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PrincessND · 07-29-2008, 01:51 AM

Hi Kids,
I've gotten a lot of private messages in recent weeks of students asking what they should be doing during their summers to increase their chances of gaining acceptance to medical school. The answer: you should be doing something. Yes, my friends, that means no more sitting in your pajamas until noon watching reruns of 90's sitcoms. You must be doing something. Here's some options:

1. Doing summer research in science or some other field that relates to medicine is an excellent choice. There are many programs that give you a stipend (and even room and board if you're from out of state) to participate in clinical or basic science research. For these, you're going to have to start preparing to apply in November. Some have early application deadlines and require letters of recommendation, so get an early start. Here's some websites with lots of programs you can apply to:

-http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/intern.html
-http://people.rit.edu/gtfsbi/Symp/premed.htm
-For URMs: Minority Summer Opportunities
-Of course you can also find some other really good programs by doing a Google search.

ND also has a program through the College of Arts and Letters where you can design your own project with a faculty member, so look for emails about this. Usually sophomores and juniors win these fellowships.

2. Get a job/non-research internship. A great place to start is going to ND's career and internship fairs (don't be too put off by all those Goldman Sachs-seeking business majors). Even if you don't wind up landing something there, you will get some ideas for things to apply to. There's also the career center website. Here's some interesting internships that could definitely come in handy on a med school application:
-http://www.hrw.org/internships/undergraduates/undergraduates.html
-Camp Sweeney: Summer camp for diabetic kids seeks counselors every summer (Contact Us :: Camp Sweeney 2008)

3. Volunteer at a hospital or set-up a regular shadowing schedule with a physician. Let's face it, you should probably do this anyway. Don't know any physicians? Look for doctors in your area on Google and email them or call their offices and leave them a message. Tell them about yourself, that you're interested in their field and that you'd like to shadow them. If you live near an academic medical center, I'd recommend starting with those docs because they like to teach and will likely be thrilled that you're interested in their field.

4. Go abroad. Med school like to see this because it's one of those things that shows that you have "life experiences". ND has a wide variety of summer abroad program options.

5. Do a service project. Although I list this last, these are really great opportunities to help in the community, gain life experience, and show that you care about others (all things med schools LOVE). Luckily for you, ND has the Center for Social Concerns which maintains of list of both domestic and international (I know someone who did a summer service learning project in Fiji) service programs. Some pay, others don't. You could spend your summer rebuilding homes in New Orleans or teaching English to kids in Thailand. If this sounds interesting to you, visit the CSC in November-ish to see about how applying works.

07-29-2008, 01:51 AM	#125
PrincessND Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 115	Pre-med summers and scoring that perfect summer internship Hi Kids, I've gotten a lot of private messages in recent weeks of students asking what they should be doing during their summers to increase their chances of gaining acceptance to medical school. The answer: you should be doing something. Yes, my friends, that means no more sitting in your pajamas until noon watching reruns of 90's sitcoms. You must be doing something. Here's some options: 1. Doing summer research in science or some other field that relates to medicine is an excellent choice. There are many programs that give you a stipend (and even room and board if you're from out of state) to participate in clinical or basic science research. For these, you're going to have to start preparing to apply in November. Some have early application deadlines and require letters of recommendation, so get an early start. Here's some websites with lots of programs you can apply to: -http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/intern.html -http://people.rit.edu/gtfsbi/Symp/premed.htm -For URMs: Minority Summer Opportunities -Of course you can also find some other really good programs by doing a Google search. ND also has a program through the College of Arts and Letters where you can design your own project with a faculty member, so look for emails about this. Usually sophomores and juniors win these fellowships. 2. Get a job/non-research internship. A great place to start is going to ND's career and internship fairs (don't be too put off by all those Goldman Sachs-seeking business majors). Even if you don't wind up landing something there, you will get some ideas for things to apply to. There's also the career center website. Here's some interesting internships that could definitely come in handy on a med school application: -http://www.hrw.org/internships/undergraduates/undergraduates.html -Camp Sweeney: Summer camp for diabetic kids seeks counselors every summer (Contact Us :: Camp Sweeney 2008) 3. Volunteer at a hospital or set-up a regular shadowing schedule with a physician. Let's face it, you should probably do this anyway. Don't know any physicians? Look for doctors in your area on Google and email them or call their offices and leave them a message. Tell them about yourself, that you're interested in their field and that you'd like to shadow them. If you live near an academic medical center, I'd recommend starting with those docs because they like to teach and will likely be thrilled that you're interested in their field. 4. Go abroad. Med school like to see this because it's one of those things that shows that you have "life experiences". ND has a wide variety of summer abroad program options. 5. Do a service project. Although I list this last, these are really great opportunities to help in the community, gain life experience, and show that you care about others (all things med schools LOVE). Luckily for you, ND has the Center for Social Concerns which maintains of list of both domestic and international (I know someone who did a summer service learning project in Fiji) service programs. Some pay, others don't. You could spend your summer rebuilding homes in New Orleans or teaching English to kids in Thailand. If this sounds interesting to you, visit the CSC in November-ish to see about how applying works.