Summer Programs

I have a 10th grade daughter who is interested in medical school. She has been taking all advance classes, lowest grade so far is 1 A-. She participates in student government, peer counseling, model UN and is a member of the junior company at a local professional ballet school. She also competes in pageants through the Miss America system. She is very hard worker.

My question is about summer programs. My older daughter is auditioning for a musical theatre major right now, summer program participation was very important, and a nice way to experience different college campuses and meet kids like her. Do they offer something similar for a pre-med track? If so…what are some of the best summer program options to look at??

Thank you

There are some summer programs for student interested in biomedical sciences. I can’t remember the names of them now, but I remember D2 getting program solicitations from them during high school.

While these program might be fun, they aren’t helpful for college admission or for med school admission. (In fact, high school activities aren’t considered at all for med school admission.) The science and activities at these programs are very superficial and don’t really offer a look at medicine as a profession.

If your D thinks she might want to go to med school, she would be better served by doing some volunteering over the summer. Consider hospitals, nursing homes, or rehab centers.** Any of those sites will place in her close contact with medical personnel and patients–both of which are considered important experiences for future medical students.

Some hospitals may also offer structured summer programs for high schoolers interested in medicine that offer a mix of volunteering and education. You should check with your local hospitals to see if they offer one.

** Physicians spend their entire working careers dealing with the sick, injured, dying, mentally/emotionally ill and with elderly, debilitated patients. Some people can handle it; some can’t. It’s better to find out sooner rather after she’s invested a lot of time into preparing for a career she’s not suited for.

Also check with local universities for research opportunities for high schoolers. My D was able to do a six week summer internship at a medical university nearby after her junior year. She then worked for the same PI during college one summer. It’s a good way to see what research is like and to make good connections.

But, D also loved dance and spent 2 high school summers at dance intensives. If your daughter spends her summers doing what she enjoys now it won’t affect her ability to get into med school. But as wowmom said, shadowing now would help her determine if medicine is really something she is interested in before she invests too much into the pre-med track.

@dheldreth‌ - she’s spent the past 3 summers dancing for dance intensives. She still loves dancing, and wants to do some - but not the entire summer again. She’s really looking for something else - not sure exactly what yet! Considering something like the Civic Education Project through Center for Talent Development/Northerwestern - but don’t know anyone who has actually done it before to know if it is worth while.

http://www.brown.edu/academics/pre-college/catalog/course.php?course_code=CEBI0903

Definitely cheaper ways to do it (as mentioned above) but I’ve heard good things about the summer@brown course in terms of actually exposing kids to medicine.