Hi everyone,
I hope to become a physician and would like to start the journey by attending a solid undergraduate school.
Are research/science programs over the summer really worth it? I’m planning on applying to RSI for sure.
Also, is SIMR worth applying to considering the fact that I’m from the Midwest and admissions are generally skewed to Bay Area kids? Finally, are there any other competitive/prestigious programs worth applying to? (Maybe BU RISE)
There’s a summer program forum here - http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/
SIMR clearly states that they strongly prefer Bay Area students. Also it doesn’t offer housing.
“In past years, students from outside the Bay Area (i.e., more than a 1 hour commute to Stanford) have been eligible to apply. However, the selection process will strongly favor local students due to various grant requirements. Non-local students can still apply, but their chances of admission will be much lower. We realize that many potential applicants will be unhappy with this change in policy, but SIMR has limited funding and staffing, and as a result we are focusing our efforts on students from the Bay Area. There are many other summer programs at Stanford that accept applicants from anywhere in the U.S. and you may find more information at oso.stanford.edu and spcs.stanford.edu.”
SSP has added a biochemistry program at Purdue. This will be the 3rd year the biochemistry program is offered.
S17 did the astrophysics SSP program after his junior year. It was amazing for him, and he would highly recommend either program. SSP does not weight acceptances based on geography, except that they have a rough limit on international acceptances. The overall acceptance rate has been a bit below 10%.
No need to do summer research programs to get into a good school for your college years. In fact, no need to go to an elite college since your college gpa will be important. Consider your state flagship and other upper tier schools in your state. You want to save your money for medical school. With good HS grades in a rigorous curriculum plus good test scores and a usual number of EC’s you should be able to get into a good college. btw- not all students can afford such opportunities and college admissions people know this. It is fantastic if family finances mean you can afford summer opportunities.
Thank you for your replies! It seems like SIMR is off the list due to the obvious weighting given to Bay Area students. I will look into SSP Biochemistry. What about BU RISE? Is that program enable you to submit a publication? Any other programs where your research can be used for Siemens/Publication?
@wis75 I understand that these aren’t necessarily required and colleges will understand. But I’m hoping these will help boost my chances, cause I also want to explore big city life in the west or east coast.
If you are looking for research in the Summer, which is an excellent idea both for personal growth and boosting college admission chances, there are good news and bad news;
The bad news is that those prestigious programs like SSP are crap shots for everyone. You want your best to be prepared, but you want a back up plan.
The good news is that, there are other amazing research opportunities you can find on your own.
Ironically, Stanford gives some great tips for that; The tips can be applied to any research universities (preferably one near your home) and any department.
https://oso.stanford.edu/files/programs_299.pdf