Hi All,
I attended the NYLF: Medicine camp last year in the summer of 2017, and since I have received several questions regarding the details of this camp, I decided to create a post and share my experiences.
Let’s start with the pros:
The camp somewhat sufficiently did what the program description claimed: it helped me gain an introductory experience in the medical field with hospital tours, guest speakers who are doctors, and education on the basics.
The experience was also fairly exciting: I made several new friends and enjoyed the NYC trip.
The cons, however, are plentiful:
At a staggering $10k, NYLF makes your parents pay through the nose for a one week experience.
The guest speakers’ presentations were somewhat superficial and failed to provide deep insight into what the medical field is like. The education, (which is basically school/classes on different medical fields, medical procedures, etc) aspect of the camp was also limited. In my opinion, any of the useful information I actually gained from the camp could be easily obtained online through a Google search.
Though the experience was enjoyable, there were several management issues that ruined the experience with many others. Since there was a pipe burst in the women’s dormitory, many of them had to relocate to the guys’ building. I wonder what problems that could cause…
Yep. There were several instances of sexual misconduct that resulted in half the local police department roaming the floors every night. I think NYLF also had to deal with lawsuits or complaints from these girls’ parents. If I were NYLF, I would be extremely embarrassed at the poor management.
And after all that, (and after a $10,000 tuition), the food options were mediocre.
Overall, if you are looking to enrich your understanding of the medical field, this camp will help, but NOT AS MUCH AS YOU THINK. Most of everything we did could be done at home with a computer and the internet. The few hands-on activities we were involved in were also scarcely educational.
The only real benefit I derived from attending this camp was a fun and exciting 7 days. But also remember that there are ways to enjoy your time without paying a massive sum of money.
If you think this camp will help for college, think again. Generally, I go by the belief that anything “Pay to Play” will not distinguish you from the anyone else, and will not give you an admissions advantage. In fact, attending NYLF may hurt your chances slightly: it may demonstrate that you are trying too hard to “pad your resume”.
If you are looking for a truly rewarding or beneficial (from the college admissions perspective), I would apply to different programs that have a legitimate application process: this includes essays, interview, resume, transcript, recommendation letters, etc. NYLF only requires a “nomination”, which is more of a psychological trick to instill a feeling of specialty than an actual nomination to a prestigious program.
I would recommend doing research about the program you are applying to. If possible, try to contact others who have attended such program to gain an honest insight (college confidential is a great place to do that). Generally, if the program has a somewhat rigorous application process and/or is free of tuition, it is a program that you will gain tremendously from. NYLF, unfortunately, is not that kind of program.
Also, when you attend NYLF, somewhere in the middle they will have you sign a “media disclosure form” or something of that sort, and then ADVERTISE THEMSELVES using YOUR NAME to other students in your school. I find that particularly annoying, and even after contacting them to remove my name, they continued to use my information for marketing purposes. Their viciously vehement marketing and advertising should show you how hungry they are for money- and a camp that wants nothing but your money will likely not go overboard providing you with the best experience (which will cost more for them).
For whoever is considering attending NYLF, I hope this helped! If you have any further questions, I’ll be happy to help.