<p>My school has a whole semester class for an internship at a nearby hospital. That's wonderful, but since it's part of the curriculum, would it count as just a class and nothing more to colleges, because it's part of the school's curriculum, and I didn't pursue this independently? I'm just wondering that since this internship would take place during school hours it might not be held in as higher regard by BA/MD programs as someone who set aside a chunk of their summer or weekend to do an internship.</p>
<p>My D did a class like this, she shadowed a neurologist at a clinic for a designated number of hours and documented her activities. The way she looked at it was that she chose to take this class over other electives because she has an interest in medicine and wants to find out if it's really right for her. She will likely apply to one Ba/Md program, but I really can't tell you if they will look at it differently than a non-class activity. The way she will handle it for the common app is to describe her experience in the space for additional explainations.</p>
<p>I had a very similar class in my school except it was required for all students (I went to a magnet school). I shadowed a pediatrician at my local hospital and documented my experience. I talked about my experiences in my interviews and my interviewers were very interested. I don't think it holds the same esteem as doing research or a summer internship on your own time but it definitely shows that you had exposure to the medical field. However, I wouldn't have it replace anything you might plan to do over the summer.</p>
<p>yeah, I go to a med magnet school too so it's required . . .Thanks entomom and food for the replies!</p>