Consulting/Analyst Internship in Summer before Med School

[noodlelover2233]

I often hear that students should relax the summer before med school, but are there legitimate reasons for this? I'm considering doing a finance-related internship (i-banking, analyst, consulting, etc.) during the summer before med school not really for the money, but because I think it'd look cool.

The alternative options are vacationing abroad (e.g. backpacking across Europe) or fun non-credit study abroad options. What do y'all recommend doing the summer before med school?

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[Lamel]

If it's not for the money, then I really don't see a point. Those internships make you work 80+ hours, you will end up miserable (trust me I've experienced similar). Backpacking across europe sounds MUCH cooler btw.

 

[Boolean]

So you're looking to do a Goldman Sachs internship. I say go for it, sounds cool and exciting. You'll work a lot and read a lot, but heck, that may help you for medical school. The pay isn't too shabby either.

 

[Lamel]

So you're looking to do a Goldman Sachs internship. I say go for it, sounds cool and exciting. You'll work a lot and read a lot, but heck, that may help you for medical school. The pay isn't too shabby either.

That's what everyone says until they experience one.

 

[Boolean]

That's what everyone says until they experience one.

Eh. I quite enjoy I-Banking, and I'm looking to line up a similar internship. My previous summer job had similar hours, and I found it to be quite thrilling. I enjoy new things.

 

[Lamel]

Eh. I quite enjoy I-Banking, and I'm looking to line up a similar internship. My previous summer job had similar hours, and I found it to be quite thrilling. I enjoy new things.

If it was earlier in his undergrad career I would say go for it. Or if he said he wanted to earn the enormous paycheck. But working that much and then starting medical school without any rest at all seems terrible to me.

But of course, OP you can do what you want. Your reasoning is because it looks cool; but to me, stories of backpacking across a continent sound much cooler.

 

[mariambaby3]

If you're not worried about burning out, then go for it.

I had a friend intern at a policy think tank the summer before starting med school.

 

[noodlelover2233]

Thanks for the responses everyone. From a pragmatic standpoint, it's more worthwhile going abroad and having fun. On the other hand, I won't get the chance to try a finance internship until another decade (and tell people that I worked at Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan). I'll probably wait until spring to ponder it over and see if new options arise.

 

[Shootinblanks]

First off please don't do the internship because you think it will look cool. There are tons of people who would love to have that analyst spot to help establish their future careers, and you would be taking it just to do something cool. In addition, you are wasting the company's time. Company's use these summer analyst jobs to find new employees and by you taking the job you are being extremely disrespectful and inconsiderate. If you are serious about wanting to do I-banking why don't you apply for summer analyst and if you are even able to get a position, take it with the intention of accepting if you get a full-time offer. Most offers you will get will only be 2-3 years, this will allow you to work in the field, see if you like it (who knows you might realize that it is your true calling), if not at least you will have a decent amount of money to help you out through med school and offset a lot of debt. If you are already accepted to a school I am sure if you explain to them your situation they would not mind you taking two years before starting. Or if you haven't applied and are serious about finance, your MCAT score is good for three years and you will stand out among all of the other applicants having come from this background now to med school.
I guess what I am trying to say is please do not waste everyones time and resources just to do something that would look cool. It is extremely rude, inconsiderate, and disrespectful. Not to mention I am sure adcoms will not be too fond of it either, it shows that you are willing to waste other peoples time for your own personal benefit and experience.

 

[moop]

You're not going to get anywhere close to even getting a position as a regular premed, so no need for any further discussion about reasons for doing it, honestly. Premeds think just because med school was so hard to get into that they'd be highly regarded elsewhere as well. No. I know the recruiting process well. You don't just waltz in; not even if you're from a heavily recruited top school.