What should I do during the summer?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I'm currently a college freshman, and I'm trying to figure out my plans for the upcoming summer. I'm a double major with a lot of course requirements, so I'm considering staying at school to take classes just so I can get a few of those requirements out of the way. However, I've heard that premed students should always try to make the most of their summers by doing something that will help them out in medical school admissions and/or give them things to talk about in medical school interviews. I could apply for a research program at my undergraduate university or at numerous other locations around the country, or I could go on a summer study abroad program with my school, such as a program that studies health systems in the UK and places students in hospitals and clinics for a few weeks. </p>

<p>What is the best thing to do during the summer as a premed student? I'm inclined to just take classes this first year, because if I don't take summer school at some point, I'll basically never get to take a single class outside of my two majors & my premed requirements. However, in all honesty I have to admit that the other options sound a lot more appealing. What will admissions officers at med schools think?</p>

2

<p>Taking classes are definitely a lot more boring than doing research, working at an internship, studying abroad, etc.</p>

<p>Why can't you do both at once? Take a class, and work in a lab.</p>

3

<p>The amount of free time you get during the Summer will depend on which courses you plan to sign up for during the Summer. Some Summer courses have very intense schedules as they try to complete a large volume of content in a much more condensed time frame. You may not have a significant amount of time left over after the courses and study time, group study etc to dedicate to any meaningful research.</p>

<p>It's best to either do research full time through Summer or do course work. Either way, do what you do very well.</p>