I got A's in my General Chemistry and Biology sequences; I have almost gotten the position to shadow a Physician Assistant this summer!
My sadness and hope stems from the fact that even with stellar academic records, diligent physician assistant shadowing, and lots of prayers I might not get accepted into a PA school after four years of undergraduate education.
My ''cry'' for help is this: Is there anyone out there who knows of young international students in the US who passionately did everything legally possible- shadowing, good GPA, and completing pre-reqs- to enter PA school straight after four years of undergraduate education and got accepted?
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
I NEED HOPE IN THE FORM OF AN INFORMED REPLY FROM THE BRILLIANT AND GENEROUS PEOPLE ON THIS FORUM