<p>I posted a similar thread in the "Summer Programs" section but I want to ask it here - should I use this summer to volunteer abroad (specifically in South Africa) or should I work with a local physician who I'm very close with?</p>
<p>Pros about volunteering abroad: It's usually for people 18yrs+ so I'd be one of the youngest which would tell colleges I genuinely care about helping others; and I'd be doing a wide variety of activities in SA including teaching children and rebuilding homes & etc.</p>
<p>Cons about volunteering abroad: Takes about $5,000 for the plane ride & program cost and NO financial aid - so anyone who can afford it can go; volunteering in SA shows I care but doesn't show my interest in MEDICINE, specifically.</p>
<p>Pros about working with local PHYSICIAN: Our families are close, he'd be more generous in recording amount of time I helped out in his clinic; I'd really get to learn a lot about being a physicians.</p>
<p>Cons about working with local physician: I really have no interest in being a physician, I'd rather be a research scientist or a psychologist; I fear I would really dread the experience.</p>
<p>Any help/advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Why would it be so much better volunteering in South Africa and not with a physician? Of course I'm very happy that you think volunteering abroad would be a better choice but the money is, naturally, a concern to me.</p>
<p>Well, for one thing, you don't want to be a physician, so working with one isn't actually a good thing.</p>
<p>For another thing, shadowing a physician, as educational as it can be, isn't actually an accomplishment per se, and so undergraduate schools are unlikely to care. The only value is in what you actually learn, and, again, you don't actually want to be a doctor.</p>
<p>Even if you did convince colleges (falsely) that you wanted to go into medicine, this isn't actually a helpful thing. Half their kids at this point probably want to be doctors; they really don't care what your long-term career goals.</p>
<p>Thanks for that bluedevilmilke, but I have to correct in that I do want to be a doctor. It's just that I'm torn among being a research scientist, surgeon, or psychologist. I have one other question though - would it make any difference WHICH country I went to volunteer for 2-3 weeks? I know there's a volunteer program in Ghana that focuses on teaching children and improving health care facilities. The volunteer program in South Africa is mainly focused on rebuilding communities.</p>
<p>Or is it even really WORTH volunteering abroad? Maybe I should just do volunteer work locally in the summer ...</p>
<p>If you want to do pure research, a PhD track is the best way to go. If you want to do psychology, then again, that's a PhD track ("Clinical Psychology"). Psychiatry and surgery, obviously, require MD's.</p>
<p>Frankly, the abroad-work is quite an un-ignorable spike to your application; it sets you apart. I'm not a college admissions expert, but it strikes me as very importantly different. Which country is unlikely to matter; Ghana is more impoverished and I suppose that might be a good thing, but I can't imagine it being a big deal. It is much more important to compare what you'd be doing in each country. I don't know what you mean by "rebuilding communities."</p>
<p>There are all kinds of medical mission groups going to foreign countries. Some are church sponsored and some are university sponsored. If you speak a foreign language, you could be very helpful. Try to find one of these trips. Or how about volunteering at a local free clinic in your area?</p>