I am currently a junior in high school, and I am beginning to make my way through the college process. I have been told by countless people that for pre-med applicants, research is all but mandatory. That said, I’m having a hard time finding research programs (I was rejected from my top one) and the others are very far from my home, making daily commuting costs a real concern.
Unless you are planning to apply to BS/MD programs, neither colleges nor med schools expect high school student to have hands-on research experience.
In fact, when you go to apply to medical school in 4 (or more) years, you won’t even list any of your high school activities on your application or CV.
BTW, pre-med is an intention. It’s not something you need to apply for when you apply to colleges. Anyone can be a pre-med so long as they take the requisite coursework.
Thank you, @WayOutWestMom I was seriously starting to stress out. I’ve since applied for an internship in a local clinic and expect to hear back soon
Research isn’t necessary at all for applying to college.
It will help when applying to medical schools but it will be much easier to find research positions once you are in college.